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What a wild Wednesday in college basketball. A No. 1 seed lost. A bubble team, Syracuse, won on a bank-shot buzzer beater, breathing new life into its tournament hopes.  A two-seed, Oregon, needed a last second shot to escape on the road.  All of these things, and the results of the previous two days, have impacted the bracket.  Here are some of the highlights.

Kansas new overall No. 1

Kansas moved up to the overall No. 1 seed after a win over Texas Tech and a loss by Villanova to Butler at home on Wednesday night, which ended a 48-game home win streak. The race between the two remains close, though.

Villanova has a couple more top-50 wins, but they are even against the top 100. The Wildcats’ losses are better also. However, the Jayhawks have played a better schedule and the sweep of Baylor and win at Kentucky are all better than Villanova’s best win, which came at Purdue.

This race could go down to the wire as the season winds down. Gonzaga could become part of the race for the overall No. 1 as well.

North Carolina jumps Baylor

The Tar Heels’ win over Louisville was the final push they needed to jump Baylor and steal the fourth No. 1 seed. North Carolina can at least match, if not better Baylor’s collection of wins and the Tar Heels have yet to lose at home. Baylor has two home losses, and while the loss to Kansas hurt in how it came about, that is not the one that hurts their profile. It is the home loss to Kansas State that stands out for the Bears. 

UNC still has a very difficult schedule ahead of it, so this race is not over yet. The Tar Heels have road games with Pitt and Virginia and of course, the season finale at home with Duke.

Louisville still at 2-seed

Louisville, on the other hand, will stay a 2-seed despite the loss at North Carolina. The Cardinals are now just 6-6 against the RPI top 50, but they have no losses outside that group. Louisville is still looking for that higher quality win away from home, but that will have to wait for the ACC tournament. The Cardinals are still in the race for a spot on the top line of the bracket, but they will likely have to win out to make that happen now.

Duke stays a 3-seed, Butler still a four

Duke fell victim to the Carrier Dome magic, losing at Syracuse on Wednesday night. It likely cost the Blue Devils a shot at the regular-season ACC title, however, the Blue Devils remain a three-seed for the moment.  Their strength of schedule and the quality of their wins, especially the win over fellow 3-seed Florida, are keeping them in place despite a push from Butler to move up. 

Butler swept the season series with Villanova with a win in Philadelphia Wednesday night. Butler has a somewhat schizophrenic profile, with a high number of quality wins and losses at St. John’s and Indiana State. Butler has good chance to move up Saturday, but more likely ahead of the Florida-Kentucky loser than Duke.

Syracuse last team in

Despite all the shouting on TV by the announcers that Syracuse was a lock for the tournament, the Orange are far from a lock for anything. However, they are the last team in the bracket today, and if the tournament was played in the Carrier Dome, they might actually be a lock for the Final Four. After all, they have beaten Duke, Florida State and Virginia at home.

Unfortunately, it is not, and Syracuse has only won twice all year away from home. That is a big reason why the Orange still has an RPI of 78 despite those three big wins. They got in with an RPI of 72 last year, which is the second-highest ever (New Mexico, 74, 1999) and the highest of the 68-team era. That is just one of the statistical negatives working against them.

If they lose only at Louisville, as expected, and in the conference tournament, Syracuse will finish with 14 losses. Only seven teams have received an at-large bid with 14 losses, most recently in 2011.

So, welcome to the bracket Syracuse. It is going to take some work to stay there though.

Marquette last four in

The Golden Eagles are back in the bracket after beating Xavier and St. John’s in the last week.  Marquette has a poor strength of schedule, which is dragging them down, but they have five top 50 wins, including one on the road and another on a neutral court.  The ability to beat good teams away from home is the primary reason why Marquette is ahead of Syracuse.

The upcoming schedule is pretty tough for the Golden Eagles though.  They have road games at Providence and Xavier, which should be playing with some level of desperation, then finish at home against Creighton.  Marquette’s tournament standing will likely still be in doubt entering the  Big East tournament.

Minnesota moving up

Good luck finding a team with three road wins better than Minnesota’s top three.  The Gophers have beaten Purdue, Northwestern and now Maryland on the road after a victory over the Terrapins Wednesday night.  Few teams can match that trio.  Minnesota has now won six games in row after a five-game skid right before that and is up to a five-seed in the bracket.  Some people thought Minnesota’s tournament hopes were in doubt after that losing streak, but they have not spent a single day on the bubble.

Xavier keeps sliding

Trevon Bluiett returned to the lineup for the Musketeers, but it didn’t help enough.  Xavier has now lost four games in a row for the first time since 2013.  The last three of those losses came on the road.  The Musketeers are now squarely in the middle of the bracket after being a five-seed just a couple of weeks ago.  At least they will get a couple of home games now, although they have to play Butler and Marquette.