Lunardi's Bracketology

[stever20]

Lunardi released a new bracket today.....

Xavier 9 east in Raleigh vs Texas, then #1 North Carolina
Villanova 3 east in Providence vs Woffard than Michigan/Syracuse
Marquette 11 west in Spokane vs Baylor than #3 Gonzaga(last team in with a bye)
Butler 7 west in Brooklyn vs UConn then #2 Virginia
Georgetown 6 South in Des Moines vs Georgia/Rhode Island winner, then #3 Indiana

Providence listed as the 7th team out.

If this is true- I really would like it. Like Villanova's draw a lot. Same with Georgetown. But really love Butler's draw there- I'm not really sold on UVA at all.

One thing really interesting with the bracket that he has. The Football 5, Big East, and AAC have all but 1 of the at large spots. A10 has the other(and that's the next to last team in the bracket). And of his 1st 8 teams out, only Northern Iowa from the MVC could possibly add a new conference to the at large board.

[milksteak]

He's really, really undervaluing Xavier. I'd have them in the 4-6 range.

I think the rest of it is fair.

[stever20]

He's really, really undervaluing Xavier. I'd have them in the 4-6 range.

I think the rest of it is fair.

I think he's thinking they may struggle some early with their schedule. Michigan, Wichita, Dayton, and Cincy all projected tourney teams by him. Then the Big East, with 4 other tourney teams, and PC.

[stever20]

Interesting what Lunardi said about the Big East:
We touched a bit above on the Big East, which Villanova has dominated to the tune of a 32-4 league record (.889) the past two seasons. The good news for Year 3 of the reconfigured conference is that Villanova might be just as good -- count me among the Jalen Brunson fans -- while the likes of Georgetown, Butler, Xavier, Marquette and St. John's all look as good or better than we thought in April. A lesser seed for the Wildcats could actually signify improvement for the conference overall.

For comparison here's what he had the day after the tourney.
1 Villanova
7 Xavier
8 Butler
9 Georgetown
10 Providence

I know a few teams that passed Xavier were NC State, Butler, Georgetown, Cal, I think Michigan, Texas. Almost all of those picked up key recruits in between- or in Georgetown's case- DSR coming back.

[MUBoxer]

An 11 seed and in Gonzagas bracket?! We could be that team the whole tournament hates because they got the easy route!

[hoyahooligan]

I think the number of teams is right, but I think the seeds are far too low.

[stever20]

I think the number of teams is right, but I think the seeds are far too low.

I think he's thinking that it's going to be a bloodbath, where Providence for example who he has as the 7th team out- would get like 7 or 8 wins. He also spoke highly of St John's, which is going to be a program where they probably aren't going to gel in OOC play, and thus kill their NCAA hopes, but then get 9-10 wins in the Big East, including some wins over the better programs. And Seton Hall, DePaul, and Creighton aren't going to be easy offs this year by any stretch. A lot of parity, which is great for conference season, but then come tourney time, hurts the overall seeds a smidge.

[Red Rooster]

Lunardi released a new bracket today.....

Xavier 9 east in Raleigh vs Texas, then #1 North Carolina
Villanova 3 east in Providence vs Woffard than Michigan/Syracuse
Marquette 11 west in Spokane vs Baylor than #3 Gonzaga(last team in with a bye)
Butler 7 west in Brooklyn vs UConn then #2 Virginia
Georgetown 6 South in Des Moines vs Georgia/Rhode Island winner, then #3 Indiana

Providence listed as the 7th team out.

If this is true- I really would like it. Like Villanova's draw a lot. Same with Georgetown. But really love Butler's draw there- I'm not really sold on UVA at all.

One thing really interesting with the bracket that he has. The Football 5, Big East, and AAC have all but 1 of the at large spots. A10 has the other(and that's the next to last team in the bracket). And of his 1st 8 teams out, only Northern Iowa from the MVC could possibly add a new conference to the at large board.

Yeah, it's true on August 5th, 2015. Nevermind, it'll be another 3 months before the season even starts. Then, there'll also be peaks and valleys throughout the season before things sort itself out.

Yep! It's true!

[Red Rooster]

I think the number of teams is right, but I think the seeds are far too low.

Similar to my post to stever.

[stever20]

The thing is, If I were Marquette, Butler, and Georgetown- I would take all 3 of those things right now. Even Nova- that's a pretty good bracket- they would have a fairly decent 1st weekend IMO and then Oklahoma in the sweet 16 round. Really only Xavier do I not like their chances. If this bracket is the final one, I think it's a good thing for the Big East.