College Basketball Week 14: Five biggest takeaways

Feb 4, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Davon Dillard (24) celebrates after a basket during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Davon Dillard (24) celebrates after a basket during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
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Here’s your weekly dive into what we took away from the last seven days of college hoops.

Every week the calendar moves closer to March and as it does, the intensity on the court seems to ratchet up. This week’s lineup was highlighted by a pair of Thursday night clashes that helped set the tone for Saturday’s first ever bracket preview show.

From the response to the early release of the NCAA Tournament’s current top 16 seeds to Duke and UCLA’s big wins, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what we learned over the last week.

Feb 4, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (32) dribbles up the court against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. The Orange won 66-62. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (32) dribbles up the court against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. The Orange won 66-62. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

1. How’d the NCAA selection committee do with its early top 16?

For the first time in history, the NCAA rolled out a bracket preview before Selection Sunday. Sure, the move is a PR gimmick designed to drum up interest in March Madness, but it’s also an interesting insight into how the selection committee is thinking about resumes early in the process. It also gives us a chance to reflect on their thinking and what they got right or wrong. So, here are my thoughts.

The committee got the No. 1 seeds right. You can make an argument that undefeated Gonzaga deserves to be seeded higher than the fourth overall No. 1 seed, but at least they’re on the line and they’ll get their preferred region. It’d be tough to make an argument for bumping up any of the No. 2 seeds, although that could change as ACC play shakes itself out.

Speaking of the ACC, it was odd that Virginia couldn’t find its way into a No. 2 seed when three other ACC teams did. Sure, the Cavaliers rank the worst out of the group of four in the RPI, but they’re the best positioned according to advanced metrics and have a great case to be there over Louisville. Not only does Virginia have more RPI top 50 wins than the Cardinals, but it also owns a pair of double-digit head-to-head wins over them as well. If Oregon gets the nod over Arizona because of its head-to-head win, it’s really tough to justify Louisville over Virginia.

The other question mark is Florida. The Gators are pegged as a No. 3 seed. They’ve got five RPI top 50 wins and rate out well in advanced metrics thanks to an excellent defense. That said, Florida is also 1-4 against the RPI top 25 with its lone win coming in a blowout home victory over a Kentucky team many believed deserved a slightly lower seed. That doesn’t strike me as deserving of a No. 3 seed in this field.