The 2019-20 season has reached the approximate halfway mark. Given the level of chaos that we've seen across the country, determining the top line of our latest bracket is less complicated than expected.
Baylor (14-1, 4-0 Big 12) has climbed to No. 1 in the latest NET rankings and, at least for the moment, is playing at a higher level than anyone else. That could change with the weather, of course, but for now the Bears are an easy choice at No. 1 overall.
Gonzaga's résumé is lacking, and the schedule of the Bulldogs (19-1, 5-0 WCC), outside of the Battle 4 Atlantis, isn't anything you'd like to see in a top seed. But it's not the Zags' fault that beating North Carolina is merely a Q3 win (let that sink in for a minute!). The reality is, we can't remember a consensus No. 1 team in the polls dropping off the top line.
Duke, despite the loss at Clemson, and Kansas, despite falling at the Phog to Baylor, have the best aggregate metrics and remain on pretty much everyone's short list of national title choices. The difference between the Blue Devils (15-2, 5-1 ACC) and the Jayhawks (13-3, 3-1 Big 12) for No. 3 and No. 4 overall is as slim as Duke's two-point win over KU on Nov. 5.
Other bracket bullets for Friday, Jan. 17:
• San Diego State will retire Kawhi Leonard's number next month, and in hindsight we know the Leonard-led 2010-11 season was no fluke. Those Aztecs were 34-3 and a No. 2 NCAA seed. The current team (18-0, 7-0 Mountain West) may be even better and will be a solid favorite in every remaining regular-season game. If it happens, SDSU will join Wichita State (2014) and Kentucky (2015) as unbeaten No. 1 seeds on Selection Sunday.
• Oregon (14-4, 3-2 Pac-12) could have fallen to a No. 4 seed following its damaging loss at Washington State. But the Ducks, No. 12 on the seed list, stay just ahead of Seton Hall thanks to their November neutral-court win over the Pirates. And Seton Hall shouldn't mind, as No. 13 on the seed list gives it a nearby East Region path through Albany and Madison Square Garden.
• Is Stanford (15-2, 4-0) the best team in the Pac-12? Is Colorado (14-3, 3-1)? It doesn't appear to be one of the preseason favorites, Oregon and Arizona (12-5, 2-2), each of which is two full games back in the conference standings.
• Cincinnati's potential visit to the top of the American was thwarted by a 49-point showing and double-digit loss at Memphis. The Bearcats (10-7, 3-2 AAC) had just gotten themselves back in the conversation following nonleague losses to Bowling Green and Colgate.
• We have all the respect in the world for Brigham Young's longstanding "Sunday no play" policy, but it may again bite the Cougars in terms of bracket seeding or region placement. In today's projection BYU can't take its rightful place as a No. 9 seed against Rutgers, falling instead to a No. 10 seed against Arizona. It was the only way to provide consecutive Thursday-Saturday sites. Ironically, fellow WCC member Saint Mary's, was flipped with BYU to face the Scarlet Knights.
• Speaking of Rutgers, glad I don't have to make a final call on the Big Ten for two months. With five conference members bunched from 30 to 38 on the seed list, separating and bracketing all Big Ten teams is a nightmare. The league won't mind, of course, especially if Minnesota (Last Four In) joins them as a record 12th bid.
• Hard to believe three big names have fallen out of the field since our last projection: Xavier (12-6, 1-4 Big East), VCU (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic 10) and defending national champion Virginia (11-5, 2-3 ACC). Good thing for them there is plenty of season left, but as Yogi Berra once said, "It gets late early out here."