Bracketology 2019: St. John’s climbs, Arizona State drops in projected field
With another week of NCAA basketball now complete, let’s dive into our latest bracketology projected field of 68 heading into the weekend.
Another week of college hoops is complete. With high-octane every single night, the season is really hitting its stride and teams around the nation and attempting to add to their NCAA Tournament resumes. And while not every team can go dancing in March, each team is certainly fighting for that opportunity. With only a little over a month remaining until Selection Sunday, bracketology season is also heating up around the nation.
As many of you know, this is my fourth season as a bracketologist and predicting the field is one of my favorite things to do. I cover the entire nation as a whole and attempt to keep my brackets as bias-free as possible. In order to do this, I look at many blind resumes and think ultra-carefully about my favorite teams (because writers can be fans too…objectively, of course). My goal with each bracketology piece is to predict what the committee would do if the tournament started right now.
Now, without any further ado, let’s dive right into the most recent updated bracketology projected field of 68.
"Last updated prior to the games on Friday, Feb. 8"
East Region
(1) Duke vs. (16) Prairie View A&M/Robert Morris
(8) Baylor vs. (9) Ole Miss
(4) Nevada vs. (13) New Mexico State
(5) LSU vs. (12) Minnesota/UCF
(6) Mississippi State vs. (11) Indiana
(3) Marquette vs. (14) Old Dominion
(7) Florida State vs. (10) Wofford
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Northern Kentucky
South Region
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Norfolk State/Sam Houston State
(8) Auburn vs. (9) Texas
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Hofstra
(5) Texas Tech vs. (12) Clemson/Creighton
(6) Iowa vs. (11) Utah State
(3) Houston vs. (14) South Dakota State
(7) Washington vs. (10) Syracuse
(2) Kentucky vs. (15) Loyola-Chicago
Midwest Region
(1) Tennessee vs. (16) Rider
(8) St. John’s vs. (9) TCU
(4) Louisville vs. (13) Yale
(5) Iowa State vs. (12) VCU
(6) Maryland vs. (11) Lipscomb
(3) Kansas vs. (14) Georgia State
(7) Cincinnati vs. (10) NC State
(2) Michigan vs. (15) Radford
West Region
(1) Gonzaga vs. (16) Bucknell
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Oklahoma
(4) Villanova vs. (13) Vermont
(5) Virginia Tech vs. (12) Belmont
(6) Kansas State vs. (11) Temple
(3) Purdue vs. (14) UC Irvine
(7) Buffalo vs. (10) Alabama
(2) North Carolina vs. (15) Montana
State of the Bubble
(Full edition of the bubble watch below!)
Last Four Byes: NC State, Indiana, Utah State, Temple
Last Four In: Minnesota, UCF, Clemson, Creighton
First Four Out: Butler, Nebraska, Florida, Seton Hall
Next Four Out: Davidson, Arizona State, Arkansas, UNC-Greensboro
Bids by conference breakdown
Big Ten (9 bids): Michigan (2), Michigan State (2), Purdue (3), Wisconsin (4), Iowa (6), Maryland (6), Ohio State (8), Indiana (11), Minnesota (12), and Nebraska (F4O).
ACC (9 bids): Duke (1), Virginia (1), North Carolina (2), Louisville (4), Virginia Tech (5), Florida State (7), Syracuse (10), NC State (10), and Clemson (12).
Big 12 (8 bids): Kansas (3), Iowa State (5), Texas Tech (5), Kansas State (6), Baylor (8), Oklahoma (9), TCU (9), and Texas (9).
SEC (7 bids): Tennessee (1), Kentucky (2), LSU (5), Mississippi State (6), Auburn (8), Ole Miss (9), Alabama (10), Florida (F4O), and Arkansas (N4O)
Big East (4 bids): Marquette (3), Villanova (4), St. John’s (8), Creighton (12), Butler (F4O), and Seton Hall (F4O).
American (4 bids): Houston (3), Cincinnati (7), Temple (11), and UCF (12).
Mountain West (2 bids): Nevada (4) and Utah State (11).
Pac-12 (1 bid): Washington (7) and Arizona State (N4O)
SoCon (1 bid): Wofford (10) and UNC-Greensboro (N4O)
Atlantic 10 (1 bid): VCU (12) and Davidson (N4O)
Next. Complete Bubble Watch Breakdown. dark
That concludes this edition of my bracketology projected field of 68. I hope that you all enjoyed and that your favorite team secured a spot. If not, there is still time left to make a move. Stay tuned for another updated field coming out on Tuesday, Feb. 12.