Your Marquette Basketball Bracketology Outlook: February 18, 2020

Hey! We’re less than a month away from Selection Sunday for NCAA men’s basketball, as well as for Selection Monday for NCAA women’s basketball! Let’s chase around the internet for a minute or 47 and see what people are thinking about Marquette’s two basketball teams, shall we?

First up, the men. Let’s start with some basic information.

Record: 17-7
NET Ranking (thru games on 2/17): #19

Quadrant 1 Record: 5-6
Projected Q1 Games Remaining: Home vs Creighton, at Providence, home vs Seton Hall, at DePaul, at St. John’s

Quadrant 2 Record: 6-1
Projected Q2 Games Remaining: Home vs Georgetown

With that fresh in your mind, let’s get things started with the mothership’s look at the NCAA tournament bracket at the moment.....

SB Nation (2/18): Chris Dobbertean has the Golden Eagles as a #6 seed. That gives them a spot in the West Region, but a first round game in Cleveland. They’ll be the beneficiary of playing a First Four squad as the #11 seed, either Arizona State or Richmond. It sets up for a second round game against either #3 West Virginia or Wright State. I am personally against this, because I never want to play West Virginia again, as the last time we saw the ‘Eers was when Buzz Williams danced on their logo in Morgantown. The Big East has seven total teams in the field here: Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#3), Creighton (#4), Butler (#5), Xavier (#8), and Georgetown (#10). There is also a straight seed list article, if you are so interested.

ESPN (2/18): Joe Lunardi has the Golden Eagles one spot higher as a #5 seed. That means a first round matchup with #12 seed Yale out of the Ivy League in the East Region and with a first round game in Tampa. The potential second round opponent there is either #4 Auburn or #13 Wright State again. Those darn Raiders. Joey Brackets has seven Big East teams in total in his field of 68: Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#4), Creighton (#4), Butler (#6), Xavier (#10), and Georgetown (#11, in the First Four). Providence earns Next Four Out status.

CBS (2/17): Same as before, Jerry Palm has Marquette holding a #5 seed and facing a First Four squad. It’s a first round game in Tampa, but this time as part of the South Region. He has one 11 seed game and one 12 seed game, so MU would have to get the 12s, which is either Wichita State or Stanford. The second round in this circumstance would shape up to be either #4 Auburn or #13 Akron. There are six total Big East teams in this layout: Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#3), Creighton (#3), Butler (#5), and Xavier (#8). Georgetown is in Palm’s First Four Out.

The Athletic ($) (2/14): With a mild note that this dates back to Friday and does not take the weekend’s results into account, Marquette has been placed as a #6 seed by Brian Bennett. They’re in the Midwest Region, but headed to Tampa to play #11 seed Stanford. The second round theoretical matchup here is #3 Florida State or ...... wait for it...... #14 Wright State. here are six total Big East teams in this layout: Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#3), Butler (#4), Creighton (#5), and Xavier (#10). Georgetown turns up in the Next Four Out group.

T-Rank (2/18): Okay, we’re throwing you a curveball here, because BartTorvik.com’s T-Ranketology is not a “here’s where we are right now” snapshot, but a projection of where the bracket will end up by the time all the pieces stop moving. Here, Marquette is a #6 seed, along with Kentucky, Auburn, and Iowa. That would mean a first round game against a #11 seed, which would be either Cincinnati, Arizona State, Rhode Island, or a First Four game. With Georgetown turning up in the Last Four In group, Marquette automatically would not play the winner of their game, which leaves Richmond, Indiana, and Utah State as possibilities. There are seven total Big East teams projected into the field: Creighton (#2), Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#3), Butler (#7), Xavier (#9), and the aforementioned Hoyas (#11).

Bracket Matrix (thru 2/17): Ah, wise Matrix, what does the accumulation of your 94 brackets tell us? Marquette appears on all 94, with an average seed of 5.61. That does slot them in as a #6 seed, though, alongside Arizona, Iowa, and Ohio State. The #11 seeds to be paired up here are Virginia or Northern Iowa. Yes, that’s only two. Purdue is in there as well, and Marquette can’t catch the Boilermakers in the first round as that’s a regular season repeat. Cincinnati and Indiana are also #11 seeds, but line up as potential partners in a First Four game. Utah State would be in the First Four as well, so that’s a possibility, while Georgetown is not. The Hoyas along with Marquette make for seven total teams in the field here: Seton Hall (#3), Villanova (#4), Creighton (#4), Butler (#5), and Xavier (#10).

And now, on to the women’s side of the aisle! Again, the basics:

Record: 20-6
RPI thru games on 2/17: #33

RPI 1-25 Record: 0-3
RPI 1-25 Games Remaining: Home vs DePaul

RPI 26-50 Record: 1-1
RPI 26-50 Games Remaining: None

As you can see, things are a little bit more shaky for Megan Duffy’s team with three games left in the regular season. It is worth noting that the two losses that aren’t covered in the top 50 are to top 100 teams, and both — at #66 Seton Hall and at #93 Butler — are both on the road. Here’s what we have in projections right now:

ESPN (2/18): Marquette is teetering a little bit according to Charlie Creme. It’s not for anything that they did, as the Golden Eagles have won three straight games. However, they are sitting as a #11 seed, and two of the other 11 seeds are currently in his Last Four In. I’m not sure if Marquette or Old Dominion is right next to Western Kentucky, but one of them obviously is. ANYWAY, this means a first round game against #6 seed Princeton, which is currently holding onto first place in the Ivy League. That game would be part of the Greenville Region and would take place in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State is the host there as the #3 seed, and it would be either the Wolfpack or #14 Belmont in the theoretical second round game. Marquette is one of just three Big East teams in the field along with DePaul (#3) and Creighton (#9). St. John’s is in the First Four Out, while Seton Hall is in the Next Four Out. Future Big East team Connecticut is a #2 seed.

High Post Hoops (2/12): So, yes, Russ Steinberg’s most recent update was six days ago, so we’re operating a little bit behind things here. But again: Marquette won twice since this update, so that has to help a little bit. The Golden Eagles are a #10 seed here in the Fort Wayne Region, facing a first round game against #7 Virginia Tech. That game would be in College Park, Maryland, with #2 Maryland or #15 Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks as the theoretical second round opponent. Just two more Big East teams in the field here, with DePaul (#4) and Creighton (#9) joining the Golden Eagles. If you’re wondering why the Bluejays, who are 1-1 against Marquette this season, are seeded higher than MU, well, that’s because Creighton has a road win over DePaul, which is better than anything Marquette has. St. John’s, Seton Hall, and Butler are all in the Next Four Out here, but MU did beat Butler on Sunday.