Things are beginning to level out.
For the past few weeks Purdue has been slightly behind a few other schools in the pursuit for a No. 1 seed. With Michigan and Iowa State getting their first losses that gap has narrowed. UConn has also had a few narrow escapes of late, making the top 10 very compact.
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Currently, the top 11 teams in the AP Poll have either one loss or no losses. Many of those losses are among each other, too, showing how close everyone is together. Gonzaga’s lone loss is to Michigan. Purdue’s lone loss is to Iowa State. BYU’s lone loss is to UConn, whose only loss is to Arizona.
Sicne this is roughly the halfway point in the season it makes for an intriguing NCAA Tournament if this pattern holds. The Boilermakers have a bit of an edge there with the No. 11 strength of schedule, and that includes wins over Alabama (No. 2 SOS) and Texas Tech (No. 3 SOS).
The solution, as always, is winning. Purdue has four Tier 1 NET wins at the moment, and in the remaining 15 regular season games it has a chance at 11 more. The next five games would all qualify as tier 1 wins, too. Wisconsin’s win in Ann Arbor also looks really good now too since Purdue won handily in Madison.
Purdue Boilermakers Profile
Record: 15-1, 5-0 Big Ten
NET: 6
KenPom: 3
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Bracket Matrix Consensus Seed: 2
Tier 1 Wins (KenPom) Home 1-30; Neutral 1-50; Away 1-75: 16 Alabama (Away), 23 Texas Tech (Neutral), 30 Auburn (Neutral), 37 Wisconsin (Away)
Tier 2 Wins (KenPom): Home 31-75 Neutral 51-100; Away 76-135: 49 Washington (Home), 62 Akron (Home), 85 Memphis (Neutral)
Tier 1 Wins (NET) Home 1-30; Neutral 1-50; Away 1-75: 17 Alabama (Away), 19 Texas Tech (Neutral), 35 Auburn (Neutral), 38 Wisconsin (Away)
Tier 2: Home 31-75 (NET) Neutral 51-100; Away 76-135: 54 Akron (Home), 55 Washington (Home)
Bad Losses (Sub-100 NET or KenPom): None
Evansville Purple Aces (5-14, 1-7 MVC) – NET 274, KenPom 268 – The Aces broke an eight game losing streak with a 72-69 win over Indiana State, but then lost at home to Bradley 94-90 in overtime. They are still sitting in last place in the MVC.
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Oakland Golden Grizzlies (9-9, 5-2 Horizon) – NET 123, KenPom 131 – Oakland got a 97-72 win over Cleveland State, but lost to Wright State for the second time this season 94-84. They are now a game behind the Raiders tied with Green Bay for second placem but they have lost both games against them.
Alabama Crimson Tide (12-5, 2-2 SEC) – NET 13, KenPom 14 – Alabama’s five game winning streak was broken with losses to Vanderbilt (96-90) and Texas (92-82), but they were able to get a league win over Mississippi State 97-82. This team just feels like a 4/5 seed right now.
Akron Zips (13-4, 4-1 MAC) – NET 56, KenPom 62 – Wins over Bowling Green (77-67) and Ball State (87-77) has the Zips keeping pace behind undefeated Miami-Hydroxide in an increasingly strong looking MAC. The three point loss to the Redhawks is the difference in the league.
Memphis Tigers (7-8, 2-1 American) – NET 104, KenPom 85 – Memphis lost 89-78 at Florida Atl;antic for their first conference loss of the season. Tonight they host first place Temple, so they can make a big sttement in the American with a win.
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Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) – NET 20, KenPom 23 – Tech got a 73-71 win at a good Colorado on Saturday and tonight they host UTah. Their win over Duke earlier is one of the best in the nation, and there are plenty of chances for good wins left Thanks to Arizona, Houston, BYU, and Iowa State on the slate.
Eastern Illinois Panthers (7-10, 4-3 Ohio Valley) – NET 310, KenPom 310 – Someone break up the Panthers! They have won three in a row over Tennessee Tech (71-61), Tennessee State (74-70) and Western Illinois (57-55). It doesn’t mean a lot in the long run, but it still look good.
Iowa State Cyclones (16-1, 3-1 Big 12) – NET 3, KenPom 4 – The Cyclones are mortal! After beating Baylor 70-60 and Oklahoma State 83-71 they were handed their first loss of the season last night at Kansas 84-63. Are they fading or was it a blip. They are at Cincinnati this weekend.
Marquette Golden Eagles (6-12,1-6 Big East) – NET 168, KenPom 119 – Marquette finally got a Big East win 66-65 over Xavier, but have since lost to Villanova (76-73) and St. John’s (92-68). They remain as one of the more disappointing teams in the country.
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Auburn Tigers (10-6, 1-2 SEC) – NET 30, KenPom 30 – Auburn’s impressive 95-73 home win over Arkansas provided a nice profile boost in a difficult SEC. They travel to Missouri tonight.
Kent State Golden Flashes (13-4, 4-1 MAC) – NET 154, KenPom 149 – Kent State took a bad MAC loss on the road at Central Michigan 87-81, then got a good road win last night at Buffalo 87-81. They are battling Miami, Akron, and Toledo for MAC supremacy.
Likely NCAA Teams: Alabama, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Auburn
Possible NCAA teams (Could win Autobids): Akron, Kent State, Oakland
Could play to the Bubble: Akron
