March Madness in July with Early NCAA Bracket Projections
It is never a bad time to look at NCAA Bracket projections even late July
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm unveiled a new NCAA Bracket projection forecasting the 2018 field following the NBA Draft and recruiting landscape. Palm finds a home for Wisconsin Basketball at an #8-seed in the West Region.
So what can we learn from analyzing March 2018 NCAA Bracket projections in July 2017? Sort of hard to say but you’ve read this far so let’s see where this leads.
Placing Wisconsin Basketball on the #8-line is probably a safe pick. After all, Badger Basketball has made 19 consecutive NCAA Bracket appearances. So you have to put them in the field.. But this is a Wisconsin team who has to replace four starters and leaders like Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.
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The #8-Seed is a cautious pick and lower than is customary for Wisconsin Basketball. No question the Badgers were seeded too low as an #8 in the 2017 NCAA Bracket. During its 19-year NCAA Bracket run, the Badgers have averaged a seed number of 5.5. The lowest seed during that stretch is a #12 when the 2009 Badgers sneaked into the field, and promptly upset #5-Seed Florida State on some Trevon Hughes heroics.
They have twice been seeded an #8 and once a #9. Again, I discard 2017’s #8-seed because that was insulting considering Wisconsin’s resume.
In general, a projection of Wisconsin Basketball as an #8-seed in the NCAA Bracket means a solid but unspectacular regular season. Maybe a bad loss or two and some good wins. Put tersely, winning the games you’re supposed to and losing the ones you’re expected to lose.
The 8-10 line in the NCAA Bracket is often reserved for an over-achieving mid major and a adequate season from a power conference school.
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All told, Palm predicts seven Big Ten teams in the NCAA Bracket:
- Maryland, #10-Seed East Region
- Michigan, #10-Seed West Region
- Michigan State, #1-Seed Midwest Region
- Minnesota, #5-Seed South Region
- Northwestern, #8-Seed South Region
- Purdue, #4-Seed East Region
- Wisconsin, #8-Seed West Region
Along with the Spartans, Palm has Kentucky, Arizona, and Kansas as the other top seeds in the NCAA Bracket.
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Of the Big Ten teams on that list, Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern, and Minnesota all are obvious choices given what they return. Purdue lost Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb Swanigan but still return a nice core. Michigan and Maryland as a #10 reflects the Wolverines and Terrapins losing some serious talent to the NBA. But in a deep conference, they should pick up enough quality wins to get into the NCAA Bracket. Only the ACC with eight had more teams in the projected NCAA Bracket than the Big Ten and SEC.