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Another week down, another few wins. The Hoos have kept rolling and now have won 11 straight games to improve to 19-1 (8-0 ACC). They have a two game lead in the conference thanks to Miami’s overtime win against Louisville last night. Saturday, Virginia will face the stiffest test of the season so far as the Hoos head to Durham to take on the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor, a place they haven’t won since 1995.
Yesterday, we took a stab at our own bracket. Today, we’ll update where some of the other experts predict the Hoos will end up.
For each projection, we’ll look at the top four seeds for each region, plus point out who Virginia is slated to play and mention any intriguing matchups. For the full bracket, click the linked header for each section. The dates next to the titles of the tables are when the bracket was last updated. For reference, the sites are as follows for the regionals:
East: Boston, MA (March 23 & 25)
West: Los Angeles, CA (March 22 & 24)
Midwest: Omaha, NE (March 23 & 25)
South: Atlanta, GA (March 22 & 24)
Let’s get to it!
ESPN
ESPN (January 25)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Duke | Purdue | Virginia |
2 | Ohio State | Michigan State | Kansas | Xavier |
3 | North Carolina | Oklahoma | Cincinnati | West Virginia |
4 | Texas Tech | Arizona | Clemson | Auburn |
First round matchup: Radford
First round(s) location: Charlotte
Games I want to watch: (1) Purdue vs. (8) Florida State, Midwest Region, Round of 32. (1) Duke vs. (5) Kentucky, West Region, Sweet 16.
Takeaways: Honestly, lock me in. The Round of 32 matchup with either Michigan or Butler would be tough, but having Auburn as the four and WVU as the three isn’t too shabby. Yeah, I like this one a lot.
CBS Sports
CBS Sports (January 22)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Texas Tech | Oklahoma | Virginia |
2 | Auburn | Wichita State | Purdue | West Virginia |
3 | Kansas | Duke | Clemson | Xavier |
4 | North Carolina | Michigan State | Tennessee | Kentucky |
First round matchup: North Carolina A&T OR Florida Gulf Coast
First round(s) location: not listed
Games I want to watch: NONE I HATE THIS BRACKET
Takeaways: BURN IT WITH FIRE. The South region has just about all of the demons and matchup issues for Virginia that one person can take: Michigan State, Florida, three-point shooting Butler, West Virginia...no thank you.
SB Nation
SB Nation (January 24)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Duke | Kansas | Purdue |
2 | Clemson | West Virginia | North Carolina | Virginia |
3 | Oklahoma | Arizona | Xavier | Auburn |
4 | Florida | Seton Hall | Tennessee | Cincinnati |
First round matchup: Bucknell
First round(s) location: Charlotte
Games I want to watch: (1) Duke vs. (2) West Virginia, West Region, Elite 8. (5) Louisville vs. (12) Buffalo, East Region, Round of 64.
Takeaways: Not a lot changed, but not sure how Virginia is still a two seed. Not worth getting angry over, but seems off as they’re 19-1 and 8-0 and have only lost to a ranked team on the road BUT THAT’S OK. If the Hoos get through Bucknell, they’d have Michigan or Gonzaga (at a 10 seed here) waiting for them. Not an easy matchup.
SportsChannel 8
SportsChannel 8 (January 23)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Kansas | Purdue | Virginia |
2 | West Virginia | Duke | Michigan State | Cincinnati |
3 | Creighton | Florida | Arizona State | Nevada |
4 | Clemson | Gonzaga | Tennessee | Wichita State |
First round matchup: Wagner OR Jackson State
First round(s) location: not listed
Games I want to watch: (2) Cincinnati vs. (7) Oklahoma, South Region, Round of 32. (2) Duke vs. (6) North Carolina, East Region, Sweet 16.
Takeaways: No changes to the first round matchup as the Hoos would play the winner of a first four game. Oklahoma is a seven seed, but luckily that is on the other side of the bracket and would be Cincinnati’s problem before it would be ours.
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (January 22)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Kansas | Purdue | Duke |
2 | Virginia | Clemson | West Virginia | Xavier |
3 | Oklahoma | Auburn | North Carolina | Cincinnati |
4 | Florida | Arizona | Tennessee | Ohio State |
First round matchup: Robert Morris OR Princeton
First round(s) location: Charlotte
Games I want to watch: None. This bracket will haunt my dreams.
Interesting tidbits: I spoke too soon on the ‘burn it with fire’. This is an absolute disaster of a bracket. Another that has Virginia as a two-seed - dropped from last week - and in the same region as Villanova. The Hoos would have to get through (potentially) Kentucky in the Round of 32, Oklahoma (or Louisville) in the Sweet 16, and Villanova or Michigan State/Florida in the Elite 8.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated (January 22)
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | East | West | Midwest | South |
1 | Villanova | Duke | Purdue | Virginia |
2 | West Virginia | Xavier | North Carolina | Kansas |
3 | Clemson | Michigan State | Oklahoma | Auburn |
4 | Arizona | Texas Tech | Cincinnati | Ohio State |
First round matchup: Wagner OR Arkansas-Pine Bluff
First round(s) location: not listed
Games I want to watch: (5) Tennessee vs. (12) Middle Tennessee State, South Region, Round of 64. (8) Miami vs. (9) Texas, East Region, Round of 64.
Interesting tidbits: Every time I see Butler, I get a little nervous I’m not going to lie. That three-point shooting is terrifying. Overall, I don’t hate this region for the Hoos.