No one likes guessing, especially when filling out your bracket the day before the games start. The 8/9 matchups can be some of the trickier ones to maneuver through, as they usually give us teams that are fairly even in quality -- that's why they're the closest matchup by seeding.
But don't stress -- we have some amazing math that we can use to figure out who you should pick in your brackets. We'll start with the easiest matchup to predict, but before we get into things, let's define some terms.
ORtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (using adjusted)
DRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (using adjusted)
Tempo: Possessions per 40 minutes
nERD: Our own metric, measuring the number of points a team would be expected to win by against an average opponent on a neutral court.
Want to know who will surprise, who will bust out, and who will take the tournament? Check out our bracket picks, our game simulator, and more!
suspended for the tournament due to violating team rules. The Red Storm don't shy away from being court thieves, either, as they pull off an average of 7.47 steals per game. If St. John's can limit their turnovers and survive the suspension of Obekpa, they could take one of the closest games of the tournament.In the end, St. John's gets the slightest of advantages, as we give them just a 51.54% chance to move on to the Round of 32. This one is a complete toss up.