Bracket Watch - 30 years after the 1st Miracle

Today marks the 30 year anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, where a collection of college kids representing the United States in Olympic hockey(average age: 22) shocked the sporting world defeating the Soviet Union 4-3 in Lake Placid, NY. The win set the stage for the USA to win gold and helped make Hockey cool throughout the country. Last night, a youthful US team did it again, downing heavily favored Canada 5-3 in front of a (mostly) partisan crowd in Vancouver. What does this have to do with Bracketology you ask? Well who can pull off a miracle finish and make the dance? Look at the first four out and next four out columns and you may find a team who could pull it off.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-North Texas(Sun Belt)
8-Florida State vs. 9-Louisville
@ Spokane
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Oakland(Summit)
5-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 12-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Buffalo
2-Pittsburgh vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Xavier vs. 10-Old Dominion
@ Milwaukee
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Kent State(Mid-American)
6-Missouri vs. 11-California(Pacific-10)

West region

@ Milwaukee
1-Purdue(Big Ten) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening round: Jackson State(Southwestern Athletic) vs. Bucknell(Patriot)
8-Baylor vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 13-Weber State(Big Sky)
5-Georgetown vs. 12-Rhode Island
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Texas A&M vs. 10-Uab
@ Providence
3-West Virginia vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 11-Illinois

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Campbell(Atlantic Sun)
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-Cornell(Ivy)
@ San Jose
4-Temple vs. 13-Marquette
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Georgia Tech
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Stony Brook(America East)
7-Virginia Tech vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ New Orleans
3-Ohio State vs. 14-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
6-Texas vs. 11-St. Mary's

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Florida
@ Spokane
4-Butler(Horizon) vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Wisconsin vs. 12-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-Sam Houston State(Southland)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-Northeastern(Colonial)
6-Maryland vs. 11-Dayton

Moving up for procedural purposes: Coastal Carolina(was a 15), Oakland(was a 14)
Moving down for procedural purposes: UC Santa Barbara(was a 14), Kent State(was a 13)

New to the field: Campbell, Marquette
Out of the field: Belmont, San Diego State

Last four in the field: Nevada-Las Vegas, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, Marquette
First four left out: San Diego State, Connecticut, Mississippi State, Mississippi
Next four left out: Charlotte, Washington, Arizona State, Notre Dame
Also under consideration: Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Florida, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, Memphis, Tulsa, Wichita State, UCLA

Next projection is on Friday(after the US women win gold, of course!)