Busting Brackets
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Bracketology 2019: Duke, Kansas headline the projected field

By Lukas Harkins

DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes up for a dunk against the Yale Bulldogs in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 8, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes up for a dunk against the Yale Bulldogs in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 8, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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LINCOLN, NE – DECEMBER 8: Watson Jr. #5 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – DECEMBER 8: Watson Jr. #5 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Other points worth noting…

Considering how early it is in this young season, there is no truly defined bubble. There is a seemingly endless list of contenders for potential NCAA Tournament at-large bids at this point in time and therefore my “First Four Out” does not even begin to explain the selection process for this Bracketology field. To put it simply, I considered every team from a major conference and the top half of several mid-major leagues as well. The bubble will surely shrink over the course of the season but do not be afraid if your team is not listed in this article. There are still plenty of games left to make a move.

With that said, here is my “bubble” at the moment (compete Bubble Watch coming in January):

Safer…not safe: UCLA, LSU, Texas, Florida.

Last Four In: Creighton, Northwestern, Ole Miss, UCF.

First Four Out: Colorado, Arizona, Notre Dame, Minnesota.

Next Four Out: Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Washington, Oregon.

Bids by Conference (seeding in parenthesis)

Big Ten (10 bids): Michigan (1), Michigan State (2), Wisconsin (3), Ohio State (4), Nebraska (5), Indiana (5), Maryland (7), Iowa (8), Purdue (9), and Northwestern (11).

ACC (7 bids): Duke (1), Virginia (1), North Carolina (3), Virginia Tech (4), Florida State (6), NC State (6), and Louisville (6).

Big 12 (7 bids): Kansas (1), Texas Tech (3), Oklahoma (5), TCU (7), Iowa State (8), Kansas State (9), and Texas (11).

SEC (7 bids): Tennessee (2), Auburn (3), Mississippi State (6), Kentucky (7), LSU (10), Florida (11), and Ole Miss (11).

Big East (5 bids): Marquette (5), Villanova (8), St. John’s (9), Butler (9), and Creighton (11).

AAC (3 bids): Houston (4), Cincinnati (7), and UCF (11).

Pac-12 (2 bids): Arizona State (8) and UCLA (10).

MWC (2 bids): Nevada (2) and Utah State (10).

WCC (2 bids): Gonzaga (2) and San Francisco (10).

dark. Next. Week 7 Power Rankings

That concludes this edition of my bracketology update. There will surely be changes over the next several months but teams are definitely starting to solidify their positions, for the most part, on the national scene. Which teams will be the biggest movers from now until Selection Sunday?

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