Bracketology: Live feed of the projected field leading into Selection Sunday
Bracketology season is nearing its end. With less than 36 hours until the Selection Show, follow along here for live updates to the projected field.
Selection Sunday is nearly upon us. Over the next 36 hours, the last automatic bids will be awarded and the bubble teams will finally know their fate. This is an exciting time of the year and there are still a couple of squads out there looking to steal bids from bubble teams. Even though we do not have the luxury of watching the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday, there is still plenty of hot action left to follow.
With that being said, welcome to the live feed for Bracketology this season. After daily updates throughout the week, I will be updating this projected field (with added notes) for every event that affects the bracket over the next 36 hours. To keep track of when updates come out, be sure to check back with the site often or follow/contact me on Twitter here: @hardwiredsports.
Morning update on March 10
11:00 a.m. ET: Alabama rises to a No. 10 seed thanks to their win over Auburn, causing Oklahoma to fall a seed line in response. Xavier’s loss to Providence pushes them out of the Midwest Region and to the top of the West. San Diego State’s upset win over Nevada assures a bid-stealer from the Mountain West. This forces Baylor out of this projected field. It also allows Arkansas to rise to the No. 6 line with Nevada falling one seed.
Afternoon Updates on March 10
1:15 p.m. ET: UMBC moves into the field as the automatic bid from the America East.
2:30 p.m. ET: With UT-Arlington upsetting Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt semifinals, the new top remaining seed and therefore automatic bid for the time being is Georgia State.
3:00 p.m. ET: NC Central upset Hampton to win the MEAC Tournament. They have moved into the field as a No. 16 seed. In addition, Kentucky knocked off Alabama. This does not change the seeding of either team, in my opinion.
Evening Updates on March 10
6:00 p.m. ET: Lots of action just finished up. Tennessee took down Arkansas but neither team changed seeds. Also, Davidson upset St. Bonaventure to maintain their status as a potential bid-stealer. This pushed the Bonnies down the No. 10 line. Lastly, Houston moves up a seed line after defeating Wichita State. Ohio State fell to a No. 6 seed as a result.
7:00 p.m. ET: Texas Southern moves into the projected field as a No. 16 seed. Thanks to their win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the team is the automatic bid from the SWAC.
10:30 p.m. ET: No major movements on any seed lines. Automatic bids are up to date and there was some shifting between seeds No. 12-14. Still a few games left to come tonight.
Morning Updates on March 11
12:15 a.m. ET: Automatic bids updated, including New Mexico State pulling away late to win the WAC. Arizona, the Pac-12 winner, rises up to the No. 4 line while moving Gonzaga down a seed. USC stays solidly as the fifth-to-last team in the tournament as this loss does not hurt them.
2:00 a.m. ET: Welcome to the bracket, Cal State Fullerton. Time to get some sleep.
11:20 a.m. ET: Completed a total re-scrub that saw a few shifts occur, mainly in the “First Teams Out” section, where there was some jumbling. The teams in that sections are the ones that I would not be surprised if they snuck into the bracket.
3:15 p.m. ET: Automatic bids updated, including the one awarded to the bid-stealing Davidson Wildcats.
4:30 p.m. ET: Final field. Hopefully it turns out to be somewhat close. This was a nearly impossible year to projected the field.
Based on my most recent update, here is what the field looks like as of right now.
South Region
(1) Virginia vs. (16) LIU-Brooklyn/NC Central
(8) Kansas State vs. (9) Creighton
(4) Wichita State vs. (13) Marshall
(5) Clemson vs. (12) South Dakota State
(6) Miami vs. (11) Loyola-Chicago
(3) Auburn vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin
(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Providence
(2) Cincinnati vs. (15) Iona
East Region
(1) Villanova vs. (16) Radford/Texas Southern
(8) Missouri vs. (9) Florida State
(4) Arizona vs. (13) Murray State
(5) Kentucky vs. (12) Davidson
(6) Arkansas vs. (11) New Mexico State
(3) Michigan State vs. (14) Wright State
(7) Nevada vs. (10) Texas
(2) North Carolina vs. (15) Pennsylvania
Midwest Region
(1) Kansas vs. (16) UMBC
(8) Butler vs. (9) Virginia Tech
(4) West Virginia vs. (13) UNC-Greensboro
(5) Houston vs. (12) San Diego State
(6) Florida vs. (11) St. Mary’s/UCLA
(3) Michigan vs. (14) Bucknell
(7) Seton Hall vs. (10) St. Bonaventure
(2) Duke vs. (15) Lipscomb
West Region
(1) Xavier vs. (16) Cal State Fullerton
(8) Rhode Island vs. (9) Alabama
(4) Texas Tech vs. (13) College of Charleston
(5) Gonzaga vs. (12) Buffalo
(6) Ohio State vs. (11) Oklahoma/USC
(3) Tennessee vs. (14) Montana
(7) TCU vs. (10) NC State
(2) Purdue vs. (15) Georgia State
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Last Teams In: Texas, St. Bonaventure, NC State, USC, Oklahoma, UCLA, St. Mary’s
First Teams Out: Louisville, Arizona State, Marquette, Syracuse, Middle Tennessee, Baylor
That concludes this edition of Bracketology. With updates coming throughout the next 36 hours, be sure to check back throughout these next two days for more shifts in the field. For any questions or for notifications on when this article has been updated, you can follow me at @hardwiredsports.