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The first significant happening on The Road to the Final Four may have taken place in Minneapolis on Wednesday night depending upon the results of an MRI on Thursday. Purdue forward Robbie Hummel went down with a knee injury in the first half and was unable to return to action. Seemingly in control of the game at that point, the Boilermakers fell victim to a Golden Gopher run to take the lead and Minnesota led by as many as nine in the second half.

The Bracketology field is based on how the tourney looks "as of this moment." The field below is not based on who I think deserves to be in, but a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand. For the next few weeks, I'll be posting Bracketology updates every Tuesday & Friday.  In late February, I release Bracketology updates daily as the season enters crunch time.

So, how did the first half between New Mexico and UNLV turn out? More than a valid question given the four-overtime contest between TCU and Utah (womens) that spanned the entire first half of Wednesday's game of the night. The Lobos went into the locker room with a 40-28 lead thanks to shooting 15-for-29 from the field and outrebounding the Rebels 23-12. On the verge of turning into a one-sided affair with the lead getting up to as many as eighteen points (61-43), the game actually saved its best drama for when the nation was tuned in.

College basketball is in full momentum mode now with dozens of games each week that have major implications on the NCAA Tournament. All of the games below matter in a big way.

Florida vs Mississippi St - 1:30
-- In most bracketology projections, Florida has been left out of the field in recent weeks while MSU has been in. That could all change this weekend as the Gators host  an MSU team that has lost 3 of 4. Its conceivable that only 1 of these two teams make the dance, and that this game is a strong deciding factor.

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One of the biggest games of the day tips at high noon in Morgantown when West Virginia hosts Syracuse in a matchup of Top 10 teams. Both are coming off of routine victories over teams expected to finish in the bottom portion of the Big East standings, avoiding the pitfall of looking past the task at hand. The Orange are one of the nation's best offensive teams, leading the country in field goal percentage and assists per game. Wesley Johnson received a good deal of praise for their early start but truth be told Jim Boeheim's got weapons throughout the rotation.

Dayton and Xavier have legitimate Top 25 hopes, while usual standard-bearers like St. Joseph's and Temple may have to make way for up-and-coming programs like Duquesne, La Salle, and Richmond.

 

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason High-Major All-America Team is led by Tulsa big man Jerome Jordan, a potential First Round NBA pick. Jordan, along with the likes of Luke Babbitt and Chris Wright, is part of an impressive forward crop in this year's High-Majors. BYU, Illinois State, Memphis, Nevada, and Tulsa are the only schools with multiple players on the list.

 

Overall Rank: #16

Conference Rank: #1 Atlantic 10 Conference

 

Dayton

Duquesne

La Salle

Richmond

Temple

Xavier

Other (Charlotte, St Joe's, UMASS, URI, etc)