Lunardi's New Bracket 1.23.24

[Boilermaker427]

Men's Bracketology: Bid stealers leave out Pitt, Virginia, Seton Hall, Indiana State

Most years the

www.espn.com

So, half the time it feels like Lunardi wants us to match up against someone we already played. He loves having Arizona/Tenn our 2 seed and Marquette the 3rd or 4th seed.

This is the most favorable bracket he's posted. If we got past the dreaded 16-1 matchup, we'd get Miss St/Nova in round two. Both could be tricky, but pretty much any 8-9 seed would be. Purdue has traditionally done well against Nova.

Next Round would be Dayton (way overrrated, have lost their only two games against decent teams) or Iowa State (solid, occasionally good).

Auburn/Kansas theorectically for the FF, Kansas is not normal Kansas. Auburn is likely the toughest matchup.

I'm not sure you could ask for a better bracket for Purdue, especially when there won't be a whole lot of difference between a 4/5 and a 10/11 seed this year.

Being on the same side with Zona/Houston also seems favorable as opposed to being on the same side as UConn or UNC.

Thoughts?

 

[Dryfly88]

Sign me up for that bracket right now.

Side note: Indiana State should be in the tournament. I know as most mid-majors their schedule isn't the greatest, but they are #26 in NET and they pass the eye test. He has them next 4 out. I don't like that.

 

[rgarlitz]

I don't know. These brackets will change a lot between now and March. A lot will depend on who's hot and who fades down the stretch.

 

[Chi-Boiler]

Men's Bracketology: Bid stealers leave out Pitt, Virginia, Seton Hall, Indiana State

Most years the

www.espn.com

So, half the time it feels like Lunardi wants us to match up against someone we already played. He loves having Arizona/Tenn our 2 seed and Marquette the 3rd or 4th seed.

I was thinking the same thing, but there really isn't a whole lot of choice at this point considering the schedule we've played and will play. There are rules in place so, for example, you can't play a team you've played twice until the Elite 8 (I think). Also, the top 3 teams from a conference have to be in different regions. But technically there isn't anything to stop Purdue from having Arizona or Tennessee as the 2 or 3 in our region. The 1s go into the bracket according to OVERALL seed #, and then the regions are slapped on after that. Then the 2s go into the bracket, for the most part, by geography. Once you get to the 3s, a lot of previous matchup stuff comes into it.

Regarding the 2s going in based on geography, let's say UConn falls to the #5 overall by SS. Unless Marquette (or another Big East team) is the 1-seed in the Boston regional, UConn will absolutely go to Boston, which is going to piss off the fan base of whoever IS the #1 seed.

 

[Woodsa]

it is as good as guess as any at this point. I like that Purdue is the #1 seed and barring any catastrophic collapse in play, that should remain as such.

 

[DrEss]

…barring any catastrophic collapse in play, that should remain as such.

Kind of amazing that after these last three years of frequently being ranked # 1, we can say we should remain a # 1 seed with 12-15 games to play. We have been graced by some good teams, for sure.

 

[Boiler Buck]

Currently 6 B10 teams in. We will see once B10 beats up on each other if the tail enders can keep their spot.
Purdue
Illinois
Wisconsin
Northwestern
MSU
Nebraska

 

[Wolegib]

I agree with the comment that there is not much difference in being a #2 or #4/5 seed. Any team after the first weekend will be tough. And teams like Nebraska and northwestern are very representative of what a #10 - #15 seed will be like. If you worry about and look forward to who your #2 seed will be, you will surely lose in the first weekend!

 

[RDUBoiler]

UConn, UNC, and Kentucky are among the teams that scare me going into the tournament. Any bracket that keeps them away from us until the Final Four is a good bracket.

 

[Boiler Buck]

UConn, UNC, and Kentucky are among the teams that scare me going into the tournament. Any bracket that keeps them away from us until the Final Four is a good bracket.

Based on history......ALL teams scare me in the ncaat

 

[BoilerNGold013]

I love the path to get to the elite 8 in this bracket. Would take it in a heart beat. I think Kansas shouldnt be in our bracket should be wisconsin as the weakest 8th seed but either way its a good draw.

 

[Chi-Boiler]

I love the path to get to the elite 8 in this bracket. Would take it in a heart beat. I think Kansas shouldnt be in our bracket should be wisconsin as the weakest 8th seed but either way its a good draw.

One of the biggest myths in bracketing.

 

[Chi-Boiler]

One of the biggest myths in bracketing.

Let me expand on that instead of being a douche. The S-curve does not go perfectly around the bracket. Some rules prevent this:

1. Top 3 teams from a conference in separate regions.
2. Top teams get placed for geographical purposes as a reward for being at the top.
3. The committee tries to get the Top 4 seeds in each regional to be balanced according to S-curve rankings, but it doesn't always work out perfect because of the above rules.
4. The committee tries to avoid rematches, but really only cares about the earlier rounds because they can't predict who is going to win.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Lunardi (aka Joey Brackets) is usually pretty good with the field selection but often off on the construction of the brackets and the placements within regions, as Chi-Boiler points out. He usually gets most of the seeds correct (and others within a seed-line or two), IIRC.

 

[Chi-Boiler]

Lunardi (aka Joey Brackets) is usually pretty good with the field selection but often off on the construction of the brackets and the placements within regions, as Chi-Boiler points out. He usually gets most of the seeds correct (and others within a seed-line or two), IIRC.

I mean sometimes it's a crapshoot, especially when it comes to teams that aren't subject to bracketing rules but in the 5-10 seed range. For those it's really a guess, but the committee may have one reason or another to put a certain team somewhere.

 

[JWoodsclassof81]

Men's Bracketology: Bid stealers leave out Pitt, Virginia, Seton Hall, Indiana State

Most years the

www.espn.com

So, half the time it feels like Lunardi wants us to match up against someone we already played. He loves having Arizona/Tenn our 2 seed and Marquette the 3rd or 4th seed.

This is the most favorable bracket he's posted. If we got past the dreaded 16-1 matchup, we'd get Miss St/Nova in round two. Both could be tricky, but pretty much any 8-9 seed would be. Purdue has traditionally done well against Nova.

Next Round would be Dayton (way overrrated, have lost their only two games against decent teams) or Iowa State (solid, occasionally good).

Auburn/Kansas theorectically for the FF, Kansas is not normal Kansas. Auburn is likely the toughest matchup.

I'm not sure you could ask for a better bracket for Purdue, especially when there won't be a whole lot of difference between a 4/5 and a 10/11 seed this year.

Being on the same side with Zona/Houston also seems favorable as opposed to being on the same side as UConn or UNC.

Thoughts?

love to see zach vs the overpaid dickson... How about some power jams zach while hunter tiptoes around the perimeter...

 

[DwaynePurvis00]

I love the path to get to the elite 8 in this bracket. Would take it in a heart beat. I think Kansas shouldnt be in our bracket should be wisconsin as the weakest 8th seed but either way its a good draw.

Would take KU instead of sconny. KU is not deep, 2 starters can’t shoot from the outside (well Harris can but rarely does and KJ is only a threat inside and is a bit undersized to not be able to shoot). Dickinson would get into foul trouble with Edey. McCullar would be very tough tho.

sconny has a lot of weapons and can shoot. Storr is very good and they have good guard play with a decent front court too.