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Bracketology: How the projected field is shaping up through Monday’s action

By Lukas Harkins

Mar 6, 2017; Albany , NY, USA; The Iona Gaels hold up the MAAC trophy after their game against the Siena Saints at Times Union Center. Iona won 87-86 Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2017; Albany , NY, USA; The Iona Gaels hold up the MAAC trophy after their game against the Siena Saints at Times Union Center. Iona won 87-86 Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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As mid-major conferences continue to roll on and automatic bids are awarded, here is another edition of Bracketology with the projected field.

Over the weekend, I took to Twitter to ask if you all wanted daily updates to the projected field as we get closer to Selection Sunday. The majority voted for yes, so I shall oblige. Here is the update through the results of Monday, March 6th.

Mid-Major results from Monday:

  • Colonial Athletic – UNC Wilmington locked up their automatic bid.
  • Southern – East Tennessee State locked up their automatic bid.
  • Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC) – Iona locked up their automatic bid.
  • Horizon League
    • 10th seeded Milwaukee upset UIC in the Horizon League to move onto the finals.
    • Northern Kentucky moved on to the final as the only higher seeded team to win a game.
  • West Coast
    • Santa Clara hung with Gonzaga, but couldn’t pull off the upset. Zags head to the WCC final.
    • Saint Mary’s beat BYU and will face Gonzaga in the finals.
  • Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC)
    • Maryland-Eastern Shore moved past North Carolina A&T to move to the second round in the MEAC.
    • 11th seeded Howard upset sixth-seeded Coppin State to face Morgan State
  • America East
    • Vermont continued their monster win streak to make the America East final.
    • Albany moved past Stony Brook as the third-seeded Great Danes will take on Vermont.
  • Mid-American (MAC)
    • Eastern Michigan won the 8/9 matchup against Northern Illinois to move on.
    • Kent State got their win to face Buffalo in the second round.
    • Western Michigan held off Miami and they will take on Ball State next.
    • Second-seeded Ohio will get Toledo in their first game, as Toledo just beat Bowling Green.
  • Summit
    • South Dakota State upset top-seeded South Dakota to make the final.
    • Nebraska-Omaha will play the Jackrabbits on the 7th for the automatic bid.

Now let’s get into the projected bracket for today:

East

—                 Buffalo

1 Villanova
16 New Orleans/Mount St. Mary’s

8 Michigan
9 Wichita State

—               Orlando

4 Florida State
13 Akron

5 Cincinnati
12 Nevada

—               Orlando

6 Creighton
11 Wake Forest

3 Florida
14 Florida Gulf Coast

—               Tulsa

7 Dayton
10 Marquette

2 Baylor
15 Northern Kentucky

Midwest

Tulsa                —

Kansas 1
North Dakota/NC Central 16

Miami 8
Arkansas 9

Milwaukee               —

Virginia 4
Vermont 13

West Virginia 5
Texas-Arlington 12

Sacramento               —

Saint Mary’s  6
Vanderbilt/USC 11

UCLA 3
Bucknell 14

Indianapolis               —

Wisconsin 7
Seton Hall 10

Louisville 2
Iona 15

West

—               Salt Lake City

1 Gonzaga
16 UC Irvine

8 VCU
9 Virginia Tech

—               Greenville

4 Duke
13 East Tennessee State

5 Minnesota
12 Rhode Island/Illinois State

—                Milwaukee

6 Maryland
11 Middle Tennessee

3 Butler
14 CSU Bakersfield

—                Sacramento

7 Oklahoma State
10 Michigan State

2 Oregon
15 Texas Southern

South

Greenville                 —

North Carolina 1
Jacksonville State 16

South Carolina 8
Northwestern 9

Buffalo                —

Purdue 4
Princeton 13

Notre Dame 5
NC-Wilmington 12

Salt Lake City               —

SMU 6
Providence 11

 Arizona 3
Winthrop 14

Indianapolis               —

Iowa State 7
Xavier 10

Kentucky 2
South Dakota 15

Due to all top seeds who played on Monday either moving on or clinching their automatic bid, there have been no movements in the projected field. Because of that, let’s take a look at the games to watch for Bracketology on Tuesday:

  • ACC – Wake Forest is the major bubble team in action in the first round, but watch out for both Clemson and Georgia Tech, as they need to make a deep run in the tournament.
  • Horizon League – The tournament title comes down to a battle between Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee. The Norse are looking for their first NCAA Tournament bid while Milwaukee can be the first team to make the field with more than 20 losses.
  • MEAC – There are two first round games in action.
  • Big Sky – There are three first round games in action.
  • SWAC – Each of the four quarterfinals are played on Tuesday.
  • Northeast – St. Francis and Mount St. Mary’s will do battle for their automatic bid.

Next: 5 teams that could win the Big East Tournament

It will be another exciting day of basketball, so stay tuned for another edition of the projected bracket tomorrow, with more changes to come.

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