Reaction to the field

Well another year has passed and remarkably, I missed only one at-large. Not that I have any quarrls about it as Villanova was my last team out and the team I missed, Illinois State was third from the cut-line anyway. What was really remarkable was that I had 28 teams at their exact seed and 25 that were one away from their seed(Not excluding the Mississippi State duplicate).

THE 1 SEEDS

I made a very late change to have North Carolina the top seed overall. Yes it was deliberate, I had Memphis as top seed overall until this afternoon when the Tar Heels won the ACC. The Tigers were never in danger of losing a top seed even after the Tennessee Loss. Kansas moved to the 4th #1 seed in the wake of Tennessee's loss in the SEC semis and Kansas' win over Texas in the Big 12 Final. UCLA locked up the top seed in the West last week.

Who benefitied in seeding: Oregon and Miami(FL) up 3 seed lines, Arizona, Oral Roberts and Vanderbilt up 2 seed lines.
Who got hosed in seeding: Butler and Indiana down 3 seed lines. Georgia, Kansas State, Portland State and Temple down 2 seed lines.
Who benefitied in placement: Texas in the South, West Virginia in Washington D.C, Georgetown in Raleigh
Who got hosed in placement: Tennessee in the East, Duke in Washington D.C., Cornell in Anaheim

Something only a bracketologist would notice
In the era of pods, there are four sub-regional sites that will feed into one region: Birmingham(EAST), North Little Rock(SOUTH), Omaha(MIDWEST) and Washington D.C.(WEST)

We'll that's it for now. Next projection is slated for sometime before the regular season starts(No projection after the national championship).

Bracket Watch Final Projection

UPDATE Post Brackets: Had Mississippi State Twice instead of Kent State.

Final Four Pairings
East vs. Midwest
South vs. West

EAST Region

Raleigh
(1)NORTH CAROLINA vs. (16)Opening Round Winner
Opening Round: MOUNT ST. MARY'S vs. COPPIN STATE
(8)West Virginia vs. (9)Texas A&M
Denver
(4)BUTLER vs. (13)BOISE STATE
(5)Washington State vs. (12)GEORGIA
Omaha
(2)WISCONSIN vs. (15)AMERICAN
(7)Brigham Young vs. (10)St. Joseph's
Birmingham
(3)Georgetown vs. (14)SIENA
(6)Oklahoma vs. (11)Kentucky

MIDWEST Region

Omaha
(1)KANSAS vs. (16)TEXAS-ARLINGTON
(8)Arkansas vs. (9)NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Tampa
(4)Louisville vs. (13)SAN DIEGO
(5)Indiana vs. (12)Oregon
Birmingham
(2)Tennessee vs. (15)BELMONT
(7)Southern California vs. (10)South Alabama
Denver
(3)DRAKE vs. (14)FULLERTON STATE
(6)Notre Dame vs. (11)Baylor

SOUTH Region

North Little Rock
(1)MEMPHIS vs. (16)MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
(8)Mississippi State vs. (9)DAVIDSON
Washington D.C.
(4)Connecticut vs. (13)CORNELL
(5)Michigan State vs. (12)Arizona
North Little Rock
(2)Texas vs. (15)AUSTIN PEAY
(7)Marquette vs. (10)Miami(FL)
Anaheim
(3)Stanford vs. (14)PORTLAND STATE
(6)Vanderbilt vs. (11)St. Mary's

WEST Region

Anaheim
(1)UCLA vs. (16)MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY
(8)KENT STATE vs. (9)Kansas State
Tampa
(4)Xavier vs. (13)GEORGE MASON
(5)Clemson vs. (12)Illinois State
Raleigh
(2)Duke vs. (15)ORAL ROBERTS
(7)Gonzaga vs (10)TEMPLE
Washington D.C
(3)PITTSBURGH vs. (14)WINTHROP
(6)Purdue vs. (11)WESTERN KENTUCKY

Last four in the field: Baylor, Illinois State, Oregon, Arizona
First four left out: Villanova, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, Ohio State
Next four left out: Massachusetts, New Mexico, Syracuse, Dayton
Stragglers: Florida, Mississippi

Bracket Watch For Selection Sunday(Updated)

Note: due to the possibility of Illinois or Georgia(OR BOTH) winning automatic bids today, I am presenting two possible scenarios with which the bracket may play out. For the most part however, the majority of the bracket remains the same.

Bracket 1: Normalcy

Final Four pairings
South vs. Midwest
East vs. West

SOUTH Region

North Little Rock
(1)MEMPHIS vs. (16)Opening Round winner
Opening Round: MOUNT ST. MARY'S vs. COPPIN STATE
(8)KENT STATE vs. (9)DAVIDSON
Washington D.C.
(4)Connecticut vs. (13)CORNELL
(5)Michigan State vs. (12)Arizona*
Anaheim
(2)Stanford vs. (15)PORTLAND STATE
(7)Marquette vs. (10)St. Mary's
Raleigh
(3)Duke vs. (14)ORAL ROBERTS
(6)Vanderbilt vs. (11)Baylor

MIDWEST Region

North Little Rock
(1)Texas(Big 12) vs. (16)MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
(8)NEVADA-LAS VEGAS vs. (9)Mississippi State
Tampa
(4)Louisville vs. (13)SAN DIEGO
(5)Indiana vs. (12)Oregon*
Birmingham
(2)Tennessee vs. (15)BELMONT
(7)Southern California vs. (10)South Alabama
Denver
(3)DRAKE vs. (14)FULLERTON STATE
(6)Notre Dame vs. (11)St. Joseph's*

EAST Region

Raleigh
(1)NORTH CAROLINA vs. (16)TEXAS-ARLINGTON
(8)West Virginia vs. (9)Texas A&M
Denver
(4)BUTLER vs. (13)BOISE STATE
(5)Washington State vs. (12)Virginia Commonwealth
Omaha
(2)Wisconsin(Big Ten) vs. (15)AMERICAN
(7)Brigham Young vs. (10TEMPLE
Birmingham
(3)Georgetown vs. (14)SIENA
(6)Oklahoma vs. (11)WESTERN KENTUCKY

WEST Region

Anaheim
(1)UCLA vs. (16)MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY
(8)Gonzaga vs. (9)Kansas State
Tampa
(4)Xavier vs. (13)GEORGE MASON
(5)Clemson vs. (12)Illinois State*
Omaha
(2)Kansas vs. (15)AUSTIN PEAY
(7)Arkansas(SEC) vs. (10)Miami(FL)
Washington D.C.
(3)PITTSBURGH vs. (14)WINTHROP
(6)Purdue vs. (11)Kentucky*

Last four in the field: Illinois State, Oregon, Arizona, Virginia Commonwealth
First four left out: Villanova, Ohio State, Dayton, Virginia Tech
Next four left out: Syracuse, Massachusetts, Arizona State, Mississippi

Bracket 2: Illinois & Georgia win

SOUTH Region

North Little Rock
(1)MEMPHIS vs. (16)Opening Round winner
Opening Round: MOUNT ST. MARY'S vs. COPPIN STATE
(8)KENT STATE vs. (9)DAVIDSON
Washington D.C.
(4)Connecticut vs. (13)CORNELL
(5)Michigan State vs. (12)Illinois State*
Anaheim
(2)Stanford vs. (15)PORTLAND STATE
(7)Marquette vs. (10)St. Mary's
Raleigh
(3)Duke vs. (14)ORAL ROBERTS
(6)Vanderbilt vs. (11)Baylor

MIDWEST Region

North Little Rock
(1)Texas(Big 12) vs. (16)MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
(8)NEVADA-LAS VEGAS vs. (9)Mississippi State
Tampa
(4)Louisville vs. (13)SAN DIEGO
(5)Indiana vs. (12)Oregon*
Birmingham
(2)Tennessee vs. (15)BELMONT
(7)Southern California vs. (10)South Alabama
Denver
(3)DRAKE vs. (14)FULLERTON STATE
(6)Notre Dame vs. (11)St. Joseph's*

EAST Region

Raleigh
(1)NORTH CAROLINA vs. (16)TEXAS-ARLINGTON
(8)West Virginia vs. (9)Texas A&M
Denver
(4)BUTLER vs. (13)BOISE STATE
(5)Washington State vs. (12)GEORGIA or ILLINOIS
Omaha
(2)Wisconsin vs. (15)AMERICAN
(7)Brigham Young vs. (10TEMPLE
Birmingham
(3)Georgetown vs. (14)SIENA
(6)Oklahoma vs. (11)WESTERN KENTUCKY

WEST Region

Anaheim
(1)UCLA vs. (16)MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY
(8)Gonzaga vs. (9)Kansas State
Tampa
(4)Xavier vs. (13)GEORGIA OR ILLINOIS
(5)Clemson vs. (12)GEORGE MASON
Omaha
(2)Kansas vs. (15)AUSTIN PEAY
(7)Arkansas(SEC) vs. (10)Miami(FL)
Washington D.C.
(3)PITTSBURGH vs. (14)WINTHROP
(6)Purdue vs. (11)Kentucky*

Last four in the field: St. Joseph's, Baylor, Illinois State, Oregon
First four left out: Arizona, Virginia Commonwealth, Villanova, Ohio State
Next four left out:Dayton, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Massachusetts

Reminder: The final bracket will be posted by 4:45 PM(If we're lucky).