Bracket Watch - A bored Thursday Projection

Sayonara South Florida. So Long Seton Hall. Those two teams had opprotunities to make their way into the field of 65 yesterday, and both proceeded to look lethargic in doing so. The Bulls fell flat against a Georgetown team it had defeated in Washington a few weeks back, whilst the Pirates were looted and pillaged by Notre Dame to the tune of a 12 point loss.

Elsewhere, Missouri got embarrased by Nebraska, 75-60, which may give the committee a convienent excuse to leave them out if it comes down to the Tigers and maybe say...William & Mary. In terms of Auto Bids, Anthony Johnson literally clinched Montana's bid via the Big Sky championship by scoring the Grizzlies' last 21 points in overcoming Weber State, 66-65 in Ogden. In the Northeast title bout, Robert Morris proceeded to become a defensive juggernaut and held off Quinnipiac by a 52-50 decision.

And to the brackets we go.

Notes: * denotes a bubble team. CAPS indicate team has won the automatic bid.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-Marquette vs. 9-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
@ Spokane
4-Maryland vs. 13-SIENA
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-San Diego State*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Clemson vs. 10-Missouri
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Richmond vs. 11-CORNELL

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Arizona State*
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-MURRAY STATE
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Gonzaga vs. 10-Louisville
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
6-Texas A&M vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)*

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-California(Pacific-10) vs. 9-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
4-Baylor vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Georgetown vs. 12-Georgia Tech*
@ Providence
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Vermont(America East)
7-Brigham Young vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-OAKLAND
6-Texas vs. 11-Florida*

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff(Southwestern)
8-Florida State vs. 9-SAINT MARY'S
@ Spokane
4-Michigan State vs. 13-Mississippi*
5-BUTLER vs. 12-Memphis*
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-MONTANA
7-Xavier vs. 10-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-WOFFORD
6-Wake Forest vs. 11-Notre Dame

New to the field: Montana, Robert Morris
Out of the field: Quinnipiac, Weber State
Procedural moves: Clemson(up 1), Richmond(up 1), Virginia Tech(up 1), Brigham Young(down 1), Marquette(down 1), Utah State(down 1)

Last four in the field: San Diego State, Memphis, Arizona State, Mississippi
First four in line: Illinois, Washington, Uab, Mississippi State
Next four in line: Dayton, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Saint Louis
Also in line: William & Mary, Seton Hall, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, South Florida