South Bend:
1. Notre Dame (ACC)
16. Morgan State (MEAC)
8. Stanford
9. Georgia
The Irish are the No. 2 overall seed this week with eight — count ’em — eight top 50 wins, including one against (spoiler alert) 2 seed South Carolina. Their only loss came in Hartford in a game that, to be honest, Notre Dame should have won. A rematch with UConn in the Final Four seems likely. But in order to get there, the Irish would have to get past Stanford or Georgia. The Cardinal own a win over UCLA and are trending up despite a loss to Arizona State on Sunday.
College Park:
4. Maryland
13. Belmont (Ohio Valley)
5. Green Bay (Horizon)
12. Fordham (Atlantic 10)
The Terps haven’t lost since Nov. 19 and I won’t hesitate to move them up if they get through this next stretch without a loss. But for now, they’re a 4, and a strong 4 at that. As for the other half of this pod, raise your hand if you want to see Green Bay in the Second Round. No one? Didn’t think so. Their loss at Northern Kentucky hurts a lot (again, the plight of the mid-major), but they’ve already beaten Arizona State and Marquette. The Horizon League is better than you think, so from here, Green Bay can go in either direction.