Mountaineers, Sooners Move Up in Latest CBS Bracketology
Jerry Palm’s updated his CBSSports.com’s ‘Bracketology’ after the NCAA released its Top 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament as of Feb. 13.
Palm’s newest 68-team field maintained seven Big 12 teams in the bracket. However, four Big 12 teams moved up or down in seeding from Palm’s 68-team field released on Monday.
Baylor, which remains undefeated but is on a COVID-19 pause, also remained the Big 12’s only No. 1 seed, and No. 2 seed overall, in Palm’s field. The Bears are also the No. 2 seed in the NCAA’s Top 16 seeds. The Bears would face the winner of a game between Iona or Vermont for their first-round game in the Hinkle 2 Region. The Bears will not play until at least next Saturday against Oklahoma State.
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From there, Palm had the following six teams seeded:
West Virginia moved up from a No. 4 seed to a No. 3 seed and remained in the Bankers Life 2 Region. Palm set up the Mountaineers with a first-round game against Colgate.
Oklahoma moved up from a No. 4 seed to a No. 3 seed and moved into the Hinkle 1 Region, drawing a first-round game with Liberty. The Sooners are in the same region with Gonzaga and could end up with a Sweet 16 matchup against an in-state rival, if things fall right.
Texas dropped from a No. 3 seed to a No. 4 seed in the Hinkle 2 Region, where it would face UC-Santa Barbara in the first round. If the Longhorns could get out of the tournament’s first weekend, they could face Baylor in the Sweet 16.
Texas Tech also slid from a No. 3 seed to a No. 4 seed and slid into the Bankers Life 1 Region, where it would face South Dakota State in the first round. The No. 1 seed in that region, per Palm, would be Ohio State.
Kansas, which wasn’t among the NCAA’s Top 16 seeds released on Saturday, came in as a No. 6 seed in Palm’s field and took up a spot in the Bankers Life 1 Region, where it would face Drake. The Bulldogs, up until last weekend, were undefeated.
Oklahoma State was the last Big 12 team to make the field, coming in as a No. 7 seed in the Hinkle 1 Region and drawing a first-round game with San Diego State. It would be a hard road for the Cowboys to draw a Sweet 16 matchup with Oklahoma, but it is possible.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard. Send him a tweet with your question to be included in this week’s Big 12 Basketball Mailbag, which appears each Friday during the conference season.
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