At this time in the year, we have some real insights into teams, and where they may end up in the NCAA tournament. We’d say anyone hanging around the top 15 is still in the running for a 1 seed, especially with no one truly separating themselves above the rest of the college ranks, except the Aztecs who hang onto undefeated dreams. Top 25 is below:

Rank	School	EVTB Score	Eff Rank	SOS Rank	MOV Rank
1	Kansas	25.922	1	1	7
2	Gonzaga	24.910	3	120	1
3	Duke	24.366	2	19	2
4	San Diego State	24.086	9	97	3
5	Baylor	23.479	8	47	15
6	West Virginia	23.338	6	5	22
7	Dayton	22.976	7	82	4
8	Michigan State	22.738	5	12	11
9	Arizona	21.891	4	25	6
10	Oregon	21.300	13	4	54
11	Florida State	21.299	19	53	29
12	Maryland	21.157	12	10	44
13	Seton Hall	21.015	11	6	48
14	Louisville	20.995	14	45	21
15	Butler	20.611	15	43	32
16	Rutgers	20.551	20	29	25
17	Auburn	20.514	27	66	33
18	Memphis	19.767	18	101	13
19	Ohio State	19.568	10	23	24
20	Villanova	19.501	39	24	85
21	Arkansas	19.481	25	71	28
22	Northern Iowa	19.378	53	93	23
23	Colorado	19.280	17	15	58
24	Iowa	19.279	16	17	50
25	Wichita State	18.972	36	68	37

This week, we welcome Northern Iowa, Iowa (what a week for the hawkeye state) and Villanova to our top 25. There were no major changes, except for Auburn. The Tigers went from one of two undefeated darlings, to suffering back-to-back conference losses. The top 10-15 continues to be a steady list, but the musical chairs is real, as no one seems to want to hold onto the top spots.

Hokies Look to Schedule to Propel NCAA Chances. 

Since our last update, the Hokies beat Wake Forest, but dropped a heartbreaker to Syracuse. Ultimately, the effect was minimal on the Hokies ranking or NCAA chances. The bubble is still home. We rank the Hokies at #51, while NET favors them slightly more at #44, but Kenpom has them lower at #56. Voters dropped the Hokies this week. Clearly, they have no TV or internet subscriptions, because anyone watching this team knows they are worthy of votes. The upcoming slate is all winnable, and that’s what needs to happen. Did you ever think playing UNC would be classified as a “must win?” That is the case this week as the Hokies face off against a battered Tar Heels squad in Blacksburg. Catch us down there and say hi! It’s worth noting that the Hokies have played their schedule really well. They have no bad losses (UVA and Syracuse are the worst losses), with Dayton, Duke and BYU all being roughly top 25 teams. To date, the Hokies losses have all come from the NET’s quadrant 1, a good sign come selection Sunday. Don’t forget the Michigan State win, which looks better each day!

ACC Settles Into Tiers

The ACC continues to eat itself alive, but we now can see some real tiers of teams shaping up. The top tier is only 3 teams deep in Duke, Florida State and Louisville. All of these teams should be in the running for a top 3 seed or better. Next comes the bubble tier of NC State, UVA, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. We argue that all of these teams tournament hopes remain strong as they show success across all ranking systems and have some good wins. It’s worth noting that the rankings boost Syracuse got from beat Virginia Tech, speaks to the respect of the Hokies in the rankings this year. Next comes the bottom tier of Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest, UNC (!), Georgia Tech and Boston College. These teams have been inconsistent and have probably dug a hole too deep to climb out of. While there are no easy conference games, these are the teams the Hokie must beat to have a shot at the NCAA.

ACC Rank	Team	EVTB	EVTB Δ	AP	NET	Kenpom	Bracketology
1	Duke	3	-2	8	6	2	2
2	Florida State	11	3	5	13	16	2
3	Louisville	14	6	6	10	7	4
4	NC State	45	13	–	45	43	10
5	Virginia Tech	51	-2	–	44	56	12
6	Virginia	73	-5	38	63	49	First 4 Out
7	Notre Dame	74	12	–	74	60	–
8	Syracuse	75	22	–	70	52	–
9	Pittsburgh	90	2	–	69	67	–
10	Clemson	100	8	–	75	81	–
11	Miami (FL)	114	-19	–	87	97	–
12	Wake Forest	142	-1	–	109	107	–
13	North Carolina	157	-6	–	120	92	–
14	Georgia Tech	158	-36	–	96	89	–
15	Boston College	206	-20	–	169	178	–

Team	Eff Rank	SOS Rank	MOV Rank	Luck Rank
Duke	2	19	2	248
Florida State	19	53	29	128
Louisville	14	45	21	204
NC State	45	56	88	185
Virginia Tech	46	89	59	270
Virginia	61	55	114	269
Notre Dame	63	117	64	314
Syracuse	47	60	92	320
Pittsburgh	73	70	123	191
Clemson	58	30	137	301
Miami (FL)	95	14	248	28
Wake Forest	106	42	241	69
North Carolina	93	13	250	94
Georgia Tech	85	9	237	145
Boston College	161	68	292	7