Now that the Thanksgiving tournaments have wrapped up and one major conference (the Big Ten) is about to kick off conference play, we thought it would be a great time to unveil our first bracket of the 2018-19 college basketball season.

Earlier this week, the NCAA released the first NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings. Because of the small sample size, there are quite a few outliers in the list. However, this is no different from past years when the early-season RPI rankings were released. As the season moves ahead and teams move into the conference season, more data will be available and the rankings should be more representative of who the top teams are.

And remember that these rankings are not a power ranking from 1-353, but rather a sorting tool to group teams and give the committee a way to differentiate the various records and compare teams across conferences.

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Here are some notes on the bracket.

South

 

Virginia gets the top seed, edging out Michigan, who is the two seed in this region.

I can’t remember a year in which five teams were worthy of a number one seed this early in the season. The difference is razor-thin, and we well could see both of these teams on the one line when the next bracket is released before Christmas.

Purdue is seeded sixth in this region, and frankly there is a gap between them and number seven LSU. Of the auto bids, Furman is a team to watch out for.

 

 

 

West

 

My number one overall seed is Gonzaga. And what a matchup it would be if the Zags and Nevada, the two seed, would meet in a regional final.

North Carolina is one of four ACC teams who got top four seeds, and Kentucky joins them in this region as well.

Some teams we haven’t seen in the dance in a while made the field in this first bracket, and this region features two from the same conference: the Big Ten. Iowa has shocked everyone by going undefeated in early season play, and Nebraska has lived up to the preseason hype by posting a 6-1 record.

 

 

 

East

 

Duke sits in a familiar spot as a No. 1 seed with their only blemish a two-point loss to Gonzaga.

This region features some teams who made a huge jump from the preseason bracket. Wisconsin has jumped all the way to a three seed thanks to some big non-conference victories.

St John’s has posted an undefeated season so far, and Buffalo has surprised many by traveling to West Virginia and knocking off the Mountaineers.

 

 

 

Midwest

 

Kansas rounds out the bracket as the number one seed in the Midwest region. Michigan State sits on the two line and would love to get another shot at the Jayhawks, who gave Sparty their first loss of the season.

A few other teams made big moves via the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Florida State moved to a four seed by taking down Purdue, Syracuse made a big jump by defeating Ohio State.

The Buckeyes could have had a top four seed until they suffered their first loss of the season to the Orange.

 

 

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LAST FOUR IN

Maryland, Creighton, Dayton, UCLA

FIRST FOUR OUT

Oregon, Clemson, Miami, Minnesota

NEXT FOUR OUT

NC State, Davidson, Providence, Pitt

 

CONFERENCES WITH MULTIPLE BIDS

Big Ten (9)

ACC (8)

SEC (7)

Big 12 (7)

Big East (5)

Pac-12 (3)

AAC (3)

A-10 (2)

 

Look for my next bracket at Christmas time. Follow my updates throughout the season @tkbrackets.