Bracket Watch - Mocking things as we go along

Last Thursday, whilst watching the Gatorade Duels that set the field for the Daytona 500(yes I have a life outside of this), the NCAA hosted a mock bracket shindig in which 20 lucky souls get to do their best selection committee impersonation and produce a field of 65 in which we real bracketologists get to rip. But not me, in fact, I'm envious of these people. Not that I would ever accept an NCAA invite to do this, I'm too busy with other stuff like watching cars go round in circles. Kyle Wheliston of The Mid-Majority wrote about his experiences at his blog: http://www.midmajority.com/2009/02/mock-selection-2009.php. Read it and then compare what I and about 50 others are doing at the Bracket Matrix.

As to this week's projections, read on:

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

East region
@Philadelphia
1-Connecticut/Big East vs. 16-Morehead State/Ohio Valley
8-Florida State vs. 9-South Carolina
@Boise
4-Illinois vs. 13-Weber State/Big Sky
5-Arizona State vs. 12-Nevada-Las Vegas
@Kansas City
2-Memphis/Conference USA vs. 15-American/Patriot
7-Dayton/Atlantic 10 vs. 10-Utah State/Western Athletic
@Miami
3-Wake Forest vs. 14-Arkansas-Little Rock
6-Villanova vs. 11-Wisconsin

Midwest region
@Dayton
1-Pittsburgh vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Radford/Big Sky vs. Northridge State/Big West
8-Kentucky vs. 9-Boston College
@Minneapolis
4-Xavier vs. 13-Buffalo/Mid-American
5-Purdue vs. 12-Providence
@Greensboro
2-Duke vs. 15-Vermont/America East
7-Ohio State vs. 10-San Diego State
@Minneapolis
3-Missouri vs. 14-Robert Morris/Northeast
6-Syracuse vs. 11-Creighton

South region
@Greensboro
1-North Carolina/Atlantic Coast vs. 16-Morgan State/Mid-Eastern
8-Minnesota vs. 9-California
@Boise
4-Kansas vs. 13-Northern Iowa/Missouri Valley
5-Gonzaga vs. 12-Cincinnati
@Dayton
2-Michigan State/Big Ten vs. 15-Cornell/Ivy
7-Texas vs. 10-Davidson/Southern
@Portland
3-Washington/Pacific-10 vs. 14-Sam Houston State/Southland
6-West Virginia vs. 11-Florida

West region
@Kansas City
1-Oklahoma/Big 12 vs. 16-Alabama State/Southwestern
8-Utah/Mountain West vs. 9-Tennessee
@Portland
4-Marquette vs. 13-North Dakota State/Summit
5-Ucla vs. 12-Siena/Metro Atlantic
@Miami
2-Clemson vs. 15-Jacksonville/Atlantic Sun
7-Louisiana State/Southeastern vs. 10-Arizona
@Philadelphia
3-Louisville vs. 14-Northeastern/Colonial
6-Butler/Horizon vs. 11-Brigham Young

New to the field: Vermont, Jacksonville, Radford, Wisconsin, Northridge State, Cornell, Creighton, Brigham Young, American, Kentucky, Arkansas-Little Rock

Last four in the field: Cincinnati, Nevada-Las Vegas, Creighton, Providence
First four left out: Miami(FL), Southern California, Georgetown, Michigan
Next four left out: Nebraska, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Notre Dame
Also under consideration: Maryland, Virginia Tech, Temple, Penn State, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, George Mason, UAB, Tulsa, Illinois State, Stanford

New polls will be up shortly. The next projection is next week.

UPDATE: Added Virginia Tech as under consideration.