Bracketology 2020 Projected Field: Daily updates before Selection Sunday

The 2020 Selection Sunday is drawing nearer. As conference tournaments commence, check-in for daily updates and live blog additions to our bracketology.

Bracketology season is now in full swing with conference tournaments tipping off across the country. Selection Sunday is drawing nearer by the second and every result seemingly has an impact on the NCAA Tournament hopes for at least one team. With that said, this page will now be the host for my bracketology updates until the Selection Show on March 15th.

These updates will now be coming every single morning rather than Tuesday/Friday as the closing stretch of the season continues. I will be posting each update by 8:00 am ET every morning and there will also be a blurb on the results that make an impact on the field that comes out at the same time (you can find the first entry to that “live blog” aspect below the projected field).

You can follow along with me on Twitter at @hardwiredsports as well. This is my fifth season covering bracketology and I am currently rated eighth out of 133 on the Bracket Matrix.

THIS FIELD WAS LAST UPDATED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11TH AT 6:30 AM ET. There will be a new scrub coming Thursday afternoon after a few pivotal games and a flat-out unbelievable night of news.

Midwest Region (Indianapolis, IN)

(1) Kansas vs. (16) Robert Morris/NC Central

(8) LSU vs. (9) Marquette

(4) Louisville vs. (13) Akron

(5) BYU vs. (12) Stephen F. Austin

(6) West Virginia vs. (11) Xavier

(3) Michigan State vs. (14) Belmont

(7) Colorado vs. (10) Indiana

(2) Creighton vs. (15) North Dakota State

West Region (Los Angeles, CA)

(1) Gonzaga vs. (16) Siena/Prairie View A&M

(8) USC vs. (9) Florida

(4) Oregon vs. (13) New Mexico State

(5) Ohio State vs. (12) Texas Tech/NC State

(6) Iowa vs. (11) Richmond

(3) Seton Hall vs. (14) Bradley

(7) Illinois vs. (10) Arizona State

(2) San Diego State vs. (15) UC Irvine

South Region (Houston, TX)

(1) Baylor vs. (16) Winthrop

(8) Saint Mary’s vs. (9) Rutgers

(4) Butler vs. (13) North Texas

(5) Auburn vs. (12) Yale

(6) Virginia vs. (11) Wichita State/Stanford

(3) Maryland vs. (14) Hofstra

(7) Michigan vs. (10) Utah State

(2) Florida State vs. (15) Little Rock

East Region (New York, NY)

(1) Dayton vs. (16) Northern Kentucky

(8) Providence vs. (9) Oklahoma

(4) Kentucky vs. (13) Vermont

(5) Wisconsin vs. (12) Liberty

(6) Penn State vs. (11) East Tennessee State

(3) Duke vs. (14) Colgate

(7) Houston vs. (10) Arizona

(2) Villanova vs. (15) Eastern Washington

Last Four Byes: Indiana, Arizona State, Richmond, Xavier

Last Four In: Wichita State, Stanford, Texas Tech, NC State

First Four Out: Cincinnati, UCLA, Texas, Memphis

Next Four Out: Northern Iowa, Arkansas, Purdue, Mississippi State

Live Blog Entry: Friday, March 6th at 5:00 pm ET

There was already a major shift today from my update this morning (this live piece was not published yet). Northern Iowa falling to Drake in the Missouri Valley Tournament dropped it out of my projected field. The Panthers had been one of my favorite teams to watch all season long but that defeat will be really difficult to survive. Their resume does not have much substance at this point and they have to be hoping for other bubble teams to stumble early in their projected field. The committee will also have to like their resume more than I do.

Live Blog Entry: Saturday, March 7th at 8:00 am ET

No major changes in the meat of the bracket but plenty of movement at the automatic bid level, especially out of the Missouri Valley. Northern Iowa, Loyola-Chicago, and Indiana State, the top three seeds in the MVC Tournament, dropped games yesterday. The new automatic bid for the conference is Bradley, who is now slotted as a No. 14 seed above.

Here were some of the other noteworthy games of the day:

• San Diego State and Utah State both held serve in the Mountain West Tournament to reach the championship. The Aztecs remain on the No. 1 seed line as a result and the Aggies continue to sit right near the cutline. Winning the championship would obviously give Utah State the automatic bid, but a loss would have the team sweating for a week.
• The No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament, Radford, went down in the semifinals. This sets up a championship game between Winthrop and Hampton. These two teams split their matchups during the regular season.
• NC State dominated Wake Forest en route to a 20-point victory. This pulled the Wolfpack a bit closer to my projected field but they still remain in my “First Four Out” with a little bit of work to do.
• Richmond went on the road and took down a very strong Duquesne team. The Spiders are on the right side of my projected cutline and are trending in the right direction. This victory ended their regular season and I think that advancing to the point of losing to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Tournament would get them in. They move to my No. 11 line – still in the Last Four In.
• The top seeds held serve in the Ohio Valley Tournament semifinals, setting up a fun matchup of Belmont vs. Murray State for the conference’s automatic bid.

Live Blog Entry: Sunday, March 8th at 10:30 am ET

Considering the massive number of games played yesterday, I did an entire re-scrub of my field last night. Rather than simply making changes based on the “bracket impact” games, there was too much change in metrics and quadrant records to make that happen. That is why the update is coming a bit later today (and the fact that Saint Mary’s/Pepperdine seemingly never wanted to end). Here, though, is a quick overview of the big events from the day.

• Utah State won the Mountain West Conference Tournament behind 27 points (including the game-winner) from Sam Merrill. The Aggies have removed all doubt about their bubble status and are locked into the field.
• Belmont won the automatic bid for the Ohio Valley Conference over Murray State.
  
• Texas Tech fell in a close game to Kansas. This loss pretty much summarizes the entire season for the Red Raiders, who have failed to close out big games despite being right there at the end. They fall to the “Last Four In” and are in danger of missing the Big Dance.
• Creighton snagged a share of the Big East regular-season title with a home victory over Seton Hall. While that title means nothing for bracketology, the victory did move the Bluejays back to the No. 2 line and the Pirates fell to a No. 3.
• Virginia continues to soar with a  win over Louisville. The Cavaliers are hitting their stride at the right time and have now risen to a No. 6 seed in my field. Tremendous rise down the stretch.
• Stanford fell on the road to Oregon in what was a huge opportunity to move into a much safer position. Instead, the Cardinal remain among my “Last Four In.”
• Indiana dropped a home game to Wisconsin and now falls into my “Last Four Byes” category. The Hoosiers should still be safe but winning at least one in the B1G Tournament needs to be the goal.
• Marquette fell on the road to St. John’s and has now lost six of seven. The Golden Eagles are trending down faster than just about anyone. Marquette sits on my No. 9 seed line right now and is very lucky that the season will end before it has a chance to lose its way out of the field.
• Rutgers knocked off Purdue on the road. This result essentially locks the Scarlet Knights into the field (woohoo) and makes the Boilermakers a big-time long-shot.
• USC won the other major “Bubble Battle” over UCLA. The Trojans should now be a lock while the Bruins have a bit of work to do.
• Austin Reaves (41 points) carried Oklahoma to a huge win over TCU to remain very safely in the field. The Sooners had trailed by 18 at halftime in that game.
• Arizona dropped a home game to Washington and has now tumbled to my No. 10 seed line. The Wildcats are still in good shape due to their ridiculously high metrics but they shouldn’t be too comfortable. They cannot afford another bad loss.
• Xavier similarly fell at home but to a much better opponent in Butler. The Musketeers drop a little bit to my “Last Four Byes” while the Bulldogs moved to my last No. 4 seed with their 10th Q1 win.
• Cincinnati narrowly pulled out a win over Temple behind a Trevon Scott tip-in in the closing seconds. This keeps the Bearcats hovering right at my projected cutline.

Not enough changes for a live blog for Monday or Tuesday morning.

That concludes this update to the bracketology projected field. Continue to check back to this exact page over the next week and a half as I will be continuously updating the field as well as providing breakdowns on each change at the bottom.