Can anyone figure out the Pacific-10 conference? Or for that matter, the Sun Belt? There's a five-way orgy for the lead, and I have no interest in sorting it out. So I went for North Texas as the leader, as they have the highest RPI rank of the five. As for the Pac-10, anyone who still clings to the belief that it deserves at least two teams in the dance should give up such notions after Washington lost at home to Southern California and California fell to sad-sack Oregon State.
As always, these projections are done as if the season ended the night before.
Final Four pairings
Midwest(1) vs. West(4)
East(2) vs. South(3)
Midwest region
@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Xavier vs. 9-Louisville
@ New Orleans
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-San Diego State
5-Wake Forest vs. 12-Uab
@ Milwaukee
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15- UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Buffalo
3-Pittsburgh vs. 14-Northeastern(Colonial)
6-Missouri vs. 11-Dayton
West region
@ Milwaukee
1-Purdue vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern Athletic)
8-Old Dominion vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4- Georgetown vs. 13-Weber State(Big Sky)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Rhode Island
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-St. Mary's
@ Providence
3-West Virginia vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Texas vs. 11-Cornell(Ivy)
East region
@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
8-Georgia Tech vs. 9-Illinois
@ Spokane
4-Temple vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Maryland vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Baylor vs. 11-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
South region
@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Virginia Tech vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-Florida
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-North Texas(Sun Belt)
7-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 10-Florida State
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Ohio State vs. California(Pacific-10)
Procedural moves up: Old Dominion(up 1), St. Mary's(up 1), Murray State(up 1), Butler(up 1)
Procedural moves down: Dayton(down 1), Illinois(down 1), Florida(down 1), Ohio State(down 1)
Last four in the field: Uab, Rhode Island, Florida, San Diego State
First four left out: Mississippi, William & Mary, South Florida, Charlotte
Next four left out: Seton Hall, Marquette, Mississippi State, Cincinnati
Also under consideration: Virginia, Saint Louis, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis, Tulsa, Arizona State, Washington, South Carolina
New to the field: San Diego State, Florida, North Texas, St. Mary's
Out of the field: Charlotte, Marquette, Mississippi, Middle Tennessee
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Howard,
ReplyDeleteWhat does UNLV need to do down the stretch to remain in the field?
surprised Wake Forest isn't getting more respect. They played a very strong non conference schedule and beat Xavier and Gonzaga. They played tough road games at Purdue and Gonzaga. I respect Wake for going out and scheduling tough games. Virginia Tech on the other hand feasted on cupcakes. Why do you insist on rewarding Virginia Tech for playing cupcakes?
ReplyDeleteYou made the right call on Purdue as a 1 seed over Nova. Villanova has a very tough schedule remaining and could easily lose 3 more times. This bracket looks pretty good. You do a very good job Howard. Thanks
ReplyDeleteCan Old Dominion lock up a bid with a win in Cedar Falls? How many Colonial teams do you think will get in?
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance New Mexico could play in Oklahoma City? It is half as many miles to OKC than out to San Jose.
ReplyDeleteThese are the matchups i would like to see to bust up the brackets.
ReplyDeleteVCU and Virginia Tech
FSU and UAB
Cincinnati and Wichita State
Washington and Oklahoma State
Dayton and Minnesota
Cal and SDSU
Murry State and Louisville
Arizona State and Utah State
ODU and Georgia Tech
Ole Miss and South Florida