We are exactly one week away from Selection Sunday. After a hectic Saturday, the Bracketology projected field saw plenty of changes.
College basketball is heating up around the country to supernova levels. Teams everywhere are dying to add quality wins down the stretch and mid-majors are holding onto their last hopes of reaching the Big Dance. Murray State (Ohio Valley) and Radford (Big South) locked up their automatic bids over the past couple of days and there are several others knocking on the door.
Over the weekend, many teams who were on the outside looking in picked up huge wins while several who were in the field took tough losses. Now, let’s take a look at my projected field as it stands on March 4, which takes into account the following results as well: Cincinnati over Wichita State, College of Charleston over Drexel, Radford over Liberty.
Projected automatic bids are in bold, finalized automatic bids are bolded and italicized.
South Region
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Arkansas Pine-Bluff/Hampton
(8) Creighton vs. (9) Missouri
(4) Michigan vs. (13) South Dakota State
(5) Gonzaga vs. (12) Providence/Arizona State
(6) TCU vs. (11) USC
(3) Cincinnati vs. (14) UNC-Greensboro
(7) Miami vs. (10) Texas
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Wagner
Storyline to follow: Can Gonzaga move up?
Due to the nature of the WCC, Gonzaga needs to win their conference tournament in order to move up seed lines. While facing St. Mary’s in the conference final will help, it might not make a huge difference. If Bulldog fans want to see their team become a top-four seed, they will need help in the form of the teams ahead of them losing. West Virginia took a loss yesterday and Michigan has a tough matchup against Purdue coming later today. If the Zags take care of their business and other teams drop, the Bulldogs will move up.
East Region
(1) Villanova vs. (16) Nicholls State/Radford
(8) Rhode Island vs. (9) Florida State
(4) West Virginia vs. (13) Buffalo
(5) Kentucky vs. (12) New Mexico State
(6) Nevada vs. (11) Louisville/UCLA
(3) Tennessee vs. (14) College of Charleston
(7) Arkansas vs. (10) Kansas State
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Pennsylvania
Storyline to follow: The curious case of Kentucky
After four straight wins, it seemed as though Kentucky had figured it out. Then they laid a massive egg against Florida, losing by 13 points on the road. Bad games happen from time to time but it is a wonder whether or not the Wildcats are a contender or a pretender for the NCAA Tournament. With the SEC Tournament approaching, we should get a good idea of just how good John Calipari’s team is. If they catch fire, the talent is there to make a deep run in both postseason tourneys.
Midwest Region
(1) Xavier vs. (16) Florida Gulf Coast
(8) Oklahoma vs. (9) NC State
(4) Texas Tech vs. (13) Vermont
(5) Arizona vs. (12) Louisiana
(6) Houston vs. (11) Baylor
(3) North Carolina vs. (14) Montana
(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Middle Tennessee
(2) Purdue vs. (15) Wright State
Storyline to follow: Can Purdue reach the top line?
First off, this can only happen if Purdue knocks off Michigan. As long as that happens, though, I think that the Boilermakers are one of the top contenders for a No. 1 seed. They have a high number of quality wins and will definitely add another if they beat the Wolverines. When looking at the current teams on the top line, at least one of them is forced to lose another game this season (Villanova or Xavier). With a week off for Purdue between their last game and Selection Sunday, the team will start to look for upsets of the top teams.
West Region
(1) Kansas vs. (16) Iona
(8)
Virginia Tech vs. (9) Butler
(4) Clemson vs. (13) Murray State
(5) Ohio State vs. (12) Loyola-Chicago
(6) Florida vs. (11) St. Mary’s
(3) Wichita State vs. (14) Bucknell
(7) Seton Hall vs. (10) St. Bonaventure
(2) Duke vs. (15) UC Davis
Storyline to follow: Butler vs. Seton Hall pt. 3
Seton Hall handled Butler in both of their meetings during the regular season thanks to the mismatch nightmares posed by Khadeen Carrington and Angel Delgado. With this being said, these two teams will meet up once again in their first games of the Big East Tournament. Butler, who has steadily moved closer to the bubble as of late, could really use this win to lock in their tournament placement but it will not be easy. Seton Hall, on the other hand, has a chance to seriously move up seed lines with a win or two in the BET. Yet, everybody knows how hard it is to beat the same team three times in a season. Tune in on Thursday night for the big game.
Next: Player of the Year rankings
First Four Out: Marquette, Syracuse, Alabama, Utah
Next Teams Out: Washington, Penn State, Mississippi State, Boise State, Nebraska, LSU
That concludes this edition of Bracketology. Check back daily throughout the next week for more updates to the projected field. For any questions, reach me at @hardwiredsports.