Bracket Watch '12 - Friday Bracket Update

And now for something completely different, a Friday bracket. Enjoy at your own risk.

Note: ^Indicates team on the bubble.
Final Four pairings:
South(1) vs. West(4)
East(2) vs. Midwest(3)

First Four pairings:
Tuesday: Long Island(Northeast) vs. Mississippi Valley State(Southwestern); Arizona vs. Colorado State
Wednesday: Stony Brook(America East) vs. Savannah State(Mid-Eastern); Seton Hall vs. North Carolina State

SOUTH Regional

Louisville
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. Long Island/Mississippi Valley State
8-New Mexico vs. 9-Iowa State
Nashville
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-Iona(Metro Atlantic)
5-Murray State(Ohio Valley) vs. 12-Connecticut*
Greensboro
2-North Carolina vs. 15-Bucknell(Patriot)
7-Louisville vs. 10-California*
Albuquerque
3-Baylor vs. 14-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Long Beach State(Big West)*

WEST Regional

Greensboro
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Stony Brook/Savannah State
8-Kansas State vs. 9-Purdue
Portland
4-Georgetown vs. 13-Oral Roberts(Summit)*
5-Unlv vs. 12-Mississippi State*
Columbus
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Akron(Mid-American)
7-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-Southern Mississippi*
Albuquerque
3-Wichita State(Missouri Valley) vs. 14-Nevada(Western Athletic)
6-Notre Dame vs. 11-Brigham Young

EAST Regional

Pittsburgh
1-Syracuse vs. 16-UNC Asheville(Big South)
8-Alabama vs. 9-Saint Louis
Portland
4-Florida State vs. 13-Arizona/Colorado State
5-St. Mary's(West Coast) vs. 12-South Florida
Omaha
2-Missouri vs. 15-Montana(Big Sky)
7-Memphis(Conference USA) vs. 10-Harvard(Ivy)
Louisville
3-Indiana vs. 14-Middle Tennessee(Sun Belt)
6-Florida vs. 11-West Virginia*

MIDWEST Regional

Omaha
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Texas-Arlington(Southland)
8-Virginia vs. 9-Washington(Pacific-12)
Nashville
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Seton Hall/NC State
5-Michigan vs. 12-Drexel(Colonial)*
Pittsburgh
2-Ohio State vs. 15-Valparaiso(Horizon)
7-Creighton vs. 10-Cincinnati*
Columbus
3-Marquette vs. 14-Davidson(Southern)
6-San Diego State(Mountain West) vs. 11-Texas*

Last four in the field(by seed list number): Arizona(49), Seton Hall(51), Colorado State(52), North Carolina State(53)
First four left out: Xavier(54), Northwestern(55), Oregon(56), Miami(FL)(57),
Next four left out: Virginia Commonwealth(58), St. Joseph's(60), Central Florida(61), South Dakota State(63)
Also under consideration: Dayton, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Buffalo, Wagner

Note 2: Should VMI upset UNC Asheville in the Big South final, the Keydets would be slotted into the first four and Stony Brook would be moved out of it.

Bid Poaching

What is bid poaching? It's a situation where a team not normally considered a candidate for an at-large selection beats a team who is for the automatic berth. That forces the team who lost to be chosen for an at-large in order to get in. So who are this year's bid poachers? Read on.

Atlantic Coast: Maryland
Atlantic 10: LaSalle, Massaschusetts, or St. Joseph's
Big East: Pittsburgh
Big Ten: Illinois or Iowa
Big 12: Oklahoma State
Colonial: George Mason, Old Dominion, or Delaware
Conference USA: Tulsa
Missouri Valley: Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, or Northern Iowa
Mountain West: Wyoming
Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
Pacific-12: Oregon
Southeastern: Tennessee
West Coast: Loyola Marymount

Who's yours? Post a comment.

Bracket Watch '12 - 13 Days to go

For those of you who want a piece that just gushes about what a great day Saturday was in the college basketball landscape, you are sadly quite mistaken. Not that I would have done one, but most sites already have. No, you'll just get the latest projections.
Note: ^Indicates bubble team.

Final Four pairings:
South(1) vs. West(4)
East(2) vs. Midwest(3)

First Four pairings:
Tuesday: Long Island(Northeast) vs. Mississippi Valley State(Southwest); Seton Hall vs. Northwestern
Wednesday: Stony Brook(America East) vs. Savannah State(Mid-Eastern); South Florida vs. Miami(FL)

SOUTH Regional

Louisville
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. Long Island/Mississippi Valley State
8-Memphis vs. 9-Purdue
Albuquerque
4-Baylor vs. 13-Seton Hall^/Northwestern^
5-St. Mary's(West Coast) vs. 12-Arizona^
Greensboro
2-North Carolina vs. 15-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
7-Notre Dame vs. 10-California^
Louisville
3-Indiana vs. 14-Middle Tennessee(Sun Belt)
6-San Diego State(Mountain West) vs. 11-Mississippi State^

WEST Regional

Columbus
1-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 16-Texas-Arlington(Southland)
8-Kansas State vs. 9-West Virginia^
Portland
4-Georgetown vs. 13-Oral Roberts(Summit)^
5-Nevada-Las Vegas vs. 12-Long Beach State(Big West)^
Omaha
2-Missouri vs. 15-Weber State(Big Sky)
7-Virginia vs. 10-Washington(Pacific-12)
Albuquerque
3-Wichita State(Missouri Valley) vs. 14-Nevada(Western Athletic)
6-Louisville vs. 11-Brigham Young^

EAST Regional

Pittsburgh
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-UNC Asheville(Big South)
8-Alabama vs. 9-Iowa State^
Nashville
4-Michigan vs. 13-South Florida^/Miami(FL)^
5-Murray State(Ohio Valley) vs. 12-Drexel(Colonial)^
Greensboro
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Bucknell(Patriot)
7-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-Connecticut^
Nashville
3-Florida vs. 14-Davidson(Southern)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Texas^

MIDWEST Regional

Omaha
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Stony Brook/Savannah State
8-New Mexico vs. 9-Saint Louis
Portland
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-Iona(Metro Atlantic)
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Cincinnati^
Columbus
2-Marquette vs. 15-Valparaiso(Horizon)
7-Creighton vs. 10-Southern Mississippi^
Pittsburgh
3-Ohio State vs. 14-Akron(Mid-American)
6-Florida State vs. 11-Harvard(Ivy)^

Notes: The following teams were moved a seed line to fit the principles:
St. Mary's(Up 1)
Texas(Up 1)
West Virginia(Up 1)
Florida State(Down 1)
Long Beach State(Down 1)
Washington(Down 1)

Last four in the field(by seed list): Seton Hall(49), Northwestern(50), South Florida(52), Miami(FL)(53)
First four left out: Xavier(54), Colorado State(55), Central Florida(56), St. Joseph's(58)
Next four left out: Oregon(59), Virginia Commonwealth(60), North Carolina State(61), South Dakota State(64)
Also considered: Louisiana State, Maryland, Massachusetts, Wyoming

Bracket Watch '12 - Friday Seed List

Latest seed list projections after Thursday night's games:

Notes: *Indicates conference leader; ^Indicates bubble team.

1: Kentucky*(South), Syracuse*(East), Michigan State*(Midwest), Kansas*(West)
2-Duke*, North Carolina, Ohio State, Missouri
3-Michigan, Baylor, Marquette, Wichita State*
4-Florida, Indiana, Georgetown, UNLV
5-Wisconsin, Florida State, Murray State*, Vanderbilt
6-Gonzaga, St. Mary's*, Louisville, Temple*
7-San Diego State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Creighton
8-Kansas State, New Mexico*, California*, Harvard*
9-Connecticut^, Saint Louis, Memphis*^, Alabama^
10-Southern Mississippi^, West Virginia^, Arizona^, Mississippi State^
11-Long Beach State*^, Iowa State^, Purdue^, Cincinnati^
12-Brigham Young^, Seton Hall^, Oral Roberts*^, Washington^
13-Texas^(First Four), Northwestern^(First Four), Middle Tennessee*^, Drexel*^, Colorado State^(First Four), Xavier^(First Four)
14-Nevada*, Davidson*, Iona*, Belmont*
15-Akron*, Valparaiso*, Weber State*, Bucknell*
16-UNC Asheville*, Texas-Arlington*, Long Island*(First Four), Stony Brook*(First Four), Savannah State*(First Four), Mississippi Valley State*(First Four)

Last four in the field: Texas(49), Northwestern(50), Colorado State(53), Xavier(54)
First four left out: Miami(FL)(55), Oregon(56), North Carolina State(57), Central Florida(58)
Next four left out: South Florida(59), Louisiana State(61), Virginina Commonwealth(62), South Dakota State(64)
Under consideration(by conference): Maryland, Dayton, LaSalle, Massachusetts, St. Joseph's, Iowa, Minnesota, George Mason, Marshall, Tulsa, Wyoming, Colorado, Stanford

The next go-round of sites

With one site still stubbornly being witheld for 2013, I figure that it's okay to guess what schools and arenas are likely to be chosen for the 2014 and 2015 tournaments, which will be awarded sometime this fall. Remember, not all of these combinations are likely to be used, and some of them might not even submit bids.

2014

First Four(March 18-19)
UD Arena
Dayton, OH
University of Dayton

Second and Third Rounds

March 20/22
Times-Union Arena
Albany, NY
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Siena College

Taco Bell Arena
Boise, ID
Boise State University

Save Mart Center
Fresno, CA
Fresno State University

FedEx Forum
Memphis
University of Memphis


March 21/23
United Center
Chicago
Big Ten Conference

Chesapeake Energy Arena
Oklahoma City
Big 12 Conference

PNC Center(Future name of RBC Center)
Raleigh, NC
North Carolina State University

Alamodome
San Antonio
UTSA

Regionals

March 27/29
East Regional
Verizon Center
Washington, DC
George Mason University

West Regional
Rose Garden
Portland, OR
University of Oregon

March 28/30
Midwest Regional
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul
OR
Target Center
Minneapolis
OR
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Minneapolis
University of Minnesota

South Regional
Amway Center
Orlando
Stetson University and/or University of Central Florida

2015

First Four(March 17-18)
UD Arena
Dayton
University of Dayton

Second and Third Rounds

March 19/21
Honda Center
Anaheim
Big West Conference

Pepsi Center
Denver
University of Colorado

XL Center
Hartford, CT
University of Hartford

Bradley Center
Milwaukee
Marquette University

March 20/22
Wells Fargo Arena
Des Moines, IA
Drake University

Thompson-Bolling Arena
Knoxville, TN
University of Tennessee

Verizon Arena
North Little Rock, AR
University of Arkansas-Little Rock

Carrier Dome
Syracuse
Syracuse University

Regionals

March 26/28
East Regional
If Madison Square Garden gets the 2013 East Regional:
Time Warner Cable Arena
Charlotte
Davidson College and University of North Carolina, Charlotte
If another site is chosen for the 2013 East Regional:
Madison Square Garden
New York
St. John's University and Big East Conference

West Regional
University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ
Arizona State University

March 27/29
Midwest Regional
Ford Field
Detroit
University of Detroit

South Regional
Reliant Stadium
Houston
University of Houston and Rice University

Notes on some sites
Of the five sites that were not selected from the last round of Final Four finalists, only the Twin Cities area has not received a preliminary round selection for 2011-16. Exacerbaiting this are three other conflicts. 1: Xcel Energy Center is likely to remain host to a college hockey tournament for the forseeable future, likely the Big Ten Confernce(in rota with Detroit, possibly Chicago) and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference(in years when the Big Ten is elsewhere). This will most likely keep the X from hosting 2nd and 3rd round games, but regionals should be fine.
2: The Minnesota State High School League might have no fallback option for either the Girls' or Boys' basketball tournaments if Target Center is offered.
And 3: The Metrodome maybe replaced by a new Vikings Stadium(likely with a fixed roof), which may make it unusable due to construction nearby(if not on the actual site). Of course if a stadium is approved(and has a roof), the new digs would certainly get a Final Four or two. But if it isn't, and other conflicts aren't resolved, then the promise of early-round action will be left unfufilled.