Bracket Watch '12 - Three Weeks to go

The race to earn an NCAA berth continues to heat up, and some teams are starting to feel the heat. St. Mary's is one of them. Having already showed a lackluster effort at home against Loyola Marymount, they trooped up to Murray State and looked bad in a 65-51 defeat. Still, they maintain a single-game lead in the West Coast Conference, after Gonzaga gacked it in San Francisco. Illinois was not as fortunate, getting blown out by 23 at Nebraska. NC State is in the same boat, falling to Florida State by 14(and having two former players getting tossed by the referee to boot). Conversely, South Florida, though not in the field, continues to thrive under the radar, winning four in a row. And then there was Creighton, who rectified their status with a thrilling last second win over Long Beach State. In between these two extremes of success, there were varying performances, all of which is presented in the following field of 68.

Note: ^indicates team is on the bubble.

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

First Four matchups:
Tuesday: Texas-Arlington(Southland) vs. Mississippi Valley State(Southwestern); Xavier vs. Northwestern
Wednesday: Vermont(America East) vs. Savannah State(Mid-Eastern); Cincinnati vs. Central Florida

SOUTH Region

Louisville
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. Texas-Arlington/Mississippi Valley State
8-Saint Louis vs. 9-West Virginia^
Portland
4-Indiana vs. 13-Texas^
5-Murray State(Ohio Valley) vs. 12-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
Greensboro
2-North Carolina vs. 15-Drexel(Colonial)
7-Creighton vs. 10-Alabama^
Columbus
3-Michigan vs. 14-Cincinnati/Central Florida
6-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 11-Oral Roberts(Summit)

WEST Region

Columbus
1-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 16-Vermont/Savannah State
8-Kansas State vs. 9-Southern Mississippi(Conference USA)
Albuquerque
4-Florida vs. 13-Iona(Metro Atlantic)
5-Nevada Las Vegas vs. 12-Purdue^
Omaha
2-Kansas vs. 15-Nevada(Western Athletic)
7-Virginia vs. 10-Connecticut^
Nashville
3-Marquette vs. 14-Davidson(Southern)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Middle Tennessee(Sun Belt)^

EAST Region

Pttsburgh
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-UNC Asheville(Big South)
8-Vanderbilt vs. 9-Harvard(Ivy)
Portland
4-Wichita State(Missouri Valley) vs. 13-Miami(FL^)
5-Baylor vs. 12-Long Beach State(Big West)^
Greensboro
2-Duke vs. 15-Bucknell(Patriot)
7-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-Arizona^
Albuquerque
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Valparaiso(Horizon)
6-Notre Dame vs. 11-Brigham Young^

MIDWEST Region

Omaha
1-Missouri(Big 12) vs. 16-Long Island(Northeast)
8-Mississippi State vs. 9-California(Pacific-12)^
Nashville
4-Florida State(Atlantic Coast) vs. 13-Xavier/Northwestern
5-Louisville vs. 12-Washington^
Louisville
2-Ohio State vs. 15-Weber State(Big Sky)
7-St. Mary's(West Coast) vs. 10-Memphis^
Pittsburgh
3-Georgetown vs. 14-Akron(Mid-American)
6-San Diego State vs. 11-Iowa State^

Notes on seeding: Connecticut and California swapped seeds due to potential confernce conflicts. Brigham Young and Arizona swapped seeds to allow BYU to play at a Thursday/Saturday sub-regional site.

Last four in the field(with position in seed list): Xavier(51), Northwestern(52), Cincinnati(53), Central Florida(55)
First four left out: North Carolina State(56), Seton Hall(57), Illinois(58), Virginia Commonwealth(59)
Next four left out: Oregon(60), St. Joseph's(61), Minnesota(63), South Florida(64)
Under Consideration(by conference): Dayton, La Salle, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Ohio, Colorado State, Wyoming, Colorado, Loyola Marymount