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Bracketology: The projected field with the weekend approaching (Friday update)

By Lukas Harkins

Mar 9, 2017; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) and USC Trojans guard De'Anthony Melton (22) compete for the ball during the second half during the Pac-12 Conference Tournament at T-Mobile Arena. UCLA won 76-74. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) and USC Trojans guard De'Anthony Melton (22) compete for the ball during the second half during the Pac-12 Conference Tournament at T-Mobile Arena. UCLA won 76-74. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports /
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There were several shakeups to the Bracketology projected field thanks to yesterday, and there are certainly more to come, so stay tuned.

Tournament results from Thursday:

  • Mid-Major action
    • Atlantic 10 – Davidson, St. Bonaventure, George Mason, and George Washington all moved on to face the teams who received double byes.
    • MAC – Akron, Ohio, and Ball State advanced as the favorites, but Kent State upset third-seeded Buffalo to go on.
    • C-USA – Marshall, the six seed advanced, along with UTEP, Louisiana Tech, and top-seeded MTSU.
    • Big West – All the top seeds advanced in the quarterfinals. UC Irvine is the favorite.
    • Mountain West – San Diego State upset Boise State, but the favorites Nevada and Colorado State remain. Fresno State also moved on.
    • Big Sky – All the top seeds moved on. North Dakota is the one seed.
    • WAC – All the top seeds are still alive in the semifinals. CSU Bakersfield the favorite.
    • MEAC – 11th ranked Howard is still alive! NC Central is the favorite while MD-East Shore and Norfolk State also remain.
    • Southland – New Orleans, Sam Houston, and Texas A&M-CC are among those playing in the semifinals.
  • Big East
    • Villanova destroyed St. John’s in their first game.
    • Seton Hall locked their tournament bid by beating Marquette.
    • Butler moved to 0-4 all-time in the Big East Tournament, falling to Xavier, who is now locked in.
    • Creighton solidified their all-but-locked position as the third-highest seed in the NCAA Tournament from the Big East by handling Providence.
  • SEC
    • Georgia kept their hopes for an at-large bid alive by hanging on against Tennessee.
    • Alabama dismantled Mississippi State for a chance to face South Carolina.
    • Vanderbilt got their must-win game against Texas A&M and will now play Florida for the third time.
    • Ole Midd took care of Missouri to face Arkansas.
  • Big 12
    • Iowa State beat Oklahoma State as they are now a real threat to win the title.
    • TCU upset top-seeded Kansas. They still need to at least make the final for a chance at the Big Dance.
    • West Virginia moved past Texas and is now the highest seed remaining
    • Kansas State upset Baylor and is very close to sneaking into the field.
  • Pac-12
    • No major surprises here as Oregon, California, Arizona, and UCLA all moved on.
  • ACC
    • North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Notre Dame are those teams still alive for the semifinals entering Friday.
  • American
    • East Carolina, Tulsa, UConn all made it out of the first round.
  • Big Ten
    • The only upset of the day came from Indiana, as they destroyed Iowa by 22.
    • Michigan State, Michigan, and Northwestern moved on.

The major difference across the top lines comes with UCLA this time around. After they were able to survive a great game by USC, they moved up to the two line. Thanks to a loss by Louisville, who is now under .500 against the top-50, UCLA snagged their position.

Among other major movers, Duke took advantage of Butler’s loss to Xavier by scooping up their spot on the three line. With three more days to go, let’s check out where the field stands and which teams need to do the most work still.

Projected Field (includes results through March 8th)

East

— Buffalo

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

8 Wichita State
9 Oklahoma State

— Orlando

4 Florida State
13Akron

5Cincinnati
12Nevada

— Orlando

6 Iowa State
11 Wake Forest

3 Florida
14Florida Gulf Coast

— Tulsa

7 Dayton
10 Marquette

2 Baylor
15Northern Kentucky

Midwest

Tulsa —

Kansas 1
North Dakota/NC Central16

Virginia Tech 8
Arkansas 9

Milwaukee —

Notre Dame 4
Vermont13

West Virginia 5
Texas-Arlington12

Indianapolis —

Saint Mary’s 6
Providence/USC 11

Louisville 3
Bucknell14

Sacramento —

Wisconsin 7
Seton Hall 10

UCLA 2
Iona15

West

— Salt Lake City

1 Gonzaga
16UC Irvine

8 Miami
9 Michigan

— Milwaukee

4 Butler
13East Tennessee State

5 Minnesota
12 Rhode Island/Illinois State

— Greenville

6 Maryland
11Middle Tennessee

3 Duke
14CSU Bakersfield

— Sacramento

7 South Carolina
10 Xavier

2 Oregon
15Texas Southern

South

Greenville —

North Carolina1
Jacksonville State16

VCU 8
Northwestern 9

Buffalo—

Purdue4
Princeton13

Virginia 5
NC-Wilmington12

Salt Lake City —

SMU 6
Vanderbilt 11

Arizona 3
Winthrop14

Indianapolis —

Creighton 7
Michigan State 10

Kentucky 2
South Dakota State15

Last Four In: Providence, USC, Rhode Island, Illinois State

First Four Out: Kansas State, California, Houston, Georgia

Next: Exploring March Madness psychology

Stay tuned for another look at the projected bracket tomorrow and for updates throughout the day, follow me @hardwiredsports.

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