
GAME DUCKS: With a big win over Arizona, we can almost safely move Oregon off the bubble. Almost. (Photo courtesy: Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)
After another unbelievably-full Saturday of college basketball, we have seen a massive shift in parts of the bracket projection. Below is the new projection in its entirety, but let’s run through some of the highlights real quick:
-Kansas took a head-in-hands loss to West Virginia yesterday, almost knocking them off the final #1 seed. If someone like Villanova steps up and wins their conference tournament, you can bet we’ll revisit the Jayhawks’ seeding.
-Arkansas took an abysmal loss to Alabama, practically begging to be knocked off the bubble. But for now, we’ll leave them in as no team has made a better argument for an invite. Missouri could’ve been that team, but they lost to Tennessee, and now Tennessee looks much safer heading into the SEC tournament.
-Belmont and Green Bay, both dangerous mid-majors, both lost in their conference tournaments and neither has the resume to make it to the big dance as an at-large berth. You’ll find them in the First Four Out and Next Four Out, respectively, but with their basketball playing done, the only direction they can really go is down.
-And on one last why-are-we-even-talking-about-this note, High Point lost in the Big South tourney, so Winthrop is the new projected champion.
March Madness: Projecting The Field (v2) |
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East | Midwest | |||||
1 | Florida^ | 1 | Wichita St.^ | |||
16 | Davidson^ | 16 | Robert Morris^ | |||
8 | Connecticut | 8 | Oregon | |||
9 | Kansas State | 9 | SMU | |||
5 | VCU | 5 | St. Louis^ | |||
12 | Harvard # | 12 | Toledo^ | |||
4 | Michigan St. | 4 | Virginia | |||
13 | Delaware^ | 13 | N. Dakota St.^ | |||
6 | UCLA | 6 | Oklahoma | |||
11 | Southern Miss.^ | 11 | Stanford/Tennessee | |||
3 | Duke | 3 | Wisconsin | |||
14 | Georgia St.^ | 14 | Boston U.^ | |||
7 | Texas | 7 | New Mexico | |||
10 | Dayton | 10 | Oklahoma St. | |||
2 | Michigan^ | 2 | Creighton^ | |||
15 | Vermont^ | 15 | Eastern Kentucky #* | |||
West | South | |||||
1 | Arizona^ | 1 | Kansas^ | |||
16 | Wright State^*/N. Colorado^ | 16 | Southern U.^/Winthrop^* | |||
8 | Iowa | 8 | Arizona St. | |||
9 | Xavier | 9 | St. Joseph’s | |||
5 | Kentucky | 5 | North Carolina | |||
12 | BYU | 12 | Minnesota/Arkansas | |||
4 | Louisville^ | 4 | Cincinnati | |||
13 | Stephen F. Austin^ | 13 | Iona^ | |||
6 | Ohio State | 6 | Massachusetts | |||
11 | Pittsburgh | 11 | Baylor | |||
3 | Iowa State | 3 | San Diego St.^ | |||
14 | New Mexico St.^ | 14 | Mercer^ | |||
7 | George Washington | 7 | Memphis | |||
10 | Colorado | 10 | Gonzaga^ | |||
2 | Syracuse^ | 2 | Villanova | |||
15 | UC-Irvine^ | 15 | N.C. Central^ |
^ = Projected Conference Champion
# = Automatic Berth Clinched
* = New Team To Bracket Projection
Bold = First Round “First Four” Game
Last Four In: Stanford, Tennessee, Minnesota, Arkansas
First Four Out: Missouri, Belmont, Providence, Nebraska
Next Four Out: Florida St., California, St. John’s, Green Bay