The never too early ESPN Bracketology

I've got Michigan winning it all.

I would rather avoid Butler and Creighton completely until the Final Four.  Those two teams make U of Ohio look like Bradley (yes, I know we're much better than last year, but Creighton is legit and Butler is good too).

Robby you must be swamped at work today!

They are the perfect 3 if Louisville is the 2, because even though they're terrifying, they might because of said terrifyingness knock off louisville, who is even more terrifying.  Terror.

Here we come!!!

I would never want to face Butler in the tournament.  I feel like the lower the seed they are, the more dangerous they are. 

Lousville would be an epic regional final.  In the West, that would be a very fortunate draw for Staee.  I think Syracuse is overrated (really a one person show) and I think I actually might have Sparty coming out of that region believe it or not.

How many more embarrassing losses until they drop Illinois?

Kansas St knocking off Kansas tonight will give us a little seed insurance.

Don't they try to avoid potential rematches until the Sweet 16, meaning Pitt being on the line below Michigan is not feasible? Or is it just conference opponents where this applies?

Yes, I realize it's just a rough prognostication.

Really hard to take these things serious, when they give MSU the Auto Bid for the Big Ten and have them at a 4 seed.  I know, I seen the part about current confrence leader and they are up a half game.  But, if your going to put out some way to early brackets at least make some way to early predictions.

This plays out for a 1 seed. Doesn't mean much yet, but it's encouraging and fun to talk about. This team is good enough to make a long run, and obviously a 2 seed or better is likeu

DP

The top 4 seeds in the south is killer. Kansas, IU, NC state and Ohio. I dont want any part of that.

Not sure you could ask for a better bracket. Maybe switch Louisville for Florida and it would be one of the "easier" roads. But once you get to the 1v2 matchup it's going to be tough no matter who you play.

When can I buy tickets for the regional final in Indy?

is a bit scary.  Maybe they'll play themselves up to a higher seed.

It would be huge to be in Auburn Hill/Indy -- perhaps even bigger than getting the 1.  There are also a lot of us alumni here in DC, so that could be a nice home-court if Indiana bumps us out of the Midwest 1 seed.  Also it's January, I can't believe I just engaged in speculating about our bracket.

If i'm reading that correctly, he's predicting MSU to be the B1G autobid? I would not want to face Louisville or Butler before the Final Four.

You can pencil in Florida for a #1 seed too. There's not a team that's going to challenge them on their schedule the rest of the way. Florida will knock Duke or Michigan off the top line depending on who stumbles more in conference play. Unless Kansas loses at KState they also will likely not lose more than twice the rest of the way.

I wasn't 100% sold on Michigan going into the season with the amount of freshman that were going to be getting key minutes, but the more I have seen of them this season, I have changed my mind.

The NCAA Tournament always comes down to matchups, but you have to like the fact that you have two guys (Burke and Hardaway) that can create their own offense at anytime in a game along with a having some knock down shooters.  I can't imagine anything less than an Elite 8 appearance for Michigan right now.

As for the Buckeyes, I wouldn't mind their seeding falling somewhere in the 3-5 range.  They just struggle way to much on the offensive end of the floor (except for Thomas) to make a real deep run this year, but again, you never know come tourney time.

The algorithm at TeamRankings.com has the following teams as having a greater than 50% chance at being a Top 4 seed. I included their relative projected chances at a #1 seed as well, using the same model.

I would agree with their assessment of Michigan's current chances of being a Top 4 with this much of the season (and by extension, the conference schedule) left. The 25% projection for a #1 seed has to be more about the number of games left than anything else (combined probabilities of independent events and all that), but it is fairly reasonable to assume, I would think, that continued Minnesota-like peformances cause this projection to inch upward. I really like where we sit when it comes to likely being a #1 seed right now.