Marquette Basketball’s Bracketology Outlook: February 14, 2017

If you want to go into a full bore linear panic about how Marquette has performed ever since knocking off #1 Villanova, that’s pretty fair.

A quick perusal of the bracketology experts from around the internet will pretty much support your mindset, if that’s the case. Things are not going well for MU since we updated a week ago, as you can easily make a case for the Golden Eagles to be on the outside looking in.

MU is off until Saturday when they host Xavier at the Bradley Center, so try to hold it together while you take a look at this week’s snapshot of the current tournament hopes.

ESPN (2/13/17): Things are expectedly getting a little dire for Marquette this week, as they fall from a 9 to an 11 in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket. That has them headed off to Dayton, where they’ll tangle with Clemson for the right to face #6 Maryland in the East Region. Should they win two games, Marquette would get paired up with the winner of #3 Kentucky and #14 Florida Gulf Coast. There are five more Big East teams in the field: #1 Villanova, #5 Butler, #5 Creighton, #7 Xavier, and #12 Seton Hall, which has the Pirates also headed to Dayton as part of the First Four. Georgetown is the last of eight teams also receiving consideration this week.

CBS (2/13/17): Marquette’s not in Jerry Palm’s field any more. Their two losses last week knocked them down from a #10 seed a week ago to not even in the First Four Out grouping. Without the Golden Eagles, the Big East gets teams in: #1 Villanova, #5 Butler, #5 Creighton, #7 Xavier, #11 Seton Hall, and #11 Providence, with the Friars heading to Dayton as the second to last team in the field. I have to say that Palm’s seed list is pretty weird, since he has Pittsburgh as the second team outside the cut line.

SB Nation (2/14/17): MU slides from a 10 to an 11 in Chris Dobbertean’s newest bracket, which has the Golden Eagles squaring off with Georgia Tech in Dayton as part of the First Four. The winner would advance to Indianapolis for a first round game against #6 Notre Dame, which sounds like a bit of fun, actually. Dobbertean has Marquette as the best of the “Last Four In” teams, which also includes Syracuse, Tennessee, and the aforementioned Yellow Jackets. That gives the Big East six teams in the field: #1 Villanova, #4 Butler, #5 Creighton, #6 Xavier, and #11 Seton Hall.

Sports Illustrated (2/13/17): The Golden Eagles maintain a full at-large bid to the tournament in Michael Beller’s most recent update, slotting in as the #11 seed in the Midwest region. That gives them a first round game against #6 seed Maryland and a potential second round game against either #3 Arizona or #14 Belmont. There are only five Big East teams in SI’s bracket, with #1 Villanova, #4 Butler, #5 Creighton, and #7 Xavier joining Marquette. Seton Hall is the very first team outside the field of 68, while Providence turns up as the last team in “Next Four Out.”

Fox Sports (2/11/17): Stewart Mandel did an update before the NCAA and CBS announced the top 16 seeds, and he hasn’t updated his bracket since. This means this one is also assembled before Marquette lost to Georgetown, so remember to add a grain of salt to the fact that MU is a #9 seed with a first round game against #8 seed USC. That’s a one line seed drop for Mandel from his previous bracket. All told, the Big East gets five more teams in: #1 Villanova, #4 Butler, #5 Creighton, #6 Xavier, and #11 Seton Hall join the fray, although the Pirates are assigned a trip to Dayton to play Clemson. Providence earns Mandel’s last spot in his “Next Four Out” department.

NBC Sports/College Basketball Talk (2/13/17): After a #9 seed a week ago, Marquette has fallen all the way out of Dave Ommen’s bracket this week. They’re behind Wake Forest and, yes, Georgetown in the “First Four Out” department, with Providence coming in behind them in “Next Four Out.” As a result, there are only five Big East teams in this version of the tournament: #1 Villanova, #4 Butler, #6 Creighton, #7 Xavier, and #11 Seton Hall. Yet again, the Pirates are shipping off to Dayton for a First Four matchup, this time against Wichita State.

Bracket Matrix (2/13/17): Marquette is the #1 team in the country..... at missing the NCAA tournament. The aggregator, most recently updated on Monday night, has the Golden Eagles as the very first team outside the cut line. MU appears on 52 of the 103 brackets that are included, which is also not a great sign. Villanova is the top team in the field as the only team as a unanimous #1 seed. Butler is a 4 seed, Creighton shows up at 5, Xavier slides in at 6, and #11 Seton Hall - I know, it’s a shocker - is assigned a trip to the First Four.