Bracketology: Ohio State Clings To Last #1 Seed
By Jamal Murphy
It’s Valentine’s Day (Happy Valentine’s!) and we are once again in the heart of the college basketball season. There are tournaments to be made and seeds to be acquired. Every game counts and the legitimate countdown to Selection Sunday has surely begun.
Kentucky and Syracuse seem to have #1 seeds on lock, but everything else looks up for grabs. Mediocrity abounds in the middle of the bracket and the at-large teams that occupy the bottom of the bracket may depress you. Yes, we so needed those four extra spots in the dance.
Let’s take a look at this week’s prediction of the 2012 NCAA Tournament field and seeding, as if the season were to end today (WARNING: The predicted field/seeding is highly likely to change from week to week).
*Automatic bids in italics.
1 SEEDS: Kentucky; Syracuse; Missouri; Ohio State.
2 SEEDS: Duke; Michigan State; Kansas; North Carolina.
3 SEEDS: Baylor; Georgetown; UNLV; Indiana.
4 SEEDS: Michigan, Marquette, Wisconsin; Louisville.
5 SEEDS: San Diego State; Temple; Wichita State; Florida State.
6 SEEDS: St. Mary’s; Creighton; Illinois; Gonzaga.
7 SEEDS: Notre Dame; Vanderbilt; Florida; Murray State.
8 SEEDS: Memphis; Southern Miss; Connecticut; Virginia.
9 SEEDS: Mississippi State; West Virginia; Kansas State; Alabama.
10 SEEDS: Purdue; New Mexico; Saint Louis; Harvard.
11 SEEDS: Iowa State; Northwestern; Seton Hall; Miami, Fl.
12 SEEDS: California; BYU; Minnesota vs. Xavier; Long Beach State.
13 SEEDS: Middle Tennessee State; Dayton vs. Cincinnati; Oral Roberts; Iona.
14 SEEDS: Davidson; Akron; Drexel; Valparaiso.
15 SEEDS: Belmont; Nevada; Bucknell; Weber State.
16 SEEDS: UT Arlington; Long Island; UNC Asheville vs. Mississippi Valley State; Norfolk State vs. Stony Brook.
LAST FOUR IN: Minnesota; Xavier; Dayton; Cincinnati.
LAST FOUR OUT: North Carolina State; Texas; Arkansas; Colorado State.
NEXT FOUR OUT: Central Florida; Wyoming; St. Joseph’s; Mississippi.
CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN:
ACC – 5
ATLANTIC 10 – 4
BIG EAST – 9
BIG TEN – 9
BIG 12 – 5
C-USA – 2
MOUNTAIN WEST – 3
MVC – 2
PAC-12 – 1
SEC – 5
WCC – 3
What are your thoughts on the field? Any teams that are too high or too low?