Bracketology - Dec 2

[BRS24]

Article here. Charlie stil trying to make fetch happen with UCLA over UConn. IMHO. Texas and UCLA swap #1 spots. Vandy in top 16, Kentucky out.

The Players Era championship wasn't intended to provide clarity on the pecking order of the nation's top teams. But with Texas beating UCLA and South Carolina in Las Vegas, the Longhorns leapfrog both to claim the No. 2 overall spot behind UConn (the Gamecocks and Bruins are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively). Until one of these teams stumbles to someone outside of the group, that order will stay intact.​

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Keep an eye on UCLA. The Bruins just concluded a busy month in which they played five Quad 1 games -- something reflected in UCLA's No. 4 spot in the first NET rankings of the season released Monday. The loss to Texas is the only blemish; wins over OU, UNC and Duke were all decisive. And they did it short-handed. Coach Cori Close is essentially using six players, as wing Timea Gardiner and post Sienna Betts remain out with injuries.​

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Moving forward, the schedule eases a bit: USC on Jan. 3, Maryland two weeks after that and the only meeting with Michigan not until Feb. 8. The Big Ten is deep, but it isn't the gauntlet at the top like the SEC. The Bruins are the fourth No. 1 seed for now, but a healthier, deeper UCLA could still find its way to the top overall spot for the second year in a row.​

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Big Ten - 13
SEC - 12
ACC - 8
Big 12 - 6
Atlantic 10 - 2
Big East - 2
Summit - 2

 

[Bigboote]

The Big East right up there with the A10 and Summit with two teams in the bracket.

I found this curious: The Bruins just concluded a busy month in which they played five Quad 1 games -- something reflected in UCLA's No. 4 spot in the first NET rankings of the season released Monday.

If UCLA made it to #4 in the NET because of a challenging schedule, how does Creme explain LSU being #1 (or the fifth team in his own bracketology)?

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

It might make sense to ignore NET and Bracketology until January 1st (or after the 13th game &1). Reasoning here.

The Selection Committee (which Creme approximates) supplements the NET with the Quad system and other factors. LSU is able to game the NET but the Committee can “punish” them for Strength of Schedule (one of the other factors).

&1 12/28/2025 UConn vs. Butler.