Now that MSU is trending back up in a positive direction, it seems safe to talk about where that first weekend of games will be played. The pods this year are pretty well spread out, and there is not as much stiff competition for them as there is in most years. The fact that Gonzaga will naturally go to Spokane and San Diego State will go to Sacramento helps, as those West Coast pods usually wind up as the homes to the 4/5 teams.
With MSU now looking like a possible 3-seed is in play, I think the Cleveland pod is a very real possibility. The main competition seems to be:
Dayton
Kentucky
Louisville
Penn State
Ohio State
West Virginia
Those teams are all closest to Cleveland or it is a close second. Several other schools would have Cleveland as a 2nd choice, but all of those teams will seem to get their first option. For example:
Creighton => St. Louis
Duke => Greensboro
Seton Hall => Albany
Villanova => Albany
Dayton looks to be a lock to Cleveland. So, can MSU get the other slot? Right now, Kentucky is clearly the main competitor. Considering that UK won the head-to-head match-up is not helpful right now. But, MSU does have more Q1 wins (8 to 7) and a higher NET ranking (7 vs. 14). Will that be enough? UK losing to Tennessee tonight was certainly helpful in that regard as well...
Louisville could also be an issue, and their NET is 8 right now, but they have only 4 Q1 wins.
Both Louisville and UK are above MSU in the Bracket Matrix but that could change quite a bit over the next few days. I think MSU has a shot.
With MSU now looking like a possible 3-seed is in play, I think the Cleveland pod is a very real possibility. The main competition seems to be:
Dayton
Kentucky
Louisville
Penn State
Ohio State
West Virginia
Those teams are all closest to Cleveland or it is a close second. Several other schools would have Cleveland as a 2nd choice, but all of those teams will seem to get their first option. For example:
Creighton => St. Louis
Duke => Greensboro
Seton Hall => Albany
Villanova => Albany
Dayton looks to be a lock to Cleveland. So, can MSU get the other slot? Right now, Kentucky is clearly the main competitor. Considering that UK won the head-to-head match-up is not helpful right now. But, MSU does have more Q1 wins (8 to 7) and a higher NET ranking (7 vs. 14). Will that be enough? UK losing to Tennessee tonight was certainly helpful in that regard as well...
Louisville could also be an issue, and their NET is 8 right now, but they have only 4 Q1 wins.
Both Louisville and UK are above MSU in the Bracket Matrix but that could change quite a bit over the next few days. I think MSU has a shot.
