FINAL BRACKET
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Michigan (Wichita)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Wichita)
7 Texas A&M (Nashville)
8 Nevada (Pittsburgh)
9 Alabama (Pittsburgh)
10 Creighton (Nashville)
11 Oklahoma/St. Bonaventure (Wichita )
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 Wright State (Wichita)
15 Iona (Nashville)
16 Long Island/Texas Southern (Nashville)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 TCU (Charlotte)
8 Missouri (Pittsburgh)
9 Florida State (Pittsburgh)
10 USC (Charlotte)
11 Loyola (Dallas)
12 San Diego State (Boise)
13 Marshall (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Stephen F. Austin (Charlotte)
16 Georgia State (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Kentucky (Boise)
5 Clemson (Boise)
6 Arkansas (Detroit)
7 Providence (Charlotte)
8 Seton Hall (Wichita)
9 Rhode Island (Wichita)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Texas/Middle Tennessee (Detroit)
12 South Dakota State (Boise)
13 UNCG (Boise)
14 Lipscomb (Detroit)
15 UMBC (Charlotte)
16 CS Fullerton (Wichita)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Arizona (San Diego)
4 Auburn (Dallas)
5 Wichita State (Dallas)
6 Florida (San Diego)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Kansas State (Nashville)
9 North Carolina State (Nashville)
10 Butler (Detroit)
11 Davidson (San Diego)
12 New Mexico State (Dallas)
13 Charleston (Dallas)
14 Montana (San Diego)
15 Pennsylvania (Detroit)
16 NC Central/Radford (Nashville)
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Sunday, March 11, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - FINAL SEED LIST
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - FINAL
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona
4's - Auburn, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kentucky
5's - Clemson, Wichita State, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, TCU, Virginia Tech, Providence
8's - Missouri, Kansas State, Seton Hall, Nevada
9's - Rhode Island, NC State, Alabama, Florida State
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, Creighton
11's - Loyola, Davidson (Texas, St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee)
12's - San Diego State, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Marshall, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Iona, UMBC, Penn, Stephen F. Austin
16's - Georgia State CS Fullerton (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, Radford)
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona
4's - Auburn, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kentucky
5's - Clemson, Wichita State, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, TCU, Virginia Tech, Providence
8's - Missouri, Kansas State, Seton Hall, Nevada
9's - Rhode Island, NC State, Alabama, Florida State
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, Creighton
11's - Loyola, Davidson (Texas, St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee)
12's - San Diego State, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Marshall, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Iona, UMBC, Penn, Stephen F. Austin
16's - Georgia State CS Fullerton (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, Radford)
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 11, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 11, 2018
Updated seed list and bracket. Minor changes potential tomorrow. Davidson is the wildcard.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona
4's - Auburn, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - Wichita State, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Kentucky
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - Providence, NC State, Alabama, Florida State
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, Creighton
11's - Loyola, Texas (St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee, Arizona State)
12's - San Diego State, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Marshall, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Iona, UMBC, Texas-Arlington/Georgia State. Stephen F. Austin
16's - Penn/Harvard, CS Fullerton (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, Radford)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Davidson
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Texas A&M (Nashville)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 Providence (Pittsburgh)
10 Creighton (Nashville)
11 Arizona State/Middle Tennessee (Detroit )
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 Wright State (Detroit )
15 Iona (Nashville)
16 Long Island/Texas Southern (Nashville)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 Arkansas (Wichita)
7 Seton Hall (Charlotte)
8 Virginia Tech (Pittsburgh)
9 Alabama (Pittsburgh)
10 USC (Charlotte)
11 Oklahoma/St. Bonaventure (Wichita)
12 San Diego State (Boise)
13 Marshall (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Wichita)
15 Stephen F. Austin (Charlotte)
16 Penn/Harvard (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 TCU (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Wichita)
9 Florida State (Wichita)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Loyola (Dallas)
12 South Dakota State (Boise)
13 UNCG (Boise)
14 Lipscomb (Dallas)
15 UMBC (Detroit)
16 CS Fullerton (Wichita)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Arizona (San Diego)
4 Auburn (Dallas)
5 Wichita State (Dallas)
6 Florida (San Diego)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Kansas State (Nashville)
9 North Carolina State (Nashville)
10 Butler (Charlotte)
11 Texas (San Diego)
12 New Mexico State (Dallas)
13 Charleston (Dallas)
14 Montana (San Diego)
15 Texas Arlington/Georgia State (Charlotte)
16 NC Central/Radford (Nashville)
Updated seed list and bracket. Minor changes potential tomorrow. Davidson is the wildcard.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona
4's - Auburn, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - Wichita State, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Kentucky
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - Providence, NC State, Alabama, Florida State
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, Creighton
11's - Loyola, Texas (St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee, Arizona State)
12's - San Diego State, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Marshall, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Iona, UMBC, Texas-Arlington/Georgia State. Stephen F. Austin
16's - Penn/Harvard, CS Fullerton (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, Radford)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Davidson
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Texas A&M (Nashville)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 Providence (Pittsburgh)
10 Creighton (Nashville)
11 Arizona State/Middle Tennessee (Detroit )
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 Wright State (Detroit )
15 Iona (Nashville)
16 Long Island/Texas Southern (Nashville)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 Arkansas (Wichita)
7 Seton Hall (Charlotte)
8 Virginia Tech (Pittsburgh)
9 Alabama (Pittsburgh)
10 USC (Charlotte)
11 Oklahoma/St. Bonaventure (Wichita)
12 San Diego State (Boise)
13 Marshall (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Wichita)
15 Stephen F. Austin (Charlotte)
16 Penn/Harvard (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 TCU (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Wichita)
9 Florida State (Wichita)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Loyola (Dallas)
12 South Dakota State (Boise)
13 UNCG (Boise)
14 Lipscomb (Dallas)
15 UMBC (Detroit)
16 CS Fullerton (Wichita)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Arizona (San Diego)
4 Auburn (Dallas)
5 Wichita State (Dallas)
6 Florida (San Diego)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Kansas State (Nashville)
9 North Carolina State (Nashville)
10 Butler (Charlotte)
11 Texas (San Diego)
12 New Mexico State (Dallas)
13 Charleston (Dallas)
14 Montana (San Diego)
15 Texas Arlington/Georgia State (Charlotte)
16 NC Central/Radford (Nashville)
Saturday, March 10, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 10, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 10, 2018
Updated seed list. I will do a full re-bracketing at some point today.
*Switching in Arizona State. Marquette out.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan, Auburn
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, West Virginia
5's - Clemson, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Kentucky
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - Providence, NC State, Creighton, Alabama
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, St. Bonaventure
11's - Loyola, Texas (Florida State, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee, Arizona State)
12's - San Diego State, Western Kentucky, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Penn, Iona, UMBC, Texas-Arlington
16's - UC -Irvine, Radford (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Louisville, Marquette, A-10 Bid-Stealer
Updated seed list. I will do a full re-bracketing at some point today.
*Switching in Arizona State. Marquette out.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Kansas, Xavier
2's - North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan, Auburn
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, West Virginia
5's - Clemson, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Kentucky
6's - Miami FL, Houston, Florida, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - Providence, NC State, Creighton, Alabama
10's - USC, Butler, UCLA, St. Bonaventure
11's - Loyola, Texas (Florida State, Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee, Arizona State)
12's - San Diego State, Western Kentucky, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State, UNCG
14's - Montana, Bucknell, Wright State, Lipscomb
15's - Penn, Iona, UMBC, Texas-Arlington
16's - UC -Irvine, Radford (Texas Southern, NC Central, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Louisville, Marquette, A-10 Bid-Stealer
Friday, March 9, 2018
2018 NCAA Tournament - Conference Tournament fluid post
Since a full update of the Field of 68 and/or bracket is difficult after each conference tournament session the next few days, I thought I would accumulate the relevant results and assess what they mean on this post.
Late on the Thursday night updates, well, because it was my birthday. Lots on tap for Friday.
North Carolina 78, Syracuse 59
The Tar Heels continue to March toward a 2 seed. Syracuse is definitely in trouble, lacking quantity and quality of high end wins. I will take a closer look, but the Orange will be lucky to make the Field.
Marquette 72, DePaul 69
Marquette dodges a huge bullet. They get Villanova tomorrow in a game that could seal a bid. Without that win, Marquette will be sweating out Selection Sunday.
Texas 68, Iowa State 64
Texas avoided the bad loss and would appear to be on the correct side of the bubble. A win over Texas Tech tomorrow removes any doubt.
Oregon State 69, Washington 66
Washington is done.
Bucknell 83, Colgate 54
The automatic bid in the Patriot goes to the Bison.
Notre Dame 71, Virginia Tech 65
Virginia Tech's resume remains largely unchanged. They still own wins at Virginia and over Duke, North Carolina and Clemson at home. Loss probably drops them to a #8. Notre Dame is now under heavy consideration due to their performance with Bonzie Colson vs without him. I still think they need to beat Duke to get a marque win on the resume.
Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 60
Oklahoma is still safe, but like everyone else today, their seed could take a hit (Not every team seeded 8 to 11 can take a hit though). Oklahoma State is becoming a very interesting case. The Cowboys have 2 wins over Kansas, 5 quadrant 1 wins, 10 combined Q1 and Q2 wins, no losses outside Q1 and Q2...and an RPI of 85. Nice non-conference schedule Cowboys! That math hardly even makes sense. And guess what? They get a 3rd shot at the Jayhawks tomorrow. They probably still need that one, but I almost like their resume better than say, Arizona State.
Colorado 97, Arizona State 85
Is this how the next few days are going to go? Arizona State did not help themselves here. This will be a test if an extremely strong non-conference showing is enough. They still have a neutral court win over Xavier and a road win at Kansas. I still think they are in, but I will have to re-evaluate this one closer than NC State or Florida State. They very well could be in Dayton come early next week.
Boston College 91, North Carolina State 87
North Carolina State joins Florida State as ACC teams that are in the Field of 68, but who might take a seed hit depending on what other teams do. Despite an RPI of now 65, NC State has a road win at North Carolina, a neutral court win vs Arizona and home wins over Duke and Clemson. That is an impressive "quad" of wins that should keep them safe on Selection Sunday.
Late on the Thursday night updates, well, because it was my birthday. Lots on tap for Friday.
Friday, March 9 Results
Cincinnati 61, SMU 51
Cincinnati struggle to put SMU away for a while, but got the job done in typical Bearcat fashion. Combined with the Auburn result below, Cincinnati is now squarely in the driver's seat for a #2 seed.
Rhode Island 76, VCU 67
The Rams had been struggling recently, but pulled away to escape another troubling defeat and now are likely safe come Sunday. A semifinal win would tomorrow would still come in handy.
Alabama 81, Auburn 63
Alabama presses the lock button and should even escape the first four. 19-15 Vanderbilt was a #9 seed last year for some context. That is 7 Q1 wins for Alabama. Auburn will now be no higher than a #3 seed and there are some scenarios that could play out where they might drop to a 4.
Kentucky 62, Georgia 49
Ho-hum, Kentucky wins and stays alive for a 5 seed, which coincidentally, will send them farther from home.
St. Bonaventure 83, Richmond 77
The Bonnies avoid a loss that would jeopardize their at-large chances.
Providence 75, Xavier 72
Finally, an upset in one of the power conference tournaments. Xavier stays on the #1 line, but did they move behind Kansas where they will be shipped out West? Providence has now defeated Villanova once and Xavier twice. Their seed appears to be improving.
Kansas 83, Kansas State 67
The Jayhawks keep on rolling, all but locking up a #1 seed. Kansas State appears destined for an 8/9 game.
Tennessee 62, Mississippi State 59
Any faint hope for Mississippi State is gone. Tennessee stays in contention for a 2 seed.
Virginia 64, Clemson 58
Virginia wins. What is new. Clemson misses out on a victory over the #1 team and looks like a 4/5.
Wichita State 89, Temple 81
The Shockers win a game they were supposed to. Will Houston setup a nice matchup for Saturday?
Arizona, UCLA
Duke, North Carolina
Houston, UCF
Nevada, San Diego State
Texas Tech, West Virginia
Villanova, Butler
Florida, Arkansas
USC, Oregon
Thursday, March 8 Results
Xavier 88, St. John's 60
Xavier does nothing to hurt their position as a #1 seed.
Virginia 75, Louisville 58
Virginia has already locked up a #1 seed. Louisville joins the teams right on the edge of the bubble and it will come down to what happens around them and maybe more importantly, what the committee values most. My gut says they are out.
Kansas State 66, TCU 64
Both teams are now locked in the field. Kansas State helps themselves in a seeding mix where most teams are losing. TCU will still settle in as a 6 or 7, pending other results over the next few days. The resume is more like a 7.
Alabama 71, Texas A&M 70
Did Collin Sexton just send Alabama to the tournament? If nothing else, he gives Alabama a chance at Auburn where a victory would potentially seal a bid. Texas A&M's resume is complete and should land them in the 7/8 seed range.
Clemson 90, Boston College 82
Clemson stays on track for a 4/5 seed and gets a chance at Virginia tomorrow.
Providence 72, Creighton 68
I think this removes any doubt over the inclusion of Providence. An overtime game that magnifies the lack of separation when comparing these two teams along with Butler and Seton Hall.
Kansas 82, Oklahoma State 68
Kansas moves closer to wrapping up a #1 seed. The Cowboys fail to capitalize on a golden opportunity and now need to hope the committee can ignore their RPI.
Arizona 83, Colorado 67
Arizona takes care of business. Nothing that moves the needle here.
Nevada 79, UNLV 74
The Wolfpack come from behind and bubble teams rejoice!!
Georgia 62, Missouri 60
Missouri gets Michael Porter Jr. back and bows out to the 12th seeded Bulldogs. Missouri is in the dance, but nobody, I repeat nobody wants to nail down a 7 seed.
UCLA 88, Stanford 77
UCLA has moved into lock status for me. They can still improve their seed with a victory over Arizona on Friday.
Duke 88, Notre Dame 70
Duke stays in contention for a #1 seed and I believe ends the at-large hopes of the Fighting Irish.
Southern Miss 71, Middle Tennessee 68
The shocker of the night provides the committee with another complicated resume. How much will the committee value a dominant regular season champion in a mid-major conference? Iona in 2012 is the example that Middle Tennessee fans will hang their hats on. MTSU also played the 8th toughest non-conference schedule in the country and is 12-1 in true road games. On the minus side, they dropped to 1-4 in neutral court games.
Texas Tech 73, Texas 69
The Red Raiders are solid on the #4 line. Texas with 6 quadrant 1 wins and no bad losses would seem to be safe. I don't think any team with 14 losses can feel entirely safe. On the plus side, they have a neutral court victory over fellow bubble team Alabama.
Villanova 94, Marquette 70
Villanova stays down the path for a #1 seed. Marquette loses a chance for a lock-button victory and now must wait out their fate.
North Carolina 82, Miami FL 65
North Carolina takes care of business and gets another shot at Duke Friday. The loss does not really hurt the Hurricanes who have a solid resume, including a win at North Carolina.
USC 61, Oregon State 48
The Trojans win a game they needed. I think USC is safe, but beating Oregon wouldn't hurt on Friday. USC has 9 Q1/Q2 wins, but there is not a ton of meat in them. The also own a 10-6 Road/Neutral record which will help them out as well.
West Virginia 78, Baylor 65
West Virginia still has upward mobility in my seed list and took care of business here. Baylor is the classic bubble case this year. Too many losses, some quality wins.
Arkansas 69, South Carolina 64
Arkansas becomes one of the few teams in their seed range to post a victory. They are the type of team I would not want to see in my bracket on Sunday.
Butler 75, Seton Hall 74
End of the night excitement started with Butler getting an overtime putback to erase any doubt about their status. Seton Hall remains strong but loses further chance to improve their resume.
Oregon 68, Utah 66
End of the night excitement finished up with Oregon staying alive as the lone remaining bid stealer out of the PAC-12. Utah's faint at-large chances were swatted away at the buzzer.
Wednesday, March 7 Results
Cincinnati 61, SMU 51
Cincinnati struggle to put SMU away for a while, but got the job done in typical Bearcat fashion. Combined with the Auburn result below, Cincinnati is now squarely in the driver's seat for a #2 seed.
Rhode Island 76, VCU 67
The Rams had been struggling recently, but pulled away to escape another troubling defeat and now are likely safe come Sunday. A semifinal win would tomorrow would still come in handy.
Alabama 81, Auburn 63
Alabama presses the lock button and should even escape the first four. 19-15 Vanderbilt was a #9 seed last year for some context. That is 7 Q1 wins for Alabama. Auburn will now be no higher than a #3 seed and there are some scenarios that could play out where they might drop to a 4.
Kentucky 62, Georgia 49
Ho-hum, Kentucky wins and stays alive for a 5 seed, which coincidentally, will send them farther from home.
St. Bonaventure 83, Richmond 77
The Bonnies avoid a loss that would jeopardize their at-large chances.
Providence 75, Xavier 72
Finally, an upset in one of the power conference tournaments. Xavier stays on the #1 line, but did they move behind Kansas where they will be shipped out West? Providence has now defeated Villanova once and Xavier twice. Their seed appears to be improving.
Kansas 83, Kansas State 67
The Jayhawks keep on rolling, all but locking up a #1 seed. Kansas State appears destined for an 8/9 game.
Tennessee 62, Mississippi State 59
Any faint hope for Mississippi State is gone. Tennessee stays in contention for a 2 seed.
Virginia 64, Clemson 58
Virginia wins. What is new. Clemson misses out on a victory over the #1 team and looks like a 4/5.
Wichita State 89, Temple 81
The Shockers win a game they were supposed to. Will Houston setup a nice matchup for Saturday?
Arizona, UCLA
Duke, North Carolina
Houston, UCF
Nevada, San Diego State
Texas Tech, West Virginia
Villanova, Butler
Florida, Arkansas
USC, Oregon
Thursday, March 8 Results
Xavier 88, St. John's 60
Xavier does nothing to hurt their position as a #1 seed.
Virginia 75, Louisville 58
Virginia has already locked up a #1 seed. Louisville joins the teams right on the edge of the bubble and it will come down to what happens around them and maybe more importantly, what the committee values most. My gut says they are out.
Kansas State 66, TCU 64
Both teams are now locked in the field. Kansas State helps themselves in a seeding mix where most teams are losing. TCU will still settle in as a 6 or 7, pending other results over the next few days. The resume is more like a 7.
Alabama 71, Texas A&M 70
Did Collin Sexton just send Alabama to the tournament? If nothing else, he gives Alabama a chance at Auburn where a victory would potentially seal a bid. Texas A&M's resume is complete and should land them in the 7/8 seed range.
Clemson 90, Boston College 82
Clemson stays on track for a 4/5 seed and gets a chance at Virginia tomorrow.
Providence 72, Creighton 68
I think this removes any doubt over the inclusion of Providence. An overtime game that magnifies the lack of separation when comparing these two teams along with Butler and Seton Hall.
Kansas 82, Oklahoma State 68
Kansas moves closer to wrapping up a #1 seed. The Cowboys fail to capitalize on a golden opportunity and now need to hope the committee can ignore their RPI.
Arizona 83, Colorado 67
Arizona takes care of business. Nothing that moves the needle here.
Nevada 79, UNLV 74
The Wolfpack come from behind and bubble teams rejoice!!
Georgia 62, Missouri 60
Missouri gets Michael Porter Jr. back and bows out to the 12th seeded Bulldogs. Missouri is in the dance, but nobody, I repeat nobody wants to nail down a 7 seed.
UCLA 88, Stanford 77
UCLA has moved into lock status for me. They can still improve their seed with a victory over Arizona on Friday.
Duke 88, Notre Dame 70
Duke stays in contention for a #1 seed and I believe ends the at-large hopes of the Fighting Irish.
Southern Miss 71, Middle Tennessee 68
The shocker of the night provides the committee with another complicated resume. How much will the committee value a dominant regular season champion in a mid-major conference? Iona in 2012 is the example that Middle Tennessee fans will hang their hats on. MTSU also played the 8th toughest non-conference schedule in the country and is 12-1 in true road games. On the minus side, they dropped to 1-4 in neutral court games.
Texas Tech 73, Texas 69
The Red Raiders are solid on the #4 line. Texas with 6 quadrant 1 wins and no bad losses would seem to be safe. I don't think any team with 14 losses can feel entirely safe. On the plus side, they have a neutral court victory over fellow bubble team Alabama.
Villanova 94, Marquette 70
Villanova stays down the path for a #1 seed. Marquette loses a chance for a lock-button victory and now must wait out their fate.
North Carolina 82, Miami FL 65
North Carolina takes care of business and gets another shot at Duke Friday. The loss does not really hurt the Hurricanes who have a solid resume, including a win at North Carolina.
USC 61, Oregon State 48
The Trojans win a game they needed. I think USC is safe, but beating Oregon wouldn't hurt on Friday. USC has 9 Q1/Q2 wins, but there is not a ton of meat in them. The also own a 10-6 Road/Neutral record which will help them out as well.
West Virginia 78, Baylor 65
West Virginia still has upward mobility in my seed list and took care of business here. Baylor is the classic bubble case this year. Too many losses, some quality wins.
Arkansas 69, South Carolina 64
Arkansas becomes one of the few teams in their seed range to post a victory. They are the type of team I would not want to see in my bracket on Sunday.
Butler 75, Seton Hall 74
End of the night excitement started with Butler getting an overtime putback to erase any doubt about their status. Seton Hall remains strong but loses further chance to improve their resume.
Oregon 68, Utah 66
End of the night excitement finished up with Oregon staying alive as the lone remaining bid stealer out of the PAC-12. Utah's faint at-large chances were swatted away at the buzzer.
Wednesday, March 7 Results
North Carolina 78, Syracuse 59
The Tar Heels continue to March toward a 2 seed. Syracuse is definitely in trouble, lacking quantity and quality of high end wins. I will take a closer look, but the Orange will be lucky to make the Field.
Marquette 72, DePaul 69
Marquette dodges a huge bullet. They get Villanova tomorrow in a game that could seal a bid. Without that win, Marquette will be sweating out Selection Sunday.
Texas 68, Iowa State 64
Texas avoided the bad loss and would appear to be on the correct side of the bubble. A win over Texas Tech tomorrow removes any doubt.
Oregon State 69, Washington 66
Washington is done.
Bucknell 83, Colgate 54
The automatic bid in the Patriot goes to the Bison.
Notre Dame 71, Virginia Tech 65
Virginia Tech's resume remains largely unchanged. They still own wins at Virginia and over Duke, North Carolina and Clemson at home. Loss probably drops them to a #8. Notre Dame is now under heavy consideration due to their performance with Bonzie Colson vs without him. I still think they need to beat Duke to get a marque win on the resume.
Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 60
Oklahoma is still safe, but like everyone else today, their seed could take a hit (Not every team seeded 8 to 11 can take a hit though). Oklahoma State is becoming a very interesting case. The Cowboys have 2 wins over Kansas, 5 quadrant 1 wins, 10 combined Q1 and Q2 wins, no losses outside Q1 and Q2...and an RPI of 85. Nice non-conference schedule Cowboys! That math hardly even makes sense. And guess what? They get a 3rd shot at the Jayhawks tomorrow. They probably still need that one, but I almost like their resume better than say, Arizona State.
Colorado 97, Arizona State 85
Is this how the next few days are going to go? Arizona State did not help themselves here. This will be a test if an extremely strong non-conference showing is enough. They still have a neutral court win over Xavier and a road win at Kansas. I still think they are in, but I will have to re-evaluate this one closer than NC State or Florida State. They very well could be in Dayton come early next week.
Boston College 91, North Carolina State 87
North Carolina State joins Florida State as ACC teams that are in the Field of 68, but who might take a seed hit depending on what other teams do. Despite an RPI of now 65, NC State has a road win at North Carolina, a neutral court win vs Arizona and home wins over Duke and Clemson. That is an impressive "quad" of wins that should keep them safe on Selection Sunday.
Louisville 82, Florida State 74
Louisville is the first bubble team to strike. This win would probably put them in for now, but other teams are yet to come behind them. It does put them in position to lock up a bid with a win against Virginia tomorrow. Florida State is in the Field, they might take a seed hit.
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 9, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 9, 2018
I want to get out my updated seed list. I will do a full re-bracketing at some point today as well.
Thursday did not helps matters, as the bubble is still questionable and adding Middle Tennessee to it does not help.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Auburn, Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - NC State, Butler, Creighton, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Florida State, Texas
11's - USC, Oklahoma (Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Marquette, Arizona State)
12's - Western Kentucky, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Lipscomb, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Iona, Radford (Texas Southern, Hampton, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Syracuse, Louisville, Baylor, Oregon, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Mountain West Bid-Stealer, A-10 Bid-Stealer
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Nashville)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 Butler (Pittsburgh)
10 Florida State (Nashville)
11 USC (Dallas)
12 Western Kentucky (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Penn (Nashville)
16 Long Island/Hampton (Nashville)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Detroit)
7 Seton Hall (Charlotte)
8 Kansas State (Pittsburgh)
9 North Carolina State (Pittsburgh)
10 Texas (Charlotte)
11 Marquette/Middle Tennessee (Detroit)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 Murray State (Boise)
14 Vermont (Detroit)
15 Lipscomb (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Wichita)
7 TCU (Detroit)
8 Virginia Tech (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Alabama/Arizona State (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 SE Louisiana/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Arkansas (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Missouri (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Oklahoma (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Louisiana (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 UC-Davis (Charlotte)
16 Iona (Wichita)
I want to get out my updated seed list. I will do a full re-bracketing at some point today as well.
Thursday did not helps matters, as the bubble is still questionable and adding Middle Tennessee to it does not help.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Auburn, Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, Arkansas
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, TCU, Seton Hall
8's - Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Kansas State
9's - NC State, Butler, Creighton, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Florida State, Texas
11's - USC, Oklahoma (Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Marquette, Arizona State)
12's - Western Kentucky, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Lipscomb, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Iona, Radford (Texas Southern, Hampton, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still thinking about- St. Mary's, Syracuse, Louisville, Baylor, Oregon, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Mountain West Bid-Stealer, A-10 Bid-Stealer
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Nashville)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 Butler (Pittsburgh)
10 Florida State (Nashville)
11 USC (Dallas)
12 Western Kentucky (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Penn (Nashville)
16 Long Island/Hampton (Nashville)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Detroit)
7 Seton Hall (Charlotte)
8 Kansas State (Pittsburgh)
9 North Carolina State (Pittsburgh)
10 Texas (Charlotte)
11 Marquette/Middle Tennessee (Detroit)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 Murray State (Boise)
14 Vermont (Detroit)
15 Lipscomb (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Wichita)
7 TCU (Detroit)
8 Virginia Tech (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Alabama/Arizona State (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 SE Louisiana/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Arkansas (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Missouri (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Oklahoma (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Louisiana (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 UC-Davis (Charlotte)
16 Iona (Wichita)
Thursday, March 8, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 8, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 8, 2018
It was an interesting Wednesday, as teams that really needed a win to help their case did not get them and two teams with compelling resumes (Oklahoma State and Notre Dame) came through with big wins.
Arizona State holds on by a thread, for now. Louisville moves in over Syracuse. I just was looking again, Louisville's resume is not good. They need to beat Virginia and currently trail by 8.
Nothing is settled starting right around the 7 line through the 11 line. Today should bring a little clarity. Maybe? I hope? There is probably more shuffling as resumes finish and the final comparisons can be made.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, TCU
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri
8's - Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Creighton
9's - NC State, Florida State, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Kansas State
11's - USC, Texas (Marquette, Arizona State, Louisville, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Lipscomb, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Iona, Radford (Texas Southern, Hampton, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Syracuse, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/Arizona State (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Long Island (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Missouri (Detroit)
8 Virginia Tech (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Louisville (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Hampton/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Florida State (Wichita)
10 Kansas State (Charlotte)
11 USC (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Lipscomb (Charlotte)
16 Iona (Wichita)
It was an interesting Wednesday, as teams that really needed a win to help their case did not get them and two teams with compelling resumes (Oklahoma State and Notre Dame) came through with big wins.
Arizona State holds on by a thread, for now. Louisville moves in over Syracuse. I just was looking again, Louisville's resume is not good. They need to beat Virginia and currently trail by 8.
Nothing is settled starting right around the 7 line through the 11 line. Today should bring a little clarity. Maybe? I hope? There is probably more shuffling as resumes finish and the final comparisons can be made.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, TCU
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri
8's - Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Creighton
9's - NC State, Florida State, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Kansas State
11's - USC, Texas (Marquette, Arizona State, Louisville, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Lipscomb, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Iona, Radford (Texas Southern, Hampton, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Syracuse, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/Arizona State (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Long Island (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Missouri (Detroit)
8 Virginia Tech (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Louisville (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Hampton/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Florida State (Wichita)
10 Kansas State (Charlotte)
11 USC (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Lipscomb (Charlotte)
16 Iona (Wichita)
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 7, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 7, 2018
I am warming up to Gonzaga being seeded higher than I originally thought. They look really, really good and they fit naturally in the 4/5 line with all the West Coast sites being bunched there. The NCAA wants to sell tickets, right?
I am also flipping Cincinnati and Auburn this morning. If Auburn wins the SEC tournament it will be a different story.
Finally, I want to address St. Mary's one last time. The Gaels had a great season going 28-5. The argument for some will be how can you take some of these middle road power conference schools over St. Mary's when they have 11, 12, maybe 13 losses. St. Mary's scheduled 3 teams from the power conferences. They played Georgia, who finished 11th in the SEC and Washington State and Cal, who finished 11th and 12th in the 12 team PAC-12. St. Mary's record in those games...1-2. Fellow bubble teams Utah and Washington both went 3-0 against those schools. St. Mary's couldn't beat the back-end power conference schools. Why do they deserve a bid over the ones that are better than that?
Games start to increase today and tomorrow will be the day with the most teams in action. Lots of sorting out to be done yet.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, TCU
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - Kansas State, Texas (Marquette, USC, Syracuse, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Radford (Texas Southern, Bethune-Cookman, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Louisville, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Washington, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/USC (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Long Island (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Syracuse (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
I am warming up to Gonzaga being seeded higher than I originally thought. They look really, really good and they fit naturally in the 4/5 line with all the West Coast sites being bunched there. The NCAA wants to sell tickets, right?
I am also flipping Cincinnati and Auburn this morning. If Auburn wins the SEC tournament it will be a different story.
Finally, I want to address St. Mary's one last time. The Gaels had a great season going 28-5. The argument for some will be how can you take some of these middle road power conference schools over St. Mary's when they have 11, 12, maybe 13 losses. St. Mary's scheduled 3 teams from the power conferences. They played Georgia, who finished 11th in the SEC and Washington State and Cal, who finished 11th and 12th in the 12 team PAC-12. St. Mary's record in those games...1-2. Fellow bubble teams Utah and Washington both went 3-0 against those schools. St. Mary's couldn't beat the back-end power conference schools. Why do they deserve a bid over the ones that are better than that?
Games start to increase today and tomorrow will be the day with the most teams in action. Lots of sorting out to be done yet.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Cincinnati
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Auburn, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Ohio State, Gonzaga
6's - Kentucky, Miami FL, Houston, TCU
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - Kansas State, Texas (Marquette, USC, Syracuse, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Charleston, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Radford (Texas Southern, Bethune-Cookman, Long Island, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Louisville, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Washington, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Cincinnati (Nashville)
3 Auburn (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Miami FL (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/USC (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Long Island (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Gonzaga (Boise)
6 Kentucky (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Syracuse (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Texas Southern (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Florida (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Charleston (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 6, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 6, 2018
I need to stick with my convictions. As I wrote last week, I don't think St. Mary's has a strong at-large resume. They are now not a conference regular season champion and they lost in the semis of their conference tournament. St. Mary's is out of the Field of 68 this morning. I am moving Baylor back in, but the last spots in this field are wide open for bid stealers and power conference teams that want to add quality neutral court wins this week.
My only other topic for discussion this morning is whether I should have Cincinnati as a #2 instead of Auburn. I will monitor that one closely this week, but in all likelihood, those two teams will swap positions.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Auburn
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State
6's - Miami FL, Houston, TCU, Gonzaga
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - Kansas State, Texas (Marquette, USC, Syracuse, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Northeastern, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Radford, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Louisville, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Washington, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Auburn (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Florida (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Nevada (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/USC (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Syracuse (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Radford (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Gonzaga (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Northeastern (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
I need to stick with my convictions. As I wrote last week, I don't think St. Mary's has a strong at-large resume. They are now not a conference regular season champion and they lost in the semis of their conference tournament. St. Mary's is out of the Field of 68 this morning. I am moving Baylor back in, but the last spots in this field are wide open for bid stealers and power conference teams that want to add quality neutral court wins this week.
My only other topic for discussion this morning is whether I should have Cincinnati as a #2 instead of Auburn. I will monitor that one closely this week, but in all likelihood, those two teams will swap positions.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Auburn
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State
6's - Miami FL, Houston, TCU, Gonzaga
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - Kansas State, Texas (Marquette, USC, Syracuse, Baylor)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Northeastern, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Radford, SE Louisiana)
Still in consideration - Alabama, St. Mary's, Louisville, Utah, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Washington, Oregon
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Auburn (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Florida (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Nevada (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Baylor/USC (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 Texas (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 Marquette/Syracuse (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Radford (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Gonzaga (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Northeastern (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
Sunday, March 4, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 4, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 4, 2018
A pretty wild weekend of action brought some things into focus, but left a number of things yet to be answered in the final week of the season. I tried to re-look at some resumes and clean a few things up as well.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Auburn
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State
6's - Miami FL, Houston, TCU, Gonzaga
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - St. Mary's, Kansas State, (Texas, Marquette, USC, Syracuse)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Northeastern, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Radford, SE Louisiana)
First 4 out - Alabama, Baylor, Louisville, Utah
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Auburn (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Florida (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Nevada (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Texss/Marquette (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 USC/Syracuse(Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Radford (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Gonzaga (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Northeastern (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
A pretty wild weekend of action brought some things into focus, but left a number of things yet to be answered in the final week of the season. I tried to re-look at some resumes and clean a few things up as well.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Auburn
3's - Michigan State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Michigan
4's - Arizona, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Clemson
5's - West Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State
6's - Miami FL, Houston, TCU, Gonzaga
7's - Texas A&M, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia Tech
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Missouri, Rhode Island
9's - NC State, Creighton, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure
10's - UCLA, Providence, Butler, Arizona State
11's - St. Mary's, Kansas State, (Texas, Marquette, USC, Syracuse)
12's - Middle Tennessee, Loyola, New Mexico State, Buffalo
13's - Louisiana, South Dakota State, Northeastern, Murray State
14's - Montana, Vermont, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Wright State, UC-Davis
16's - Lipscomb, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Radford, SE Louisiana)
First 4 out - Alabama, Baylor, Louisville, Utah
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Auburn (Nashville)
3 Michigan State (Detroit)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Florida (Boise)
6 Miami FL (Detroit)
7 Nevada (Nashville)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Oklahoma (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Nashville)
11 Texss/Marquette (Detroit)
12 Middle Tennessee (Boise)
13 Louisiana (Boise )
14 Bucknell (Detroit)
15 UC-Davis (Nashville)
16 SE Louisiana/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Ohio State (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11 USC/Syracuse(Dallas)
12 Buffalo (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNCG (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 Clemson (Boise)
5 West Virginia (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Virginia Tech (Detroit)
8 Missouri (Nashville)
9 St. Bonaventure (Nashville)
10 UCLA (Detroit)
11 St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Loyola (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Wright State (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Radford (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Michigan (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Gonzaga (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Charlotte)
8 Florida State (Wichita)
9 Creighton (Wichita)
10 Arizona State (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 New Mexico State (San Diego)
13 Northeastern (San Diego)
14 Vermont (Dallas)
15 Iona (Charlotte)
16 Lipscomb (Wichita)
Saturday, March 3, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 3, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 3, 2018
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Duke
3's - Auburn, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Clemson
4's - West Virginia, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Arizona
5's - Kentucky, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami (FL)
6's - Houston, TCU, Virginia Tech, Florida
7's - Gonzaga, Nevada, Arkansas, Texas A&M
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Creighton
9's - NC State, USC, Missouri, Arizona State
10's - Butler, Oklahoma, Providence, St. Bonaventure
11's - Middle Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas State, (Washington, St. Mary's)
12's - (Baylor, Alabama)* Loyola, Louisiana, Buffalo
13's - New Mexico State, South Dakota State, Vermont, Murray State
14's - Montana, Northeastern, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Northern Kentucky, UC-Davis
16's - Radford, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, FGCU, Nicholls State)
First 4 out - Texas, UCLA, Marquette, Syracuse
*Even though I don't believe the committee will feed a play-in game to San Diego, for purposes of seeding I am not concerned with that at this point
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Auburn (Nashville)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Virgina Tech (Nashville)
7 Nevada (Detroit)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Arizona State (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Detroit)
11 Middle Tennessee (Nashville)
12 Loyola (San Diego)
13 New Mexico State (San Diego)
14 Northeastern (Nashville)
15 UC-Davis (Detroit)
16 FGCU/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11Washington/St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Louisiana (Boise)
13 Vermont (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Northern Kentucky (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Michigan State (Detroit)
3 Clemson (Dallas)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Michigan (Boise)
6 Florida (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Detroit)
8 Florida State (Nashville)
9 USC (Nashville)
10 Oklahoma (Detroit)
11 Louisville (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Iona (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Nicholls State (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Miami (FL) (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Gonzaga (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Missouri (Wichita)
10 Saint Bonaventure (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 Baylor/Alabama (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNC-Greensboro (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner(Wichita)
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Duke
3's - Auburn, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Clemson
4's - West Virginia, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Arizona
5's - Kentucky, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami (FL)
6's - Houston, TCU, Virginia Tech, Florida
7's - Gonzaga, Nevada, Arkansas, Texas A&M
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Creighton
9's - NC State, USC, Missouri, Arizona State
10's - Butler, Oklahoma, Providence, St. Bonaventure
11's - Middle Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas State, (Washington, St. Mary's)
12's - (Baylor, Alabama)* Loyola, Louisiana, Buffalo
13's - New Mexico State, South Dakota State, Vermont, Murray State
14's - Montana, Northeastern, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Iona, Penn, Northern Kentucky, UC-Davis
16's - Radford, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, FGCU, Nicholls State)
First 4 out - Texas, UCLA, Marquette, Syracuse
*Even though I don't believe the committee will feed a play-in game to San Diego, for purposes of seeding I am not concerned with that at this point
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Auburn (Nashville)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Virgina Tech (Nashville)
7 Nevada (Detroit)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Arizona State (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Detroit)
11 Middle Tennessee (Nashville)
12 Loyola (San Diego)
13 New Mexico State (San Diego)
14 Northeastern (Nashville)
15 UC-Davis (Detroit)
16 FGCU/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Rhode Island (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11Washington/St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Louisiana (Boise)
13 Vermont (Boise)
14 Montana (Wichita)
15 Northern Kentucky (Charlotte)
16 Radford (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Michigan State (Detroit)
3 Clemson (Dallas)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Michigan (Boise)
6 Florida (Dallas)
7 Texas A&M (Detroit)
8 Florida State (Nashville)
9 USC (Nashville)
10 Oklahoma (Detroit)
11 Louisville (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Iona (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Nicholls State (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Miami (FL) (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Gonzaga (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Missouri (Wichita)
10 Saint Bonaventure (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 Baylor/Alabama (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNC-Greensboro (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner(Wichita)
Friday, March 2, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 2, 2018
NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction - March 2, 2018
Just a little sweep through with minimal changes. I bumped Arizona up now that Trier has been re-instated. I still am struggling with the last #5 seed, so Miami keeps being a placeholder until someone grabs it. Minor tweaks below that.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Duke
3's - Auburn, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Clemson
4's - West Virginia, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Arizona
5's - Kentucky, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami (FL)
6's - Houston, TCU, Virginia Tech, Florida
7's - Gonzaga, Rhode Island, Nevada, Arkansas
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Creighton
9's - NC State, USC, Missouri, Arizona State
10's - Butler, Oklahoma, Providence, St. Bonaventure
11's - Middle Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas State, (Washington, St. Mary's)
12's - (Baylor, Alabama)* Loyola, Louisiana, Buffalo
13's - New Mexico State, South Dakota State, Vermont, Murray State
14's - Rider, Northeastern, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Montana, Penn, Northern Kentucky, UC-Davis
16's - UNC-Asheville, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, FGCU, Nicholls State)
First 4 out - Texas, UCLA, Marquette, Syracuse
*Even though I don't believe the committee will feed a play-in game to San Diego, for purposes of seeding I am not concerned with that at this point
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Auburn (Nashville)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Virgina Tech (Nashville)
7 Rhode Island (Detroit)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Arizona State (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Detroit)
11 Middle Tennessee (Nashville)
12 Loyola (San Diego)
13 New Mexico State (San Diego)
14 Northeastern (Nashville)
15 UC-Davis (Detroit)
16 FGCU/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Texas A&M (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11Washington/St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Louisiana (Boise)
13 Vermont (Boise)
14 Rider (Wichita)
15 Northern Kentucky (Charlotte)
16 UNC-Asheville (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Michigan State (Detroit)
3 Clemson (Dallas)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Michigan (Boise)
6 Florida (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Detroit)
8 Florida State (Nashville)
9 USC (Nashville)
10 Oklahoma (Detroit)
11 Louisville (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Montana (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Nicholls State (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Miami (FL) (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Gonzaga (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Missouri (Wichita)
10 Saint Bonaventure (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 Baylor/Alabama (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNC-Greensboro (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner(Wichita)
Just a little sweep through with minimal changes. I bumped Arizona up now that Trier has been re-instated. I still am struggling with the last #5 seed, so Miami keeps being a placeholder until someone grabs it. Minor tweaks below that.
Seeds
1's - Virgina, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2's - Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Duke
3's - Auburn, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Clemson
4's - West Virginia, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Arizona
5's - Kentucky, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami (FL)
6's - Houston, TCU, Virginia Tech, Florida
7's - Gonzaga, Rhode Island, Nevada, Arkansas
8's - Florida State, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Creighton
9's - NC State, USC, Missouri, Arizona State
10's - Butler, Oklahoma, Providence, St. Bonaventure
11's - Middle Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas State, (Washington, St. Mary's)
12's - (Baylor, Alabama)* Loyola, Louisiana, Buffalo
13's - New Mexico State, South Dakota State, Vermont, Murray State
14's - Rider, Northeastern, Bucknell, UNCG
15's - Montana, Penn, Northern Kentucky, UC-Davis
16's - UNC-Asheville, Wagner (Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman, FGCU, Nicholls State)
First 4 out - Texas, UCLA, Marquette, Syracuse
*Even though I don't believe the committee will feed a play-in game to San Diego, for purposes of seeding I am not concerned with that at this point
SOUTH (ATLANTA)
1 Virgina (Pittsburgh)
2 Purdue (Detroit)
3 Auburn (Nashville)
4 Texas Tech (San Diego)
5 Kentucky (San Diego)
6 Virgina Tech (Nashville)
7 Rhode Island (Detroit)
8 Seton Hall (Pittsburgh)
9 Arizona State (Pittsburgh)
10 Butler (Detroit)
11 Middle Tennessee (Nashville)
12 Loyola (San Diego)
13 New Mexico State (San Diego)
14 Northeastern (Nashville)
15 UC-Davis (Detroit)
16 FGCU/Prairie View A&M (Pittsburgh)
EAST (BOSTON)
1 Villanova (Pittsburgh)
2 Duke (Charlotte)
3 Cincinnati (Wichita)
4 West Virginia (Boise)
5 Ohio State (Boise)
6 TCU (Wichita)
7 Arkansas (Charlotte)
8 Texas A&M (Pittsburgh)
9 NC State (Pittsburgh)
10 Providence (Charlotte)
11Washington/St. Mary's (Wichita)
12 Louisiana (Boise)
13 Vermont (Boise)
14 Rider (Wichita)
15 Northern Kentucky (Charlotte)
16 UNC-Asheville (Pittsburgh)
MIDWEST (OMAHA)
1 Xavier (Nashville)
2 Michigan State (Detroit)
3 Clemson (Dallas)
4 Wichita State (Boise)
5 Michigan (Boise)
6 Florida (Dallas)
7 Nevada (Detroit)
8 Florida State (Nashville)
9 USC (Nashville)
10 Oklahoma (Detroit)
11 Louisville (Dallas)
12 Buffalo (Boise)
13 South Dakota State (Boise)
14 Bucknell (Dallas)
15 Montana (Detroit)
16 Bethune-Cookman/Nicholls State (Nashville)
WEST (LOS ANGELES)
1 Kansas (Wichita)
2 North Carolina (Charlotte)
3 Tennessee (Dallas)
4 Arizona (San Diego)
5 Miami (FL) (San Diego)
6 Houston (Dallas)
7 Gonzaga (Charlotte)
8 Creighton (Wichita)
9 Missouri (Wichita)
10 Saint Bonaventure (Charlotte)
11 Kansas State (Dallas)
12 Baylor/Alabama (San Diego)
13 Murray State (San Diego)
14 UNC-Greensboro (Dallas)
15 Penn (Charlotte)
16 Wagner(Wichita)
Thursday, March 1, 2018
2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Bid Stealers
One of my favorite things to watch over the next 10 days is whether the proverbial bubble shrinks or all of those borderline at-large teams get to let out a huge sigh of relief. The reason for this is the bid stealers. The thieves of an NCAA tournament bid usually come from smaller conferences where the top team or teams is already locked in. A major conference team can make a huge conference tournament run, but there are usually too many obstacles for them to truly steal a bid. So who are the teams that have the bubble teams on edge? Which conference tournaments should they be tuning into for a closer look?
1. Mountain West Tournament (Las Vegas) - March 7-10
Nevada is a lock for the NCAA tournament. The only thing that will hurt Nevada by not winning the Mountain West Tournament is their seeding. Beyond Nevada, no other team would be included in the Field of 68. While not as strong as it has been in recent memory, the Mountain West still supports some quality teams that can easily take home the tournament in a one-and-done scenario.
Boise State is a really good team without the quality wins to make it a serious at-large contender. They have played Nevada close this year and could get them the 3rd time around. San Diego State is never a team to overlook. They have won 5 games in a row and sport a victory over Gonzaga this year. They might be my favorite to steal this bid. Throw in Wyoming who already has defeated Nevada and the host UNLV team that also defeated the Wolfpack and you have a dangerous quad of teams that could send fans in Austin and Seattle into a panic.
2. Atlantic 10 Conference (Washington D.C.) - March 7-11
The A-10 is a little trickier. I am less confident that Rhode Island and Saint Bonaventure have locked up bids. The most likely result is that this is at most a 2 bid league, but there is an outside chance it becomes a 3-bid league. Davidson is the top contender to turn things up-side-down. Not a huge bid stealer risk here, but one to watch.
3. American Athletic Conference (Orlando, FL) - March 8-11
Cincinnati, Wichita State and Houston are locks. There is a high likelihood that one of these 3 teams will take down the AAC Tournament Championship. It is not impossible though to think that another team could upset the apple cart and pull of a couple upsets that put them into the Big Dance and steal an at-large bid. Just keep an eye on Tulsa, UCF and Temple. Especially the 4 or 5 seed that would only have to beat Cincinnati and then the Championship Game as opposed to going through all 3.
4. West Coast Conference - (Las Vegas) in progress
Yesterday I spoke about Gonzaga's seeding dilemma and the weak resume of St. Mary's. What if both these teams are safe? It has been a long time since one of the favorites failed to win the West Coast Conference tournament, but it is not impossible to fathom that the door is a little more open to that this season. BYU would be the obvious bid stealing threat, but San Diego and San Francisco would have a fighters chance as well.
5. PAC-12 Conference (Las Vegas) - March 7-10
The one major conference that makes my list is the PAC-12. Maybe Alonzo Trier's return makes Arizona an overwhelming favorite. Outside of Arizona, this conference is wide open. With USC and Arizona State as shaky locks right now and Washington, UCLA and Utah as fringe bubble teams, a surprise winner of the PAC-12 tournament could solidify the conference with 4 bids. Oregon and Stanford probably should not be counted out either.
While there seems like very few bid stealing possibilities, just 1 or 2 will help the committee sort out a soft bubble.
1. Mountain West Tournament (Las Vegas) - March 7-10
Nevada is a lock for the NCAA tournament. The only thing that will hurt Nevada by not winning the Mountain West Tournament is their seeding. Beyond Nevada, no other team would be included in the Field of 68. While not as strong as it has been in recent memory, the Mountain West still supports some quality teams that can easily take home the tournament in a one-and-done scenario.
Boise State is a really good team without the quality wins to make it a serious at-large contender. They have played Nevada close this year and could get them the 3rd time around. San Diego State is never a team to overlook. They have won 5 games in a row and sport a victory over Gonzaga this year. They might be my favorite to steal this bid. Throw in Wyoming who already has defeated Nevada and the host UNLV team that also defeated the Wolfpack and you have a dangerous quad of teams that could send fans in Austin and Seattle into a panic.
2. Atlantic 10 Conference (Washington D.C.) - March 7-11
The A-10 is a little trickier. I am less confident that Rhode Island and Saint Bonaventure have locked up bids. The most likely result is that this is at most a 2 bid league, but there is an outside chance it becomes a 3-bid league. Davidson is the top contender to turn things up-side-down. Not a huge bid stealer risk here, but one to watch.
3. American Athletic Conference (Orlando, FL) - March 8-11
Cincinnati, Wichita State and Houston are locks. There is a high likelihood that one of these 3 teams will take down the AAC Tournament Championship. It is not impossible though to think that another team could upset the apple cart and pull of a couple upsets that put them into the Big Dance and steal an at-large bid. Just keep an eye on Tulsa, UCF and Temple. Especially the 4 or 5 seed that would only have to beat Cincinnati and then the Championship Game as opposed to going through all 3.
4. West Coast Conference - (Las Vegas) in progress
Yesterday I spoke about Gonzaga's seeding dilemma and the weak resume of St. Mary's. What if both these teams are safe? It has been a long time since one of the favorites failed to win the West Coast Conference tournament, but it is not impossible to fathom that the door is a little more open to that this season. BYU would be the obvious bid stealing threat, but San Diego and San Francisco would have a fighters chance as well.
5. PAC-12 Conference (Las Vegas) - March 7-10
The one major conference that makes my list is the PAC-12. Maybe Alonzo Trier's return makes Arizona an overwhelming favorite. Outside of Arizona, this conference is wide open. With USC and Arizona State as shaky locks right now and Washington, UCLA and Utah as fringe bubble teams, a surprise winner of the PAC-12 tournament could solidify the conference with 4 bids. Oregon and Stanford probably should not be counted out either.
While there seems like very few bid stealing possibilities, just 1 or 2 will help the committee sort out a soft bubble.
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