Tag: ESPN bracketology

Texas A&M receives a seeding boost in Joe Lunardi’s newest Bracketology update

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Texas A&M is now a single digit seed after blowing now then-No.6-ranked Tennessee last Saturday.

Set to take on the struggling Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday night, Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4 SEC) is looking to continue its winning ways after notching three consecutive SEC victories, including last Saturday’s 85-69 thrashing of then No. 6-ranked Tennessee.

While the Aggies still have a tough schedule ahead, head coach Buzz Williams’ tenacious squad is looking to finish the regular season similarly to last season’s run. According to ESPN “Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi, the Aggies have once again risen in the tournament field.

After spending several weeks on the periphery, the Aggies’ recent wins over Florida and the Volunteers have once again provided a significant boost, as Lunardri has now predicted Texas A&M as a 7-seed taking on the 10-seed TCU Horned Frogs in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the first round.

Already earning five all-important Quad 1 wins, the Aggies will have plenty of opportunities to raise their seeding further with road tests against No. 15 Alabama and Tennessee and hosting the red-hot No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks in the coming weeks.

Texas A&M will return on the road to take on Vanderbilt on February 13 at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will air on ESPNU.

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According to Joe Lunardi, Texas A&M is now projected to face one of its bitter rivals in the NCAA Tournament

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Texas A&M is now projected to face the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament.

Texas A&M (14-8, 5-4 SEC) has put together an impressive win streak in SEC play, blowing out the Missouri Tigers 79-60 on the road behind Tyrece Radford’s 22 points just four days after the veteran guard recorded 26 points in the Aggie’s thrilling 67-66 win over the Florida Gators. Forward Andersson Garcia’s 16 rebounds against the Tigers was the second-highest output of his collegiate career.

With their toughest test of the season set for Saturday night, hosting the No. 6-ranked Tennessee Volunteers inside what should be a packed Reed Arena, the Aggies currently hold a 5-4 Quad 1 win record, likely needing several additional victories to secure a spot in next month’s NCAA Tournament.

However, earlier this week, Lunardi revealed that Texas A&M, at least in his professional opinion, is back in the field of 68 as a 10-seed and projected to face, you guessed it, the projected 7-seed Texas Longhorns.

Surprised? The powers that be have been trying to make this match-up happen year after year, including placing both teams in the same bracket last season, but alas, the Aggies’ disappointing loss to Penn State ruined the potential reunion. Either way, in Lunardi’s eyes, A&M has already put together an impressive resume thus far, but plenty of work must be done before Selection Sunday rolls around.

Next up, the 6th-ranked Tennesse Volunteers will visit the Aggies in College Station on Saturday night. The game will air on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. CT.

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ESPN Bracketology Update: Six Big Ten teams in February update

A look at all of the Big Ten teams in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update. #GoBucks

A very poor stretch of basketball in the new year has continued into February for Ohio State basketball as the Buckeyes have dropped eight of their last nine games to fall to 3-9 in the Big Ten and 13-10 overall.

As for the rest of the Big Ten it’s been an exciting week of basketball. With Purdue’s road victory over Wisconsin on Sunday the Boilermakers moved to first place in the Big Ten with a 21-2 record as the second ranked team in college basketball in both the AP and USA Today Coaches poll.

Purdue is the top overall seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology prediction on ESPN. Lunardi is known as one of the best NCAA Tournament bracket experts in the business and he updated his predictions for who would make the field of 68 on Morning morning.

Here’s where the Big Ten teams stack up in his latest update.

Texas A&M Basketball stay put in newest ESPN Bracketology update

Looking to get back on track against the Florida Gators this Saturday, Texas A&M has stayed on the periphery in the newest bracket update.

Texas A&M (12-8, 3-4 SEC) is in usual midseason form, reeling after a disappointing loss to Ole Miss last Saturday to drop below .500 in conference play while receiving news on Friday afternoon that veteran point guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford was arrested from a charge dating back to last December.

Facing the ascending Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon inside Reed Arena, this is essentially a must-win for a team on the brink of following out of ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi’s bracket, currently sitting among seven teams “on the bubble,” staying back in said bracket after last weekend’s home loss to the Rebels.

Essentially wasting five of star guard Wade Taylor IV’s 30-plus point games this season, the Aggies are shooting hot an anemic 39% from the field, ranking 343rd nationally and 344th in 3-point field goal percentage at 26.7%. While it really can’t get any worse, it’s up to head coach Buzz Williams to either make changes to the lineup or adjust the offense accordingly to aid efficiency and prevent excessive 3-point attempts when the shots aren’t falling.

Texas A&M will host Florida inside Reed Arena on Saturday, Feb. 3. The game will air at 3:00 p.m. CT. and will air on ESPN2.

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ESPN: MSU basketball safely in NCAA Tournament field

Michigan State continues to remain safely in the field of 68 in the eyes of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

Michigan State continues to remain safely in the field of 68 in the eyes of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi released an updated batch of bracketology on Friday, which has the Spartans as a No. 8 seed. Michigan State isn’t even considered to be on the bubble according to Lunardi.

Michigan State is one of only six Big Ten teams included in Lunardi’s updated NCAA Tournament bracket projection. To see the complete field from Lunardi, click on the tweet below:

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ESPN Bracketology Update: Ohio State remains out of field, six Big Ten teams in

A look at where every Big Ten stacks up in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology. #GoBucks

In recent years, January has not been a good month for Ohio State basketball, and that is a trend that has certainly continued this season.

After the loss on Tuesday night against Illinois, the Buckeyes have just a 2-6 record in January as the Buckeyes have dropped games against Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, and Northwestern as well.

OSU has fallen all the way down to 11th in the Big Ten standings with a 3-7 record in conference play and a 13-8 record overall.  As a result of the poor month of basketball, Ohio State has fallen out of Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology prediction on ESPN and will need a strong close to the season to make it to the big dance.

Lunardi is known as one of the best NCAA Tournament bracket experts in the business and he updated his predictions for who would make the field of 68 on Tuesday morning.

Here’s where the Big Ten teams stack up in his latest update.

Bracketology Update: Oregon falls to the wrong side of the bubble

The Oregon Ducks have fallen outside of the field of 68 in ESPN’s most recent Bracketology update.

In ESPN’s most recent Bracketology update, the Oregon Ducks are feeling the repercussions of Saturday’s loss to Arizona. Before Tuesday’s update, Joe Lunardi, the author of ESPN Bracketology, had the Ducks ranked as an 11-seed, but they’ve now fallen out of the field of 68, to the wrong side of the bubble.

Now, Oregon is ranked in the “next four out” category, and they would be 5th best team to not make March Madness if the season were to end today. In the Pac-12 standings, Oregon has the same record as Arizona but is in second place since the Wildcats have the head-to-head victory over the Ducks.

After the loss on Saturday, Ducks coach Dana Altman highlighted the need to “bounce back,” after the tough loss. He also pointed out that basketball seasons are full of highs and lows, but that Oregon is at a very low point right now.

Ahead of them, the Ducks have a road trip to Los Angeles with games against USC and UCLA. Oregon has lost three of their last four games, so coming back to Eugene with two road wins would be very impactful for their tournament resume.

With 11 games to go in the regular season, the Ducks are at a defining moment in their season. If they want to avoid making the NIT for the third year in a row, they’ll either need to win a large portion of their remaining games or run the table in the Pac-12 tournament to automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament.

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Texas A&M Basketball continues to drop in ESPN’s newest bracketology update

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Aggies in a dangerous position in his newest bracket update.

The same ole story regarding Texas A&M Basketball’s frustrating lack of consistency during SEC play has continued as we enter the all-important February slate, as the Aggies get a week off before hosting Florida at home on Saturday afternoon.

After falling to Ole Miss 71-68 on Saturday night, Texas A&M’s inability to close the game after leading by as much as seven points late in the second half has raised even more questions regarding the Aggies’ lack of offensive tackle outside of star point guard Wade Taylor IV, who, yet again lived up to his SEC Preseason SEC Player of the Year billing with 30 points on the night.

Sitting at 3-4 in conference play, plenty of opportunities to get back on track are still in front of head coach Buzz Williams’s resilient squad, but according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the recent loss to the Rebels has now moved the Aggies down a peg, all the way to the “Last Four Byes” joining Texas, Memphis and Providence.

A&M’s four Quad 1 victories hold more importance than anything else regarding the team’s tournament chances. Still, for Lunardi to show more confidence in the Aggies’ resume, it’s time for a midseason run to begin against the Gators this weekend.

Texas A&M will host Florida inside Reed Arena on Saturday, Feb. 3. The game will air at 3:00 p.m. CT. and will air on ESPN2.

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Texas A&M Basketball projected as a Top 10 seed in newest NCAA Bracketology update

Texas A&M Basketball has received a Top 10 seed prediction in ESPN’s newest bracketology update.

Texas A&M Basketball (12-7, 3-3 SEC) has had an interesting start to the 2023-2024 season, relying on rebounding and shutdown (for the most part) defense, while the Aggies have shot an underwhelming 39% from the field, 26.5% from beyond the air, and even more surprisingly, just 70% from the free throw line.

However, A&M has now won two in a row after a 1-3 start in SEC play and has a chance to move up the standings further after hosting Ole Miss (16-3, 3-3) on Saturday night. Coming off one of the toughest non-conference in the country, the Aggies fared quite well, already earning four Quad 1 victories, including wins over No. 6 Kentucky and the 24th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones.

This week, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his newest bracket update, predicting that if the Aggies continue their winning ways through SEC play, a Top 10 seed is in their future, and are currently positioned as an 8-seed taking on 9-seed Villanova in the Midwest bracket.

Senior forward Julius Marble still has yet to play in a single game this season as he continues to deal with a cryptic “University process,” providing an opening for sophomore forward Solomon Washington to continue improving in his absence.

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Bracketology Update: Oregon falls after consecutive road losses

After back-to-back losses, Oregon falls two seed spots in ESPN’s most recent Bracketology update.

After losing 70-86 to the Colorado Buffaloes and 77-80 to the Utah Utes, the Oregon Ducks’ March Madness stock dropped. Previously, Joe Lunardi of ESPN ranked the Ducks as a 10-seed in his biweekly NCAA tournament predictions, ESPN Bracketology. But now, Lunardi has placed Oregon as the “last team in,” meaning if the season ended today they would be the lowest overall seed to secure an at-large bid for the tournament.

The honorable title of “last team in” means that Oregon would play in the 12-seed play-in game — one of the first games of the tournament. If they were to win that game, they would qualify for the round of the 64, matching up against one of the four 5-seeds.

Both of the Ducks’ recent losses came on the road, and they would’ve been big games to win. Before Oregon’s fruitless road trip, the Ducks were in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, but now they share that spot with Arizona and Arizona State.

Some of the biggest struggles in Oregon’s last two games came on the defensive end of the ball. Across both games, the Ducks allowed their opponent to shoot 50.44% from the field and score an average of 83 points. The Ducks are scoring well, but they’ll need to ramp up their defense if they want to compete for the Pac-12 title.

Oregon will face Arizona State and Arizona this week, the other two schools at the top of the Pac-12, which makes these games incredibly important. Arizona has one of the top offenses in the country, so the Ducks will need to improve their defense, or they won’t have a chance against the Wildcats.

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