Vegas Bracketology 2.0

Published|Updated

Perception and reality rarely come to a confluence in sports gambling.  The media hypes teams just as gamblers are ready to bet against them while the schools with their back's against the wall (like Minnesota) Tuesday, end up offering the outstanding betting value. Despite the hate mail, "your a moron" tweets, and expletive laced tirades from fans, we figured the Vegas bracket sparked enough good discussion to make a weekly appearance from now until selection Sunday. Again this week I'll tell Butler Bulldog fans to refrain from hurling expletives while Middle Tennessee State fans should be confident in their future but not tempt the fates by losing in the Sun Belt conference tournament again this year.

As for the rest of you, it's time to step inside and see how Vegas sees your squad compared to the rest of the college basketball world.

Below you'll see the hotly anticipated Vegas bracket. Quick disclaimer that normal seeding procedures like conference affiliation considerations were not adhered to when we set our field. For our purposes, the bracket is driven purely by power numbers which will be different for every bettor / bookmaker. Special thanks to @Payneinsider again this week for sharing his numbers to help seed the field.  Some of the major differences between our bracket and that of bracketologist include:

#1 Overall Seed: Indiana

(1) Indiana vs (16) Southern / Charleston Southern
(2) Wisconsin vs (15) Iona
(3) Syracuse vs (14) Weber State
(4) Ohio State vs (13) Denver
(5) Oklahoma State vs (12) Colorado
(6) New Mexico vs (11) Illinois
(7) San Diego St vs (10) UCLA
(8) Marquette vs (9) Cincinnati






 

#2 Overall Seed: Florida

(1) Florida vs (16) Robert Morris / North Carolina Central
(2) Michigan vs (15) Harvard
(3) Pittsburgh vs (14) Valparaiso
(4) Arizona vs (13) Stephen F Austin
(5) Minnesota vs (12) Akron
(6) St Mary's vs (11) Oklahoma
(7) Kansas St vs (10) NC State
(8) St Louis vs (9) North Carolina
 







#3 Overall Seed: Gonzaga

(1) Gonzaga vs (16) Mercer
(2) Kansas vs (15) South Dakota State
(3) Michigan State vs (14) Davidson
(4) Middle Tennessee State vs (13) Bucknell / Lasalle
(5) Wichita State vs (12) Baylor
(6) Virginia vs (11) Oregon
(7) Creighton vs (10) Kentucky
(8) Missouri vs (9) Iowa






 

#4 Overall Seed: Duke

(1) Duke vs (16) Long Beach State
(2) Louisville vs (15) George Mason
(3) Miami vs (14) Stony Brook
(4) Georgetown vs (13) California / Butler
(5) Colorado State vs (12) Ole Miss
(6) VCU vs (11) Memphis
(7) Belmont vs (10) Iowa State
(8) UNLV vs (9) Notre Dame






Power 68 (teams in bold are either ineligible or miss the Vegas tournament because of automatic qualifiers)

 

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Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021. One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines. Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide. Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports. Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.