Marquette Quadrant Watch

Despite the Villanova loss this week, Marquette fans have been thinking more positively about the NCAA Tournament as their consensus seed has moved to 6 on bracketmatrix.com, with them showing up as high as a 4-seed in some brackets, entering the top-20 in NET, and enjoying the #18 ranking in the AP Poll.

This time of year, many people will argue that aesthetic changes to the resume, such the 76th best team moving up one in the NET so your road win over them counts as a Quadrant 1 win, is minor and something the Selection Committee will see through. However, let's remember that the Selection Committee is looking at over 100 resumes to evaluate teams both for at-large and automatic selections. Where a win falls is where it falls and the primary difference will be the Quadrant it rests in. Like all metrics, the Quadrant systems form a sorting mechanism and raw numbers are going to determine which pile they are evaluating you with.

For Marquette to move on up, maximizing Quadrant 1 wins, wins over teams in the field, and minimizing losses outside Quadrant 1 are key because those are things that will stand out during conference tournament week. Here are the teams and games that are close to the cutlines and could determine Marquette's fate:

Quadrant 1A (1-6)

• Seton Hall: The Pirates are the only Q1A team left on Marquette's resume. Getting that win is the biggest "marquee" opportunity available, making it the most valuable resume builder left.
• Xavier: The Musketeers are currently #44 in the NET, if they improve to #40 they will qualify as an additional Q1A win. The X-Men moving up is the best chance for Marquette to add another Q1A win without having to do anything themselves.

Quadrant 1B (5-0)

• Purdue: The Boilermakers are ranked #29, just above the #30 cutoff to stay in Quadrant 1. Cheer for them to keep the top-of-the-resume quantity high.
• USC: The Trojans at #50 are literally the last neutral court Q1 opponent in the NET. Like Purdue, we want them to stay there.
• Creighton, Providence, DePaul, and St. John's: Marquette has 4 additional Q1 games left on the schedule. Every one is valuable, though not as much as that Seton Hall Senior Day home tilt.

Quadrant 2 (5-1)

• Georgetown: This is the only potential loss outside Q1 that can be added. This game might be the most crucial after Seton Hall due to not wanting to add any more blemishes to the resume. Any other losses look more "acceptable."
• Davidson: The Wildcats were a Quadrant 3 win that have worked their way back into Q2 with a #90 NET. The combination of Q1+2 games is often a discussion point, so staying above the #100 cutoff is something Marquette will be hoping for. Getting to Q1 would require them to get to the top-50, which seems like a bridge too far.

Quadrants 3 & 4

• North Dakota State: The Bison are currently co-leaders in the Summit and will be one of the conference tournament favorites. They are Marquette's only Q3 win and one of the best bets outside the top two tiers for a win over a team in the field.
• Robert Morris: The Colonials are co-leaders in the NEC, but as the only eligible team up there they are the favorites to host all of their NEC Tournament games. Their only home conference loss is to that ineligible team, so they are putting themselves in good position to give Marquette a win over a team in the field.
•  Loyola-Maryland: While Grambling and Central Arkansas are placed higher in their leagues, the Greyhounds just got Santi Aldama back from injury. He has moved into the starting lineup and they are 3-1 with him. Possible value pick in the Patriot.

Here's the full S-Cuve:

1-Seeds: 1-BAYLOR 2-Kansas 3-GONZAGA 4-SAN DIEGO STATE
2-Seeds: 8-SETON HALL 7-MARYLAND 6-DAYTON 5-Duke
3-Seeds: 9-AUBURN 10-West Virginia 11-LOUISVILLE 12-Villanova
4-Seeds: 16-OREGON 15-Kentucky 14-Florida State 13-Butler
5-Seeds: 17-Creighton 18-Penn State 19-Marquette 20-Michigan State
6-Seeds: 24-Ohio State 23-Colorado 22-Lsu 21-Iowa
7-Seeds: 25-Michigan 26-Arizona 27-Illinois 28-Texas Tech
8-Seeds: 32-Oklahoma 31-HOUSTON 30-Byu 29-Wisconsin
9-Seeds: 33-Rutgers 34-Xavier 35-Usc 36-Arizona State
10-Seeds: 40-NORTHERN IOWA 39-Wichita State 38-Rhode Island 37-Georgetown
11-Seeds: 41-Indiana 42-St. Mary's 43-Purdue 44-Florida/45-Virginia
12-Seeds: 50-VERMONT 49-YALE 48-FURMAN 47-Arkansas/46-Stanford
13-Seeds: 51-AKRON 52-STEPHEN F AUSTIN 53-NEW MEXICO STATE 54-NORTH TEXAS
14-Seeds: 58-UC IRVINE 57-COLGATE 56-HOFSTRA 55-WRIGHT STATE
15-Seeds: 59-LITTLE ROCK 60-AUSTIN PEAY 61-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 62-WINTHROP
16-Seeds: 68-NC CENTRAL/67-ROBERT MORRIS 66-PVAMU/65-ST. PETER'S 64-NORTH FLORIDA 63-MONTANA

Last Four Byes: Wichita State, Indiana, St. Mary's, Purdue
Last Four In: Florida, Virginia, Stanford, Arkansas

NIT 1-Seeds: East Tennessee State, VCU, Richmond, Cincinnati
NIT 2-Seeds: Minnesota, Memphis, NC State, Utah State

Multibid Leagues
Big 10: 11
Big East: 7
Pac 12: 6
Big 12: 5
SEC: 5
ACC: 4
WCC: 3
American: 2
Atlantic 10: 2