EPSN’s Joe Lunardi has out the first post-Andrew Wiggins decision Bracketology. The 1 seeds are obvious, Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville and Arizona.
Kansas sneaks into the two-seed, despite a lack of upperclassmen. I think Oklahoma is a little low at three, while Stanford and Iowa are pleasant additions to the field.
As for the ACC, Lunardi has given two conference teams the two-seed, Duke in the East and Syracuse in the Midwest.
North Carolina gets the three seed, while Notre Dame and Virginia each get a 5-seed. Pittsburgh is the sixth and final ACC team in.
I’m fine with all those teams, however, I’d probably swap seeds with Syracuse and North Carolina.
It is a bit shocking to see that only three teams from the old ACC will get in (Duke, UNC, Virginia), but it’s hard to argue with the logic. The ACC has always been a top-heavy league.
However, the two teams I think can challenge for a spot in the big dance are Boston College and Maryland.
The Terrapins came close last year, just missing out. They are losing Alex Len and will need to find a consistent point guard, but they do have a nice collection of wings and could win 20 games again this year.
However, the team I like is Boston College. I think they are THE surprise team next year. They have a solid inside-outside tandem with Ryan Anderson and Olivier Hanlan. Both Patrick Heckmann and Alex Dragicevich are prototype wings and Joe Rahon is an underrated floor general. The key for the Eagles is to not fall victim to bad teams. They won’t have the strongest strength of schedule, so bad losses will hurt. Also, just beat Harvard…for once.
I see Boston College winning 20+ and sliding into the tournament as a 12-seed play-in.
