Vegas Bracketology: Championship Week Edition

Published|Updated

This bracket isn't designed to project the selection committee's field. The bracket's not designed to appease fans of a certain team who've spent a full year waiting for selection Sunday and a chance at redemption. The bracket's not here to reward teams that "deserve a chance" because they have an artificially high strength of schedule or RPI. The Vegas bracket is designed to show how the top 68 teams in the land would be seeded by oddsmakers and bettors to create the perfectly balanced field.

Before you jump into the actual match-ups, I'll prepare Georgetown and Gonzaga fans for what you're about to see: egregious injustice!  For our purposes, team's are judged by their entire body of work and the resume they've compiled since November.  Every loss isn't created equally, just ask Middle Tennessee State who took a nose dive in the poll after losing to FIU as double digit favorites. 

It's important to include the explanation that the pointspread isn't designed to predict the future but rather to indicate relative strength between 2 teams to stimulate betting interest. The point differential between a team ranked #1 and #11 doesn't correlate to the difference between #12 and #22. Pointspreads are for betting and the power ratings/rankings we compile are merely an outline for the finished product you see on every casino's LED boards.

Special thanks to professional bettor @Payneinsider for his input and collaboration in compiling your up to the minute power charts as of Wednesday morning.

Teams that appear with conference affiliation included have already clinched their conference's automatic bid.

#1 Overall Seed: Indiana

(1) Indiana vs (16) Liberty (Big South) / James Madison (Colonial)
(2) Michigan St vs (15) South Dakota St (Summit)
(3) Wisconsin vs (14) Ohio
(4) Oklahoma St vs (13) Davidson
(5) Arizona vs (12) Boise St / Lasalle
(6) Minnesota vs (11) Memphis
(7) Belmont (Ohio Valley) vs (10) Kentucky
(8) Denver vs (9) North Carolina






#2 Overall Seed: Louisville

(1) Louisville vs (16) Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) / LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
(2) Michigan vs (15) Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun)
(3) Creighton vs (14) Weber St
(4) Syracuse vs (13) Stephen F Austin
(5) Colorado St vs (12) Colorado / Oklahoma
(6) St Louis vs (11) Cincinnati
(7) Middle Tennessee St vs (10) North Carolina State
(8) St Mary's vs (9) Iowa






#3 Overall Seed: Duke

(1) Duke vs (16) North Carolina Central
(2) Kansas vs (15) Pacific
(3) Ohio St vs (14) Iona (MAAC)
(4) Pittsburgh vs (13) Bucknell
(5) Missouri vs (12) Ole Miss
(6) Wichita St vs (11) Illinois
(7) New Mexico vs (10) Iowa St
(8) Marquette vs (9) Notre Dame






#4 Overall Seed: Florida

(1) Florida vs (16) Southern
(2) Gonzaga vs (15) Albany
(3) Miami vs (14) Harvard (IVY)
(4) Georgetown vs (13) Valparaiso (Horizon)
(5) VCU vs (12) Stanford
(6) Virginia vs (11) UCLA
(7) San Diego St vs (10) Baylor
(8) Kansas St vs (9) UNLV






Power 68 (teams in bold have clinched automatic bids)

One interesting note you'll see Akron listed at #62 despite not being tabbed as our MAC champion. After losing their star PG Abreu, the Zips have been downgraded to 2nd best in their league but still rank in our Power 68 field until their on court performance changes.

 

Tags
Written by
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.