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What did you see last night? I watched Xavier take down a top-10 team on the road in a statement win that pushed the loss to Georgetown into the rearview mirror and stake a reasonable claim to be part of the one-seed discussion. Speaking of Georgetown, I saw the Hoyas storm back against Creighton in the undercard to grab a vital win that at once kept at-large hopes flickering for them and all but buried the same for the Bluejays. The computers saw it differently: they saw Xavier beat a bubble-worthy Providence to stay in the top four lines of protected seeding, while tournament lock Creighton spit the bit on an easy win against bubble giant Georgetown. I guess what I'm saying is that the things that make a great computer ranking are not always the same things that make a great tournament resume, and I'm okay with that. Here's your KenPom s-curve:
| The | KenPom s-curve | 1/27 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OKLAHOMA | IOWA | LOUISVILLE | VILLANOVA |
| 2 | Purdue | TEXAS A&M | West Virginia | North Carolina |
| 3 | Miami FL | Iowa St. | Virginia | ARIZONA |
| 4 | Kansas | Xavier | Maryland | Michigan St. |
| 5 | WICHITA ST. | SAINT MARY'S | Duke | Indiana |
| 6 | Baylor | VALPARAISO | Oregon | Kentucky |
| 7 | Florida | USC | Notre Dame | Michigan |
| 8 | Cincinnati | Vanderbilt | VCU | CONNECTICUT |
| 9 | Texas | Creighton | California | Kansas St. |
| 10 | Seton Hall | Gonzaga | Butler | Syracuse |
| 11 | Providence | Dayton | ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK | Florida St. |
| 12 | Utah | Saint Joseph's | South Carolina | Pittsburgh |
| 12 | STONY BROOK | HAWAII | ||
| 13 | MONMOUTH | UNLV | JAMES MADISON | YALE |
| 14 | AKRON | GRAND CANYON | CHATTANOOGA | SOUTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 15 | STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | NORTH FLORIDA | BELMONT | UAB |
| 16 | NAVY | TEXAS SOUTHERN | UNC ASHEVILLE | WEBER ST. |
| 16 | WAGNER | NORFOLK ST. | ||
| First 4 out | Georgetown | Texas Tech | Tulsa | Evansville |
| Next 4 out | Colorado | Wisconsin | Arkansas | Clemson |
And here's the bracket:
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How about that potential Duke matchup in the second round? The Blue Devils have an already mediocre defense let down further by an inability to rebound. That sounds like Xavier's cup of tea, but anytime there are officials on the floor and the game is nationally televised, I'd love to stay as far away from Duke as possible. Aside from that, the Big East has six teams in and one just off the bubble, which is a pretty handsome return for a 10-team league.
Speaking of leagues, the ACC once again has nine teams in the KenPom bracket and another in the next four out. That's a pretty stout return. The Atlantic 10 leads the mid-majors with three, though the AAC would tie for the mid-major lead if SMU were eligible to compete in the postseason. The top six conferences account for 38 of the 68 teams in the KenPom bracket.