It has been about as wild a first month as anyone could have expected. National title contenders losing buy games at home, tons of overtime games and teams projected to finish at the bottom of their leagues undefeated as we complete the first week of December.

This makes the job of a bracketologist very difficult for a bracket that normally has only a couple of questions. At the top, the only debate was whether to go with Michigan or Ohio State on the one line. It was close, but the gauntlet that Michigan ran through in the Bahamas was just too impressive for me to leave them off the one line.

It was just a matter of seeding the next 30 teams or so and certainly one could make an argument for any one one of them being seeded higher or lower. Making things even more difficult was the fact that the first NET rankings have not been released by the NCAA. So I used strength of schedule numbers as well as quality wins as my guide to place these teams.

Another interesting note on this first bracket of the season is the number of teams that are either undefeated or have only one or two losses. I leaned heavily on the teams’ strength of schedule as well as how much they challenged themselves in November. I fully expect much movement on my next bracket as many teams who have played a weak schedule in November ramp up in December. With some big wins these teams could move up quickly.

LAST FOUR IN: Temple, NC State, Arkansas, Penn State
FIRST FOUR OUT: Stanford, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Illinois
NEXT FOUR OUT:  Oregon State, Creighton, St. Louis, Mississippi State

CONFERENCES WITH MULTIPLE BIDS
BIG TEN: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 6
BIG EAST: 6
BIG 12: 6
PAC-12: 4
AAC: 3
A-10: 2
MOUNTAIN WEST: 2
WCC: 2

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Let’s look at some interesting facts in this first bracket.

Most impressive team: I have to go with Ohio State, mostly because of the thumping they put on North Carolina and the fact no one thought at this point they would be challenging for a one seed.

Best team: It’s a tough one but I will go with my number one overall seed, Louisville

Biggest shock: Oh, this is easy. DePaul. A team that was picked to finish at the bottom of the Big East is undefeated with wins over Power Five schools Iowa, Minnesota and Texas Tech.

In the bracket but an underachiever: Villanova. Expectations were for the Wildcats to contend for a top-four seed. But despite some high-profile recruits, ‘Nova has struggled against any decent competition.

Off the bracket but maybe not for long: I still think Mississippi State has the team to compete in the SEC and move comfortably into the bracket in the next month.

A pleasant surprise: San Diego State and Dayton. I thought both teams had an excellent chance to get an at-large bid, but they have shown that they have an outside shot at a top-four seed and look to be a very tough out in March.

Look for the next updated bracket shortly after the first NET is announced shortly before Christmas.
Follow me on twitter @tkbrackets. I will give you updates all season long as we make our way to Atlanta for the Final Four.