NCAA Tournament: How the Bracket is Built

Note: 9 seeds (33-36 on seed list) must be sent to same pod sites as the one and eight seeds. Available pods are Charlotte(Duke, San Diego St.), Louisville(Kentucky, Cincinnati), Omaha(Wisconsin, Oregon), and Pittsburgh(Villanova, NC St.)

33. St. John’s – Can’t be sent to closest pod site (Pittsburgh) because they played Villanova twice and can’t meet until the Sweet Sixteen. Sent to next closest pod (Charlotte) which feeds into the Houston region.

34. Oklahoma State – Sent to closest pod site (Omaha) which feeds into the Los Angeles region.

35. LSU – Louisville is closest pod but Kentucky was sent there. They only played once so they could meet up in the round of 32, but the committee opted against that and sent them to Pittsburgh which feeds into the Syracuse region.

36. Purdue – Sent to remaining pod site (Louisville) which feeds into the Cleveland region.

Note: 10 seeds (37-40 on seed list) must be sent to same pod sites as the two and seven seeds. Available pods are Portland(Arizona, VCU), Seattle(Gonzaga, Iowa), Charlotte(Virginia, Michigan State), and Omaha(Kansas, Wichita St.)

37. Indiana – Can’t be sent to Charlotte because of Michigan State as they played twice this season. Sent to next closest pod site (Omaha) which feeds into the Cleveland region.

38. Davidson – The committee also has a rule where they try to avoid putting the 1-4 seeds in every region at a home-crowd disadvantage in the opening and round of 32 games. The closest pod site for Davidson is Charlotte, which is in their home state. Plus, Davidson played Virginia in non-conference play, so they tried to avoid a potential rematch even though it’s technically not against the rules. They also can’t be sent to Portland as they played VCU three times in the A10. Sent to Seattle pod which feeds into the Houston region.

39. Ohio State – Can’t be sent to Charlotte as they played Michigan St twice in the Big 10. Sent to last remaining pod (Portland) which feeds into the Los Angeles region.

40. Georgia – Sent to last remaining pod (Charlotte) which feeds into the Syracuse region.

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Note: 11 seeds (41-46 on seed list) must be sent to same pod sites as the three and six seeds. Available pods are Louisville(Iowa State, SMU), Jacksonville(Baylor, Xavier), Columbus(Oklahoma, Providence), and Pittsburgh(Notre Dame, Butler). The last four at-large teams must be sent to Dayton for the First Four. One of the First Four games must be played on Tuesday night, so the pod the winner is sent to must play games on Thursday/Saturday. The Other First Four game must be played on Wednesday with the winner advancing to a pod with games on Friday/Sunday. The committee makes an effort to keep travel down for those teams, so they typically play in a pod close to Dayton where the First Four is held. Usually, the First Four team are placed first, followed by the other team (Texas and UCLA), but in this case Texas had to be placed first.

41. Texas – Can’t be placed in Louisville(Iowa State), Can’t be placed in Jacksonville(Baylor) and can’t be placed in Columbus(Oklahoma). Sent to Pittsburgh pod which feeds into Cleveland region.

42. UCLA – Sent to last remaining pod (Louisville) which feeds into Houston region.

43./44. Ole Miss/BYU – BYU Cannot play on Sundays due to religious purposes so they must be placed in a pod that plays Thursday and Saturday games which leaves Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Louisville available. Should BYU advance to the Sweet Sixteen, they must be in a region with games on Thursday and Saturday which leaves the Cleveland and Los Angeles regions. The Jacksonville pod feeds into the LA region, and the Pittsburgh pod feeds into the Cleveland region while the Louisville pod feeds into the Houston region. Because Texas must play Pittsburgh, Both teams sent to the Jacksonville pod which feeds into Los Angeles region.

45./46. Boise State/Dayton – Must play in a pod with Fri/Sun games, leaving only the Columbus pod which feeds into the Syracuse region.

Note: 12 seeds (47-50 on seed list) must be sent to same pod sites as the four and five seeds. Available pods are Columbus(Maryland, West Virginia), Jacksonville(UNC, Arkansas), Seattle(Louisville, Northern Iowa), and Portland (Georgetown,Utah).

47. Wyoming – Can’t be sent to closest pod site (Portland) because of San Diego St. The Portland pod feeds into the Houston region where SDSU is an 8 seed. The teams met three times during the season and can’t play until the Elite Eight. Sent to next closest pod site (Seattle) which feeds into the Syracuse region.

48. Buffalo – Sent to closest pod site (Columbus) which feeds into the Cleveland region.

49. Wofford – Sent to closest pod site (Jacksonville) which feeds into the Los Angeles region.

50. Stephen F. Austin – Sent to last remaining pod site (Portland) which feeds into the Houston region.

Next: Seed List 51-68