Sunday, March 16, 2014

March 16, 2014 SELECTION SUNDAY Bracketology

This will be my final projection there is only one thing that is tenative if Kentucky happens to beat Florida they will move from the 7 seed line to the second 6 seed behind Texas and just ahead of Cincinnati.  As of now I believe win or lose Michigan will be a #1 seed and that Michigan St. will be a #3 seed.  If Kentucky wins I will edit this post before the selection show to move them up where they belong.  Otherwise these are my final projections of the field.  I would like to thank everyone who has visited me frequently for your support and without further ado here we go!  Yellow denotes a team who has won their leagues auto-bid and as always teams appear in true seed order.

  1 Seeds- Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Michigan
  2 Seeds- Kansas,  Wisconsin,  Villanova,  Virginia
  3 Seeds- Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,  Creighton,  Louisville
  4 Seeds- Duke,  Syracuse,  San Diego St.,  UCLA
  5 Seeds- Connecticut,  Baylor,  New Mexico,  Oklahoma
  6 Seeds- Texas,  Cincinnati,  Ohio St.,  VCU
  7 Seeds- St. Louis,  George Washington,  North Carolina,  Kentucky
  8 Seeds- UMASS,  St. Joseph's,  Oregon,  Providence
  9 Seeds- Oklahoma St.,  Pittsburgh,  Colorado,  Stanford
10 Seeds- Kansas St.,  Memphis,  Iowa,  Gonzaga 
11 Seeds- Dayton,  Arizona St.,  California,  Nebraska/Tennessee
12 Seeds- Xavier/Florida St.,  Harvard,  Stephen F. Austin,  North Dakota St.
13 Seeds- Manhattan,  North Carolina Central,  Delaware,  Western Michigan
14 Seeds- New Mexico St., Tulsa,  Eastern Kentucky,  Mercer
15 Seeds- UL Lafayette,  Wofford,  UW Milwaukee,  American
16 Seeds- Weber St.,  Coastal Carolina,  Albany/Cal Poly,  M. St. Mary's/Texas Southern

Last four byes:  Iowa,  Dayton,  Arizona St.,  California
Last four in:  Nebraska,  Xavier,  Florida St.,  Tennessee
First four out:  St. John's,  Toledo,  Illinois,  Missouri
Next four out:  SMU,  North Carolina St.,  Minnesota,  BYU

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Bracketology

The final bracket will be posted tomorrow afternoon before the SEC tournament is over.  I believe at this point Michigan is the final #1 seed regardless of what happens so the only potential movement at that point in the afternoon would be Kentucky if they were to beat Florida would move up.  Otherwise everything is set into place.  I figured it's a waste of time to post a bracket now when I will have to wait on a couple of things to pan out.

March 15, 2014 Bracketology

  The bubble has basically completely shrunk to nearly nothing with basically all bubble teams who could make the tournament with an at large bid losing.  Friday saw the elimination of essentially everyone who would not require an auto-bid from contention and leaves us with a much clearer picture of how the field will look.  There was a lot of movement with several teams continuing big tournament runs.  Yellow denotes a team who has received their leagues auto-bid and as always teams appear in true seed order.  

  1 Seeds-  Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Wisconsin
  2 Seeds-  Villanova,  Kansas,  Michigan,  Creighton
  3 Seeds-  Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,  San Diego St.,  Duke
  4 Seeds-  Syracuse,  Connecticut,  Virginia,  Louisville
  5 Seeds-  Baylor,  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Cincinnati
  6 Seeds-  Ohio St.,  George Washington,  St. Louis,  UCLA
  7 Seeds-  UMASS,  New Mexico,  North Carolina,  VCU
  8 Seeds-  Oregon,  Oklahoma St.,  Pittsburgh,  Kentucky
  9 Seeds-  St. Joseph's,  Colorado,  Stanford,  Kansas St.
10 Seeds-  Providence,  Memphis,  Iowa,  Gonzaga 
11 Seeds-  Arizona St.,  Dayton,  California,  Nebraska/Tennessee
12 Seeds-  Xavier/Florida St.,  Harvard,  Toledo,  Stephen F. Austin
13 Seeds-  Louisiana Tech,  North Dakota St.,  Manhattan,  North Carolina Central
14 Seeds-  Delaware,  New Mexico St.,  Georgia St.,  Eastern Kentucky
15 Seeds-  Mercer,  Stony Brook,  Wofford,  UW Milwaukee
16 Seeds-  American,  Weber St.,  Coastal Carolina/Cal St. Northridge,  Mount St. Mary's/Texas Southern

Last four byes:  Iowa,  Arizona St.,  Dayton,  California
Last four in:  Nebraska,  Xavier,  Florida St.,  Tennessee
First four out:  St. John's,  Illinois,  Missouri,  SMU
Next four out:  North Carolina St.,  Minnesota,  BYU,  Southern Mississippi

Notes:  I worked out the bracket and all of the seeds fit properly within the NCAA Principles and Procedures therefore these seeds appear true to actual seed order(S-Curve).  Also if you look at the last four out and next four out I rank the teams according to how I see their entire body of works even if they are done playing and can not play their way into the field.  The only teams that could steal a bid at this point causing any of the last four in to lose their spots would be  St. Bonaventure,  North Carolina St., and Georgia.  Basically the bracket is set with these teams in it, based on my projections, unless one of those three wins their conferences auto-bid.  Seeds are subject to change though based off  of Saturday and Sunday's results.  Tomorrow I will post the full bracket with projected first round locations and regions.  If the Sunday final games do not provide a mess where there could be several scenarios that change the bracket I am going to attempt to put up 2 brackets one based on each scenario for Sunday's games because otherwise it may be difficult to get the bracket in before the Selection Show on Sunday.

Friday, March 14, 2014

March 14, 2014 Bracketology

Thursday was a wild day that really helped to shape the landscape of the tournament.  It was a day where a lot of bubbles popped and the few who didn't really solidified themselves in the tournament.  Overall there was a lot of movement in the bracket today and there almost certainly will be even more tomorrow.  The biggest news is we temporarily, at least, welcome Wisconsin to the #1 seed line but that is obviously very likely to change over the next couple of days.  Yellow denotes a team who has secured their leagues auto-bid and as always teams appear in true seed order.

  1 Seeds-  Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Wisconsin
  2 Seeds-  Kansas,  Villanova,  Michigan,  Creighton
  3 Seeds-  Syracuse,  Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,   San Diego St.
  4 Seeds-  Duke,  Louisville,  Virginia,  St. Louis
  5 Seeds-  Texas,  Cincinnati,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut
  6 Seeds-  Oklahoma,  Baylor,  North Carolina,  Ohio St.
  7 Seeds-  UCLA,  Oklahoma St.,  New Mexico,  Oregon
  8 Seeds-  George Washington,  VCU,  Colorado,  Kentucky
  9 Seeds-  Stanford,  Kansas St.,  Pittsburgh,  St. Joseph's
10 Seeds-  Memphis,  Iowa,  Gonzaga,  Providence
11 Seeds-  Dayton,  Arizona St.,  California,  Nebraska/Tennessee
12 Seeds-  Xavier/Florida St.,  Harvard,  Stephen F. Austin,  Southern Mississippi
13 Seeds-  Toledo,  North Dakota St.,  Manhattan,  North Carolina Central
14 Seeds-  Delaware,  Georgia St.,  Eastern Kentucky,  UC Irvine
15 Seeds-  Mercer,  Stony Brook,  Wofford,  Utah Valley
16 Seeds-  UW Milwaukee,  American,  Weber St./Mount St. Mary's,  Coastal Carolina/Alabama St.

Last four byes:  Providence,  Dayton,  Arizona St.,  California
Last four in:  Nebraska,  Xavier,  Florida St.,  Tennessee
First four out:  Illinois,  St. John's,  Missouri,  SMU
Next four out:  Minnesota,  BYU,  Utah,  Arkansas
Holding onto a prayer:  North Carolina St.,  LSU,  Richmond,  Middle Tennessee St.,  Louisiana Tech,  Clemson

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014 Bracketology

With another light slate of games last night there is not much new to report. We did add four new auto-bids into the tournament which were Gonzaga, North Dakota St., UW Milwaukee, and Mount St. Mary's.  Gonzaga did move up a seed line in the bracket and BYU is now out completely of the projected field.  Yellow denotes teams who have secured the auto-bid from their conference and teams appear in true seed order



  1 Seeds-  Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Villanova
  2 Seeds-  Kansas,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Creighton
  3 Seeds-  Syracuse,  Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,  San Diego St.
  4 Seeds-  Duke,  Louisville,  St. Louis,  Virginia
  5 Seeds-  Cincinnati,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  Massachusetts
  6 Seeds-  North Carolina,  Baylor,  Ohio St.,  Connecticut
  7 Seeds-  Oregon,  VCU,  New Mexico,  George Washington
  8 Seeds-  Oklahoma St.,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  UCLA
  9 Seeds-  Kansas St.,  St. Joseph's,  Colorado,  Memphis
10 Seeds-  Gonzaga, Pittsburgh,  Arizona St.,  Dayton
11 Seeds-  Stanford, California,  Nebraska,    Providence/Tennessee
12 Seeds-  SMU/Xavier,  Harvard,  Stephen F. Austin,  Toledo
13 Seeds-  Southern Mississippi,  North Dakota St., Manhattan,  Delaware
14 Seeds-  North Carolina Central,  Boston U,  Georgia St.,  Eastern Kentucky 
15 Seeds-  UC Irvine,  Mercer,  Stony Brook, Wofford
16 Seeds-  Utah Valley, UW Milwaukee,  Weber St./Mount St. Mary's, Coastal Carolina/Alabama St.

Last four byes:  Dayton,  Stanford,  California,  Nebraska
Last four in:  Providence,  SMU,  Xavier,  Tennessee
First four out:  Florida St.,  St. John's,  Arkansas,  Minnesota
Next four out: BYU,  West Virginia,  Illinois,  Georgetown
Living on a prayer:  Missouri,  Marquette,  Utah,  Indiana,  Maryland,  North Carolina St.,  LSU

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

March 11, 2014 Bracketology

With a light slate tonight I am going to just list the seed lines and not the entire bracket since there was not much movement today.  The only movement was BYU who moves into consideration but again I still believe they need to win against Gonzaga tomorrow to guarantee a bid. On the Gonzaga front I think unless something wild happens they should be in now win or lose tomorrow.  We also add Manhattan, Wofford, and Delaware to the auto bid list.  Yellow denotes a team that has officially claimed the auto-bid for their conference and as always the teams appear in true seed order.

  1 Seeds-  Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Villanova
  2 Seeds-  Kansas,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Creighton
  3 Seeds-  Syracuse,  Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,  San Diego St.
  4 Seeds-  Duke,  Louisville,  St. Louis,  Virginia
  5 Seeds-  Cincinnati,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  Massachusetts
  6 Seeds-  North Carolina,  Baylor,  Ohio St.,  Connecticut
  7 Seeds-  Oregon,  VCU,  New Mexico,  George Washington
  8 Seeds-  Oklahoma St.,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  UCLA
  9 Seeds-  Kansas St.,  St. Joseph's,  Colorado,  Memphis
10 Seeds-  Pittsburgh,  Arizona St.,  Dayton,  Stanford
11 Seeds-  California,  Nebraska,  Gonzaga,  Providence/Tennessee
12 Seeds-  SMU/Xavier,  Harvard,  Stephen F. Austin,  Toledo
13 Seeds-  Southern Mississippi,  Manhattan,  North Dakota St.,  Delaware
14 Seeds-  North Carolina Central,  Boston U,  Georgia St.,  Eastern Kentucky 
15 Seeds-  UC Irvine,  Mercer,  Stony Brook,  Robert Morris
16 Seeds-  Wofford,  Utah Valley,  Weber St./Alabama St.,  Coastal Carolina/Wright St.

Last four byes:  Dayton,  Stanford,  California,  Nebraska
Last four in:  Providence,  SMU,  Xavier,  Tennessee
First four out:  Florida St.,  St. John's,  Arkansas,  Minnesota
Next four out: BYU,  West Virginia,  Illinois,  Georgetown
Living on a prayer:  Missouri,  Marquette,  Utah,  Indiana,  Maryland,  North Carolina St.,  LSU




Monday, March 10, 2014

Do or Die: First Round Conference Tournament Match-ups

With bubble teams galore meeting up in the first round of all of the major conference tournaments some will have their fates sealed while others will begin magical runs through March.  In this post I intend to outline the biggest first round match-ups in which the loser will fall permanently on the outside of the bubble.

Maryland v.s. Florida St. 
Thursday @ 12:00 P.M. ET
While Maryland would clearly need to win the ACC tournament to make it into the field Florida St. still has an opportunity to get an at large bid with 2 wins in the ACC tournament.  This is the case because the winner of this game will play 1 seed Virginia in the next round.  The combination of wins over a top 100 Maryland and a top 15 RPI Virginia would give Florida St. a very good chance to make the field.
Prediction: Florida St. will hold off Maryland in the first game in what I expect to be a low scoring very tight game.  That will set up an opportunity for Florida St. to control their own fate against Virginia.



St. John's v.s. Providence 
Thursday @ 2:30 P.M. ET
We could not ask for a better first round Big East matchup than this.  With these two teams both so near a bid this game should have an incredible amount of tension.  One thing we know for sure  is the loser will most certainly be completely eliminated from contention for an at large bid.  The winner will have a massive opportunity though v.s. Villanova in the next round to solidify a bid.  This game is a must watch.
Prediction: Providence, who sits ahead of St. John's on the bid board, wins knocking St. John's out of contention.  If this scenario plays out there is still an outside shot that if they lost to Villanova that they could receive an at large bid if several bids are not stolen.


Marquette v.s. Xavier 
Thursday @ 9:30 P.M. ET
If the tension in the first Big East matchup is not enough this one certainly will fill the void.  While Marquette is well outside of the field at the moment either team could potentially work their way into an at large bid without winning the conference tournament if they were to advance far enough.  Xavier, as of this moment sits in the projected play-in game so just as before the loser of this game will be eliminated from bubble contention.  If you have not figured it out yet Thursday will start to give the bubble picture a lot more clarity.
Prediction: Xavier slips by Marquette keeping them in the projected field and giving them a potential bid sealing chance against Creighton(if they can get by Georgetown first).


Illinois v.s. Indiana
Thursday @ 12:00 A.M. ET
Indiana will most likely have to win the Big Ten tournament to get a bid but Illinois with a couple of wins stunningly may be able to steal a bid.  Illinois' has been tremendous down the stretch winning four of their last five games.  Illinois' resume is much stronger than most people realize because they get caught up in the 7-11 conference record(which the committee does not use as a factor).  The stat that may help Illinois the most is that they have 5 true road wins and 3 neutral site wins including wins @Michigan St., @Minnesota, @Iowa, and a neutral site win over fellow bubble team Missouri.  We know how much the committee cherishes road and neutral site wins so they may not be as far out as some expect if they were to win at least 2 in the Big Ten tournament.
Prediction: Illinois' defensive resurgence over the last month will provide them just enough to slip by Indiana.  After that the theme continues as they will have a chance to play #1 seed Michigan potentially for an at large birth.

One quick side not as well is that the Big 12 and Pac 12 tournaments will set up some huge games in the second round among bubble contenders but we will have to wait and see how the first round pans out in those tournaments before we know what is at stake.

March 10, 2014 Bracketology

With the final day of the regular season out of the way we had some movement in the bracket where we saw Nebraska join the projected field for the first time.  Also we saw a lot of action in conference tournaments with Mercer, Wichita St., and Coastal Carolina clinching the automatic bid.  Finally we saw favorites Davidson and Vermont lose adding two new teams into the field.  Yellow denotes teams that have secured the auto-bid from their conference and as always seeds appear in true seed order except in this case SMU/Xavier who had to be moved to the 12 line to fit into the bracket.

  1 Seeds-  Florida,  Arizona,  Wichita St.,  Villanova
  2 Seeds-  Kansas,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Creighton
  3 Seeds-  Syracuse,  Iowa St.,  Michigan St.,  San Diego St.
  4 Seeds-  Duke,  Louisville,  St. Louis,  Virginia
  5 Seeds-  Cincinnati,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  Massachusetts
  6 Seeds-  North Carolina,  Baylor,  Ohio St.,  Connecticut
  7 Seeds-  Oregon,  VCU,  New Mexico,  George Washington
  8 Seeds-  Oklahoma St.,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  UCLA
  9 Seeds-  Kansas St.,  St. Joseph's,  Colorado,  Memphis
10 Seeds-  Pittsburgh,  Arizona St.,  Dayton,  Stanford
11 Seeds-  California,  Nebraska,  Providence/Tennessee,  Gonzaga
12 Seeds-  Xavier/SMU,  Harvard,  Stephen F. Austin,  Toledo
13 Seeds-  Southern Mississippi,  North Dakota St.,  North Carolina Central,  Delaware
14 Seeds-  Iona,  Boston U,  Georgia St.,  Eastern Kentucky
15 Seeds-  UC Irvine,  Mercer,  Stony Brook,  Robert Morris
16 Seeds-  Wofford,  Utah Valley,  Weber St./Alabama St.,  Coastal Carolina/Wright St.

Last four byes:  Dayton,  Stanford,  California,  Nebraska
Last four in:  Providence,  Xavier,  SMU,  Tennessee
First four out:  Florida St.,  St. John's,  Arkansas,  Minnesota
Next four out: West Virginia,  Illinois,  Georgetown,  Missouri
Living on a prayer:  Marquette,  Utah,  BYU,  Indiana,  Maryland,  North Carolina St.,  LSU

I will post the entire bracket later on today.  It takes quite awhile to format it correctly with the blogger interface so I will probably post it sometime Monday afternoon.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

March 9, 2014 Bracket

       SOUTH-Memphis                                       WEST-Anaheim
       Orlando                                                 San Diego
  1 Florida                                                  1 Arizona
16 Robert Morris                                       16 Utah Valley

  8 Iowa                                                      8 Kentucky
  9 Kansas St.                                            9 Memphis

       Spokane                                                   Orlando
  5 North Carolina                                        5 Texas
12 Stephen F. Austin                                 12 Toledo

  4 Cincinnati                                               4 Duke
13 North Dakota St.                                    13 North Carolina Central

        Raleigh                                                     Spokane 
  6 St. Louis                                                 6 Baylor
11 Providence                                             11 Harvard

  3 Michigan St.                                            3 San Diego St.
14 Boston U                                               14 Georgia St.

       St. Louis                                                   San Antonio 
  7 Oregon                                                    7 George Washington
10 Pittsburgh                                              10 Arizona St.

  2 Kansas                                                    2 Creighton
15 UC Irvine                                                15 Mercer

         EAST-New York                                         MIDWEST-Indianapolis
        Buffalo                                                       St. Louis 
  1 Villanova                                                  1 Wichita St.
16 Weber St./Alabama St.                            16 Coastal Carolina/Wright St.

  8 St. Joseph's                                             8 Ohio St.
  9 Colorado                                                  9 UCLA

       San Diego                                                     Raleigh
  5 Oklahoma                                                5  Massachusetts
12 Gonzaga                                                 12 Xavier/SMU

  4 Louisville                                                  4 Virginia
13 Southern Mississippi                                13 Delaware

         Buffalo                                                    San Antonio
  6 Connecticut                                               6 New Mexico
11 California                                                 11 Tennessee/Florida St.

  3 Syracuse                                                   3 Iowa St.
14 Iona                                                         14 Vermont

      Milwaukee                                                 Milwaukee
  7 Oklahoma St.                                             7 VCU
10 Dayton                                                     10 Stanford

  2 Michigan                                                    2 Wisconsin
15 Davidson                                                  15 Eastern Kentucky



 

















Saturday, March 8, 2014

March 9, 2014 Bracketology

These seeds reflect true seed order and only the last play-in game(12 seeds SMU/Providence) had to be moved from the 11 seed line due to inability to fit them into the bracket.  This bracket contains results through Saturday March 8.  Yellow denotes an autobid that has been officially locked up.

  1 Seeds-   Florida,   Arizona,   Wichita St.,   Villanova
  2 Seeds-   Kansas,   Wisconsin,   Michigan,   Creighton
  3 Seeds-   Michigan St.,   Iowa St.,   Syracuse,   San Diego St.
  4 Seeds-   Virginia,   Duke,   Louisville,   Cincinnati
  5 Seeds-   Oklahoma,   Texas,   Massachusetts,   North Carolina
  6 Seeds-   Baylor,   St. Louis,   Connecticut,   New Mexico
  7 Seeds-   Oregon,   George Washington,   VCU,   Oklahoma St.
  8 Seeds-   Saint Joseph's,   Ohio St.,   Kentucky,   Iowa
  9 Seeds-   UCLA,   Kansas St.,   Colorado,   Memphis
10 Seeds-   Pittsburgh,   Arizona St.,   Dayton,   Stanford
11 Seeds-   California,   Providence,   Florida St./Tennessee,   Harvard 
12 Seeds-   SMU/Xavier,   Gonzaga,   Stephen F. Austin,   Toledo
13 Seeds-   Southern Mississippi,   North Dakota St.,   NCCU,   Delaware
14 Seeds-   Iona,   Boston U,   Georgia St,   Vermont
15 Seeds-   Eastern Kentucky,   Davidson,   UC Irvine,   Mercer
16 Seeds-   Robert Morris,   Utah Valley,   Weber St./Alabama St.,   Coastal Carolina/Wright St.

Last four byes:   Dayton,   Stanford,   California,   Providence
Last four in:   SMU,   Florida St.,   Xavier,   Tennessee
First four out:   St. John's,   Arkansas,   Nebraska,   Minnesota
Next four out:  West Virginia,   Illinois,   Georgetown,   Missouri
Living on a prayer:   Marquette,   Utah,   BYU,   Indiana,  North Carolina St.,   LSU,   Richmond,   Clemson

Friday, March 7, 2014

Tournament Notes/Concerns

4/5 Seed travel 
If your team falls on the 4 seed or 5 seed line it may not be a good thing.  With the Midwest and Eastern United States compiling the vast majority of the 1-4 seeds(all but Arizona and San Diego St. at this point) that means that location will be a big issue for the 4 and 5 seed East Coast teams in particular.  With Arizona obviously going to play in San Diego and San Diego St. most likely playing in Spokane that leaves each of those sites sitting there when the 4 seed line come around.  What this means is more than likely some East coast team, if not two, is going to have to be shipped all the way to the West coast to play in the first couple of rounds of the tournament.  The top 4 seed lines are location protected, which means they play as close to home as possible, but with the majority of the West coast teams being in the middle of the bracket the 4 and 5 seed lines are not a fun place to be.

BYU
They may have the hardest resume of anyone in the country to figure out.  BYU has a tidy RPI of 35 and wins over Stanford, Texas, and Gonzaga but they also have the worst losses of any bubble team.  They have lost to Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, and Pacific which all can be characterized as bad losses.  Even worse Loyola, Pepperdine, and Portland are all outside of the top 150 which means BYU has stunningly lost to 3 really bad teams but that seems to be overlooked.  I think the determining factor is that not only does BYU have the worst losses of any bubble team but their three best wins are not extraordinary by any means.  I may stand alone in this thought but I think BYU needs to win the WCC tournament to get into the big dance.

Arkansas
The national pundits have been glowing about Arkansas as of late and  they have good reason to because they have been playing tremendous.  Arkansas has beaten 8 of it's last 9 opponents and that 1 loss came to Missouri by one.  The problem with the national media is they often do not remember to take into account the entire season and instead focus on the here and now when they claim that teams are now "locks for the tournament."  I would like to say I do have Arkansas in the field as of now but only as an 11 in the play-in game.  If they keep winning they will certainly receive a bid but at this point they most certainly need to keep winning because they may not be as close to a lock as some suggest.

March 7, 2014 Bracket

      WEST-Anaheim                                                               SOUTH-Memphis
   San Diego                                                                           Orlando
  1 Arizona                                                                             1 Florida
16 UC Irvine                                                                         16 Robert Morris
 
  8 Baylor                                                                               8 Ohio St.
  9 Memphis                                                                           9 Arizona St.

    Spokane                                                                             Spokane
  5 St. Louis                                                                           5 Massachusetts
12 Stephen F. Austin                                                            12 Southern Mississippi

  4 San Diego St.                                                                   4 Texas
13 North Dakota St.                                                              13 UW Green Bay

 San Antonio                                                                          Raleigh
  6 Connecticut                                                                      6 UCLA
11 Stanford                                                                          11 SMU

  3 Iowa St.                                                                            3 Virginia
14 North Carolina Central                                                       14 Delaware

    Buffalo                                                                              Milwaukee
  7 Iowa                                                                                  7 Oklahoma St.          
10 Providence                                                                       10 Dayton

  2 Syracuse                                                                           2 Michigan
15 Georgia St.                                                                       15 Vermont


     EAST-New York                                                             MIDWEST-Indianapolis
   St. Louis                                                                              St. Louis
  1 Kansas                                                                              1 Wichita St.
16 Utah Valley/Alabama St.                                                    16 Weber St./High Point

  8 Saint Joseph's                                                                    8 Kentucky
  9 Oregon                                                                               9 Colorado

 San Diego                                                                              Orlando
  5 Duke                                                                                  5 Oklahoma
12 Harvard                                                                             12 Florida St./Xavier

  4 Louisville                                                                            4 Cincinnati
13 Toledo                                                                              13 Belmont

   Raleigh                                                                              San Antonio
  6 New Mexico                                                                       6 North Carolina
11 Arkansas/California                                                           11 Gonzaga

  3 Michigan St.                                                                      3 Creighton
14 Boston U                                                                         14 Iona

   Buffalo                                                                                Milwaukee
  7 George Washington                                                            7 VCU
10 Pittsburgh                                                                         10 Kansas St.

  2 Villanova                                                                           2 Wisconsin
15 Mercer                                                                             15 Davidson


  

March 7, 2014 Bracketology

   All teams are in true seed order so essentially best 1 seed is listed first and worst is listed last etc....  The only team that had to move seeds was Kansas St.  They could not fit into this particular bracket as a 9 due to a surplus of Big 12 teams in the top half of the bracket so they were bumped to a 10 for that reason and Memphis was brought up to a 9.  Also I completely recreated my bracket math yesterday for the last time before the tournament.  From here on out I will just add new results to my current bracket math. 

  1 Seeds-   Arizona,   Florida,   Wichita St.,   Kansas
  2 Seeds-   Wisconsin,   Villanova,   Michigan,   Syracuse 
  3 Seeds-   Michigan St.,   Creighton,   Iowa St.,   Virginia
  4 Seeds-   San Diego St.,   Texas,   Cincinnati,   Louisville
  5 Seeds-   Oklahoma,   Massachusetts,   Duke,   St. Louis
  6 Seeds-   North Carolina,   Connecticut,   UCLA,   New Mexico
  7 Seeds-   VCU,   George Washington,   Oklahoma St.,   Iowa
  8 Seeds-   Baylor,   Saint Joseph's,   Ohio St.,   Kentucky
  9 Seeds-   Colorado,   Arizona St.,   Oregon,   Memphis
10 Seeds-   Kansas St.,   Dayton,   Providence,   Pittsburgh
11 Seeds-   Stanford,   SMU,   Gonzaga,   Arkansas/California 
12 Seeds-   Florida St./Xavier,   Stephen F. Austin,   Harvard,   Southern Mississippi
13 Seeds-   Toledo,   UW Green Bay,   North Dakota St.,   Belmont
14 Seeds-   North Carolina Central,   Delaware,   Boston U,   Iona
15 Seeds-   Georgia St.,   Vermont,   Davidson,   Mercer
16 Seeds-   UC Irvine,   Robert Morris,   Utah Valley/Alabama St.,   Weber St./High Point 

Last four byes:   Providence,   Pittsburgh,   Stanford,   SMU
Last four in:   Florida St.,   Xavier,   Arkansas,   California 
First four out:   Missouri,   Nebraska,   Georgetown,   Minnesota
Next four out:   Marquette,   St. John's,   Tennessee,   Utah 
Others considered: West Virginia,   Louisiana Tech,   BYU,   Illinois,   Indiana,   LSU,   Richmond,   North Carolina St.,   Clemson

The reason I have BYU so far down is because their surplus of sub 150 losses really brought their overall value down in my bracket math.  They have by far the worst caliber of losses of anyone near the bubble and have several of them on their resume.  I don't know if the committee will eliminate those from their mind because of the strength of some of their wins but based on what the committee has done before I would guess they will be well out of the field as of now.  I understand they have a strong RPI but in reality we are talking about a team that is (20-10) in a down WCC that just doesn't resound as stellar to me when teams from power conferences have similar caliber wins and less profile killing losses.  

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

March 5, 2014 Bracketology

(In true seed order except for a SMU and Xavier who had to be moved down 1 seed line due to conflict with other teams in the bottom of the bracket.)
  1 Seeds-   Arizona,   Florida,   Wichita St.,   Kansas
  2 Seeds-   Wisconsin,   Michigan,   Villanova,   Syracuse
  3 Seeds-   Creighton,   Iowa St.,   Virginia,   Duke
  4 Seeds-   Michigan St.,   North Carolina,   San Diego St.,   St. Louis
  5 Seeds-   Texas,   Oklahoma,   Massachusetts,   Cincinnati
  6 Seeds-   UCLA,   New Mexico,   UCONN,   Louisville
  7 Seeds-   Oklahoma St.,   Baylor,   VCU,   Iowa
  8 Seeds-   Kansas St.,   George Washington,   Arizona St.,   Kentucky
  9 Seeds-   St. Joseph's,   Ohio St.,   Colorado,   Oregon
10 Seeds-   Stanford,   Pittsburgh,   Memphis,   Florida St.
11 Seeds-   California,   Providence,   Dayton/Arkansas,   Stephen F. Austin
12 Seeds-   SMU/Xavier,   Gonzaga,   UW Green Bay,   Harvard
13 Seeds-   Toledo,   Southern Mississippi,   Belmont,   North Carolina Central
14 Seeds-   Delaware,   North Dakota St.,   Iona,   Boston U.
15 Seeds-   Georgia St.,   Davidson,   UC Irvine,   Mercer
16 Seeds-   Vermont,   Robert Morris,   Utah Valley/Alabama St.,   Weber St./High Point

Last four byes:   Memphis,   Florida St.,   California,   Providence
Last four in:   Xavier,   SMU,   Dayton,   Arkansas
First four out:   Minnesota,   Missouri,   Georgetown,   BYU
Next four out:   West Virginia,   Marquette,   Tennessee,   Utah
Others Considered:   North Carolina St.,   Nebraska,   St. John,   Indiana,   Clemson,  Illinois, and Richmond.

There is nothing really of note to add here this time.  The bracket was very difficult to put together in places especially along the ten line because teams could literally only fit in one space so Memphis and Florida St. were put into potential Sweet 16 matchups with conference foes (which is allowed now under the NCAA committee's rules and regulations).   Otherwise the bracket was very smooth and I will be posting the full bracket tomorrow sometime during the day.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Bubble Watch Games of the Week (3/3-3/9)

Marquette @ Providence
Tuesday March 3, 9:00 P.M. ET
This is a massive game for both teams as they head into the final week of the season.  Providence after a good week last week sits in the Last Four In category of yesterdays bracket while Marquette continues to hang around just outside of the bracket.  With these two teams tied at 9-7 in Big East play on Selection Sunday the loser could look to this game as the reason they were left out while their counterpart was just inside the tournament.  It will be interesting to see if Providence can keep up their rise into the bracket or if Marquette can finally get over the hump and put themselves on the right side of the bubble. 
Prediction: Providence wins at home and begins to completely solidify their bid while Marquette misses out on another opportunity to push themselves into the dance. 

Nebraska @ Indiana
Wednesday March 4, 7:00 P.M. ET
The winner of this game will move closer to the field but more importantly whomever loses this game will most likely be eliminated from any chance at an at large birth.  That makes this matchup really intriguing because you have to imagine both teams will know how much is at stake.  Both teams have been trending up as of late.  Indiana has seemingly came out of no where to get into contention for a bid, but they can not afford another loss during the regular season.  Nebraska sits in slightly better shape(Next Four Out Category) but with the bubble shrinking every loss could be a death blow.
Prediction: Indiana holds serve at home once again and comes within reach of a bid with an extremely difficult game @Michigan that would give them a bid.  Nebraska with this loss falls to the point where they may need to win the BTT to receive a bid especially with their potential 2-9 road record. 

Utah @ California
Wednesday March 4, 11:00 P.M. ET
California slowly but surely has been slipping in the field and they appear to be now floating right around the play-in game or just above.  With that said Utah appears to finally be rising up the ranks into at least the conversation for a bid if they can keep winning.  This point may be null and void because Utah may have to win their conference tournament in order to get in but their resume does have some meat on it. 
Prediction: California holds serve at home and pretty much eliminates Utah from an at large berth.  It is particularly hard to see Utah winning this game because they are just 1-7 on the road with that win coming at lowly USC.  If Utah does not win this game they have no chance at all because the committee values road wins very highly. 

Missouri @ Tennessee
Saturday March 8, 4:00 P.M. ET
This matchup will basically decide if and who will be the fourth team from the SEC.  As long as Arkansas does not collapse it appears that they will find themselves in the field but the question all along was will there be a fourth SEC team?  Well this matchup came at a perfect time to leave an impression in the committees mind between two teams that essentially have the same resume.   Missouri in my projections is slightly ahead of Tennessee but without a doubt the winner of this game would jump the other. 
Prediction: Missouri comes into Tennessee and finally secures the SEC 4 bids in the dance.  Tennessee whose profile is slightly weaker than Missouri's falls well back with this loss and more than likely needs an SEC tournament title to make the field. 

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Bubble Movers (Through Sunday March 2


This is a new piece I am trying to help explain why I have certain teams in or out and to help describe why I moved teams in the bracket.

Biggest Risers 

Xavier-   With their home win over Creighton on Saturday they basically solidified their spot in the field unless something drastic happens.  Before the weekend they were a part of the last four in category, but now are safely in as a 10 seed.

Oregon-  Oregon was able to pick up two road wins @UCLA and @USC this week. The UCLA game was a wild one that went to double OT when it never should have gotten that far.  We almost saw Oregon crush their own bubble hopes against a UCLA team that had it's top 2 players suspended but instead they were able to pull out a road win that still counts big on their resume.  Besides that while USC is a very poor team it does add another road win to their resume.  They went from the first four out category to one of the last four byes.

Dayton-  They may have been the biggest winner of the week.  After their blowout loss @St. Joseph's earlier in the week it appeared as if Dayton's tourney hopes were falling fast.  Instead they recorded a huge win over a very good Massachusetts team that moved them from the Next four out category all the way into the play-in game in tonight's projected bracket.  

Arkansas- If Dayton was not the biggest winner Arkansas certainly was.  They almost appeared out of nowhere in an SEC that seemingly appeared to only want 2 bids.  With their wins @Kentucky and at home to Georgia this week they jumped from off the radar to in the play-in game.

Indiana- With three games this week due to the rescheduling of the Iowa game the Hoosiers were able to get themselves into a situation where their final two regular season games(v.s. Nebraska @Michigan) could get them close to a bid.  Indiana was able to record two good wins against Iowa and Ohio State at home that got them into this situation.

Illinois- This may seem as a stretch to some of you but stick with me here as I explain.  Obviously like Indiana, Illinois has a lot of work to do but they have put themselves in a situation now where that seems possible.  Just 2 weeks ago Illinois was 3-10 in the Big Ten and completely out of even the NIT picture.  After wins @ Minnesota, Nebraska, and @ Michigan St.  Illinois has now put themselves in a position where they can make a move quickly.   Their last two games are v.s. Michigan and @Iowa.  If they were to win those games their resume would be surprisingly strong.


Biggest Fallers 

Kentucky-  While they are obviously still well in the field it is hard not to bring up the epic fall of the Wildcats that were once thought by "experts" to have a chance at going undefeated.  This week they lost at home to Arkansas and stunningly @ South Carolina to take them all the way from a 5 seed to the dreaded 8/9 game where a #1 seed would be in waiting.  They still have a chance in the SEC tournament to right the ship but they are falling fast.

Richmond- Richmond shows how fast a team can destroy their tournament profile.  Just last week Richmond was projected in the field as an 11 seed and even ranked high enough in the field to avoid the play- in game.  Now after losses @ George Mason and @Rhode Island, two RPI sub 150 teams, they are well outside of the field.  It is important to note though that their chances are not completely dead yet because their final two games are v.s. VCU and @ Dayton which are two teams projected in the field.   With how much damage they did though last week they would probably need both to get back into serious consideration.

North Carolina St.- For some time N.C. St. sat just outside of the field but after this week they have completely ruined any at large chance they dreamed of unless they go on a big run in the ACC tournament.  Early in the weak they had a huge opportunity v.s. North Carolina to boost their profile and move into the field.  Despite that they lost to North Carolina their profile remained in tact until they were inexplicably beat at home by Miami.  The combination of the two losses puts them on the dark side of the bubble.





March 3, 2014 Bracketology

   1 Seeds-   Arizona,   Florida,   Wichita St.,   Syracuse
   2 Seeds-   Kansas,   Wisconsin,   Villanova,   Michigan
   3 Seeds-   Creighton,   Iowa St.,   Virginia,   Duke
   4 Seeds-   Michigan St.,   San Diego St.,   Texas,   St. Louis
   5 Seeds-   North Carolina,   Oklahoma,   Massachusetts,   UCLA
   6 Seeds-   New Mexico,   Cincinnati,   Connecticut,   Louisville
   7 Seeds-   Kansas St.,   VCU,   Iowa,   Arizona St.
   8 Seeds-   George Washington,   St. Joseph's,   Kentucky,   Ohio St.
   9 Seeds-   Oklahoma St.,   Baylor,   Colorado,   Pittsburgh
 10 Seeds-   Stanford,   Xavier,   Memphis,   Florida St.
 11 Seeds-   Oregon,   California,   Arkansas/Dayton,   Stephen F. Austin
 12 Seeds-   Providence/SMU,   Gonzaga,   Green Bay,   Harvard
 13 Seeds-   Toledo,   Louisiana Tech,   Belmont,   North Carolina Central
 14 Seeds-   Delaware,   North Dakota St.,   Iona,   Boston U
 15 Seeds-   Georgia St.,   Davidson,   UC Irvine,   Mercer
 16 Seeds-   Vermont,   Robert Morris,   Utah Valley/Alabama St.,   Weber St./High Point

Last four byes:  Memphis,   Oregon,   California,   Florida St.
Last four in:   SMU,   Providence,   Dayton,   Arkansas
First four out:   Minnesota,   Missouri,   Marquette,   BYU
Next four out:   Southern Miss,   Utah,   Tennessee,   Nebraska 
Hanging onto a prayer:   St. John's,   Indiana,   Illinois,   Richmond,   Clemson,   Georgetown

The seeds are listed in true seed order (i.e. Arizona(#1overall 1 seed) and Syracuse(#4 overall 1 seed) throughout.  With that said there were a number of teams who either moved a seed for their convenience or had to be moved so that they could fit into the bracket and they will be listed below.

North Carolina-  They were moved from a 4 seed on the S-Curve to a 5 seed so they could play in Buffalo instead of having to travel to Spokane.  That moved St. Louis to a 4.

Oregon- Oregon fell from a 10 to an 11 seed because another PAC 12 team could not fit into the bottom of the bracket.  Florida St. was moved up because they were the next seed in the seed order who could fit (California was ahead of them but obviously could not fit as well.)  So Florida St. was the last team with a bye but they had to move up a seed line in this particular bracket.  

Providence/SMU- SMU due to all four brackets having an AAC team in the bottom half of the bracket could not be an 11 so they and Providence were bumped to a 12 for their play-in game.   Note that they were both in ahead of Dayton and Arkansas but had to be bumped a seed line accordingly.  



Friday, February 28, 2014

February 28, 2014 Bracket

        WEST-Anaheim                                           SOUTH-Memphis
     San Diego                                                       Orlando
  1 Arizona                                                         1 Florida
16 Vermont                                                      16 Robert Morris

  8 VCU                                                             8 Kansas St.
  9 Pittsburgh                                                     9 Stanford

      Spokane                                                         Orlando
  5 Louisville                                                      5 Massachusetts
12 Green Bay                                                   12 Harvard

  4 San Diego St.                                               4 Virginia
13 North Dakota St.                                          13 Delaware

       Raleigh                                                       San Antonio
  6 Oklahoma                                                     6 UCLA
11 Memphis                                                     11 Xavier/Arkansas

  3 Duke                                                            3 Iowa St.
14 Western Michigan                                        14 North Carolina Central

    Milwaukee                                                     Milwaukee
   7 Ohio St.                                                       7 UCONN
 10 California                                                    10 Florida St.

   2 Creighton                                                     2 Wisconsin
 15 Georgia St.                                                 15 Mercer

    MIDWEST-Indianapolis                                    EAST-New York
      St. Louis                                                         Buffalo
   1 Wichita St.                                                   1 Syracuse
 16 Utah Valley/Alabama St.                              16 Weber St./High Point

   8 Arizona St.                                                   8 Iowa
   9 Baylor                                                          9 St. Joseph's

      Spokane                                                        San Diego 
   5 St. Louis                                                      5 Cincinnati
 12 Providence/Minnesota                                 12 Gonzaga

   4 North Carolina                                              4 Texas
 13 Belmont                                                     13 Louisiana Tech

       Raleigh                                                       San Antonio
   6 Kentucky                                                     6 New Mexico
 11 Stephen F. Austin                                       11 Oregon

   3 Michigan                                                      3 Michigan St.
 14 Iona                                                           14 Boston U

      St. Louis                                                          Buffalo 
   7 Colorado                                                      7 George Washington
 10 SMU                                                          10 Oklahoma St.

   2 Kansas                                                        2 Villanova
 15 UC Irvine                                                    15 Davidson










Thursday, February 27, 2014

February 28, 2014 Bracketology

   1 Seeds-   Arizona,   Florida,   Syracuse,   Wichita St.
   2 Seeds-   Kansas,   Wisconsin,   Creighton,   Villanova 
   3 Seeds-   Michigan,   Iowa St.,   Duke,   Michigan St.
   4 Seeds-   Virginia,   Texas,   San Diego St.,   North Carolina
   5 Seeds-   St. Louis,   UMASS,   Cincinnati,   Louisville
   6 Seeds-   Oklahoma,   UCLA,   New Mexico,   Kentucky
   7 Seeds-   George Washington,   Ohio St.,   UCONN,   Colorado
   8 Seeds-   Iowa,   Arizona St.,   Kansas St.,   VCU
   9 Seeds-   Baylor,   St. Joseph,   Stanford,   Pittsburgh
 10 Seeds-   California,   Oklahoma St.,   Florida St.,   SMU
 11 Seeds-   Oregon,   Memphis,   Xavier/Arkansas,   Stephen F. Austin
 12 Seeds-   Providence/Minnesota,   Gonzaga,   Harvard,   Green Bay
 13 Seeds-   Belmont,   Louisiana Tech,   North Dakota St.,   Delaware
 14 Seeds-   North Carolina Central,   Iona,   Western Michigan,   Boston U
 15 Seeds-   Georgia St.,   Davidson,   UC Irvine,   Mercer
 16 Seeds-   Vermont,   Robert Morris,   Utah Valley/Alabama St.,   Weber St./High Point

Last four byes:   Florida St.,   SMU,   Oregon,   Memphis
Last four in:   Xavier,   Minnesota,   Providence,   Arkansas
First four out:   Missouri,   Marquette,   West Virginia,   Richmond
Next four out:   Dayton,   BYU,   Southern Miss,   North Carolina St.  


Obviously the Thursday night cap of games was a wild one that caused a lot of movement in the field.  First of all between Wednesday and Thursday's games we had 5 new autobids move into the field due to moving into first place in their respective conferences (High Point, Utah Valley, UC Irvine, Western Michigan, and Louisiana Tech).  Also we saw several serious games play out that caused some big movers up and down in the field.  

Here are the biggest movers:

Richmond  moved from an 11 seed to out after their loss @George Mason.  
Ohio St. and Iowa each moved down a seed line due to their losses. 
Oregon moved safely into the field after their win @UCLA.  
Arkansas moved from off the general radar to the last team in with their win @Kentucky.  
Memphis moved to the last team with a bye after their loss @Houston.  
St. Louis moved down two seed lines after their loss at home to Fordham.        

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The #1 Seed Debate

   As we move farther along in the season in most years the one seeds separate themselves.  While  I think Arizona and Wichita St. at this moment are safely in as one seeds if any one of them of the choices were to lose that could quickly change.  Syracuse and Florida on my big board remain as #1 seed currently but my bracket math is starting to make that fourth #1 seed image murky. The team that is competing for that last spot is Kansas.  Now if you look at the bare essentials generally everyone believes that Kansas will be left out of that picture because they have six losses while Arizona, Syracuse, and Florida each have two and Wichita St. has none. That is the only factor that would keep Kansas from being a #1 seed and I will explain why. 

Kansas has arguably played the toughest schedule in at least a decade.  Not only do they play in the Big 12, the best conference in the country this year, but they also had the #1 Non-Conference Strength of schedule.  What does this all add up to?  It means they played an astronomical amount of top 100 opponents so lets break each of the #1 seed candidates by the math. 

                 Kansas   v.s. RPI top 25 7-5                        Arizona   v.s. RPI top 25 4-0             
                                v.s. RPI top 50 12-6                                     v.s. RPI top 50 9-1
                                v.s. RPI top 100 17-6                                   v.s. RPI top 100 14-2

                 Florida     v.s. RPI top 25 2-1                      Syracuse v.s. RPI top 25 3-1
                                 v.s. RPI top 50 5-2                                      v.s. RPI top 50 7-1
                                 v.s. RPI top 100 13-2                                  v.s. RPI top 100 15-1

            Wichita St.    v.s. RPI top 25 1-0
                                 v.s. RPI top 50 2-0
                                 v.s. RPI top 100 6-0

While the numbers obviously show that Wichita St. clearly has an extremely weak resume I just can't imagine a scenario where the Selection Committee would put an undefeated potential 34-0 Wichita St. team anywhere except a #1 seed.  It is important to note though if Wichita St. were to lose it's last regular season game or in the Missouri Valley Tournament they would most certainly not be a #1.  Quite literally the 0 in their loss column is the only thing holding them on the top line. 

Now with the Wichita St. scenario laid out lets move onto Arizona.  I believe they have by far the strongest profile of any of the teams and for that reason they remain my top overall seed.  While they lack the amount of games Kansas has played against the top 25, 50, and 100 their overall quality far surpasses Kansas.  They have won 90% of the games they played against the Top 50 which is mind blowing while Kansas has won 50%.   Their win percentage along with the strength of the PAC 12 leads me to believe that Arizona will be a #1 seed regardless of what happens down the line.

Comparing the other 3 teams is where things get interesting.  While Florida and Syracuse have sterling records against the top 100 Kansas far surpasses both in top 25 and top 50 wins.  They more than triple Florida in top 25 wins and double up Syracuse in the same category.  The question then comes back to where started in this article do the 6 losses matter?  I would argue in most cases having 4 more losses than either team is important but 5 of the 6 losses by Kansas were to top 25 RPI teams.  The other was to RPI 36 Kansas State.  Let me recap that the worst team that Kansas lost to is RPI 36 on the road. If we dig a little bit deeper out of 31 games against division 1 opponents this season Kansas will have played 3 teams ranked outside of the RPI 150.

                                                             v.s. RPI sub 150
                                                             Kansas  3-0
                                                              Florida  9-0
                                                            Syracuse 8-1

  That number may be the most astonishing of all.  We often say every game is a grind for power conference teams but every schedule in the nation pales in comparison to Kansas.  They quite literally decided to play every good team they possibly could and we penalize them with a #2 seed because they lost 6 games when they played top 25 teams 9 more times than Florida and 8 more times than Syracuse?

There is still a lot to play out but figuratively if Kansas is to win out and win the Big 12 tournament with the addition of the quality wins it would most certainly take to do so regardless of what Syracuse or Florida do Kansas would have to be a #1 seed.  There could also be an argument made that if Syracuse or Florida were to lose, with fewer opportunities to improve their resumes that Kansas could achieve a #1 seed that way as well.  Overall we still have more time to evaluate each team but everyday Kansas appears to be making it harder to leave them off of the 1 line. 

February 26, 2014 Bracket

             WEST-Anaheim                                           SOUTH-Memphis
          San Diego                                                     Orlando
   1 Arizona                                                         1 Florida
 16 Davidson                                                     16 Vermont

   8 Connecticut                                                   8 Kansas St.
   9 Pittsburgh                                                      9 VCU

         San Diego                                                      Spokane
   5 Kentucky                                                       5 North Carolina
 12 Gonzaga                                                      12 Minnesota/Oregon

   4 Texas                                                            4 San Diego St.
 13 Belmont                                                        13 Middle Tennessee St.
         
           Raleigh                                                       San Antonio
   6 Ohio St.                                                          6 Oklahoma
 11 Stephen F. Austin                                          11 Xavier

   3 Duke                                                              3 St. Louis
 14 New Mexico St.                                             14 North Dakota St.
     
        Milwaukee                                                      Milwaukee 
   7 George Washington                                         7 Colorado
 10 Oklahoma St.                                                10 SMU

   2 Creighton                                                        2 Wisconsin
 15 Mercer                                                          15 Boston U


        MIDWEST-Indianapolis                                     EAST-New York
         St. Louis                                                           Buffalo
   1 Wichita St.                                                      1 Syracuse
 16 Robert Morris/Alabama St.                              16 Weber St./VMI

   8 Stanford                                                          8 St. Joseph's
   9 Baylor                                                             9 Arizona St.

        Orlando                                                            Spokane
   5 Massachusetts                                                5 Cincinnati
 12 Toledo                                                           12 Harvard

   4 Virginia                                                            4 Michigan St.                               
 13 Green Bay                                                      13 North Carolina Central

        Raleigh                                                          San Antonio
   6 Louisville                                                         6 UCLA
 11 Richmond/Providence                                     11 Florida St.

   3 Michigan                                                          3 Iowa St.
 14 Iona                                                               14 Delaware

       St. Louis                                                            Buffalo
    7 New Mexico                                                    7 Iowa
  10 California                                                       10 Memphis

    2 Kansas                                                           2 Villanova
  15 UCSB                                                            15 Georgia St.