For those of you new here, Week 1 will give you a full breakdown of what we’re doing. Current bracketology HERE. Most recent Bubble Watch HERE.

Now that we’re 8 weeks into this thing it’s time to see how the landscape has shifted since we started this thing back on December 12th. Below you’ll see a table of the current top 40, not all of them were in the top-40 back then but this is still their data from 12/12. Teams like Santa Clara and Texas for example have risen and now fall in the top-40, while several teams fell out like Baylor and USC who are not listed. Gonzaga wins the award for biggest drop off, while Nebraska wins for biggest climber, not too surprising there. I do find it interesting 2 of our Elite teams have fallen off a bit with Michigan and Iowa St. dropping. Also of note are the risers Illinois, Houston and Florida. All are highly ranked and surging, with Houston cracking into Elite for the first time this week. Going to be fun to continue to track, and if nothing else people can at least get a gauge for how teams have progressed/regressed and see how that fits their perception of them.

Week 8 Thoughts:

We are back to having 5 Elite teams which would tie 2019’s record setting year, but there’s still a solid chance it gets broken if those 5 hold and Florida continues surging. For those wondering the Juggernaut Watch is still on hiatus as Michigan and Arizona fall just outside of the > 50 Net++ threshold. We still have Illinois and UConn trying to make some noise on opposite ends of the spectrum, as both excel on one end of the floor but struggle enough on the other to have concerns, much to the chagrin of their fanbases. You could also draw an interesting oval around some of the border teams, with a shape from BYU – Texas Tech – Louisville going all the way down to Tennessee has some borderline teams that will be interesting to watch going forward. They are right on the cusp of reliable, but thanks to our data dive we can see who is trending up or down. Virginia and Iowa have gone in the right direction as BYU and Louisville have faded. Of course, there’s another month of tracking, but for now you can use that in your interpretation of these teams. I would also like to note the 6 Matadors to just 1 Grinder really shows the state of the game, as offensive talent and focus has clearly taken over, with those defensive grind you down teams looking more and more like a thing of the past. At least at the top of the sport. Lastly, I’d like to welcome our 3rd WCC team onto the graph as Santa Clara has surged into the top-40. What a story the Broncos are becoming as they vie for their first tourney appearance in 30 years.