Questions and answers on what to expect

Who's the last #1?
If all indications are correct, Kentucky, Syracuse, and North Carolina should be good to go for the top line. But after that, it's a tossup between two Big Ten and two Big 12 teams. Kansas has been on fire recently, but it lost to Baylor in the Big 12 semis. Missouri lost out on the Big 12 regular season title, but won the conference tournament in it's last duties as a basketball-playing member. Michigan State has done surprisingly well against a killer non-conference slate, not to mention surviving a difficult Big Ten. Same with Ohio State, who defeated the likes of Duke. Who will get it? I still say Kansas, but it would not shock me to see one of the other three up there with a 1 next to it.

Who does the bubble have to root against?
UC Santa Barbara, tonight, and St. Bonaventure, tomorrow. By my account, both Long Beach State have done enough to earn at-large status. But they can help the bubble out by winning their respective conference games.

Where does Kentucky go?
Most of the season, most bracketologists had the Wildcats going to the South Regional in Atlanta. But recently, some, not all, have put the Wildcats in St. Louis for the Midwest Regional. In terms of mileage, Lexington is about 40 miles closer to St. Louis than to Atlanta. And with the emergence of North Carolina, it looks more or less likely Kentucky will go to St. Louis for regional play(much to the disgust of our Kansas readership, the Jayhawks would be shipped out west to Phoenix. Syracuse, the other lock for a 1, looks to be a lock for Boston).

Will anyone get all 68 teams right?
Not likely, but certainly possible.

Well that's all from me for tonight. See you tomorrow, and don't forget to turn your clocks ahead an hour before you sleep.

Bracket Watch '12 - Saturday Night

Sorry about the lateness of my projections today, I was a bit busy. Here's my latest update as of 6:30 PM this evening(not considering the Pacific-12 and Big 12 finals). Seeds Only(no bracket until tomorrow).

1-Kentucky(Midwest), Syracuse(East), North Carolina(South), Kansas(West)
2-Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State, Duke
3-Baylor, Marquette, Wisconsin, Florida State
4-Michigan, Indiana, MURRAY STATE, Vanderbilt
5-Louisville, Georgetown, Unlv, Wichita State
6-SAINT MARY'S, Cincinnati, Temple, CREIGHTON
7-Gonzaga, Florida, San Diego State, New Mexico
8-Notre Dame, MEMPHIS, Iowa State, Kansas State
9-Virginia, Alabama, Purdue, HARVARD
10-Connecticut, Long Beach State, Saint Louis, California
11-West Virginia, Southern Mississippi, Xavier, Brigham Young
12-Colorado State, Texas, VCU, Washington(First Four), NC State(First Four)
13-South Florida(First Four), Drexel(First Four), Arizona, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, DAVIDSON
14-LOYOLA(MD), New Mexico State, MONTANA, BELMONT
15-Akron, DETROIT, LEHIGH, UNC ASHEVILLE
16-LAMAR, LONG ISLAND, NORFOLK STATE(First Four), VERMONT(First Four), Mississippi Valley State(First Four), WESTERN KENTUCKY(First Four)

First four in line for a bid: Mississippi State(52), Seton Hall(53), Iona(54), Northwestern(55)
Next three left out: Mississippi(56), Oral Roberts(59), Nevada(60)

Bracket Watch '12 - Friday Bracket

Close games, burst bubbles, overtime games, double overtime games, triple overtime games, hysterics abound. Man that had to be the wildest Thursday in Championship Week history. And all of this is captured in the latest projection based on what's going on. And if that doesn't get your attention, then I don't know what will.

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

First Four pairings
Tuesday: Mississippi Valley State(Southwestern) vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY; Xavier vs. South Florida
Wednesday: Norfolk State(Mid-Eastern) vs. Lamar(Southland); Mississippi State vs. Drexel

SOUTH Regional

Louisville
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Mississippi Valley State/WESTERN KENTUCKY
8-Iowa State vs. 9-Saint Louis
Nashville
4-Florida State vs. 13-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
5-Georgetown vs. 12-VCU
Columbus
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15-DETROIT
7-Notre Dame vs. 10-Southern Mississippi
Albuquerque
3-Baylor vs. 14-BELMONT
6-Wichita State vs. 11-Long Beach State(Big West)

WEST Regional

Greensboro
1-North Carolina(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Norfolk State/Lamar
8-Cincinnati vs. 9-Kansas State
Portland
4-MURRAY STATE vs. 13-Tennessee
5-Unlv vs. 12-Brigham Young
Omaha
2-Missouri vs. 15-LEHIGH
7-Memphis(Conference USA) vs. 10-Connecticut
Columbus
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-LOYOLA(MD)
6-Florida vs. 11-West Virginia

EAST Regional

Pittsburgh
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Stony Brook or Vermont(America East)
8-Virginia vs. 9-Purdue
Nashville
4-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 13-Mississippi State/Drexel
5-SAINT MARY'S vs. 12-Washington
Greensboro
2-Duke vs. 15-UNC ASHEVILLE
7-San Diego State(Mountain West) vs. 10-Alabama
Pittsburgh
3-Michigan vs. 14-DAVIDSON
6-Louisville vs. 11-Texas

MIDWEST Regional

Omaha
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-LONG ISLAND
8-New Mexico vs. 9-HARVARD
Albuquerque
4-Indiana vs. 13-Nevada(Western Athletic)
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Xavier/South Florida
Louisville
2-Ohio State vs. 15-Akron(Mid-American)
7-CREIGHTON vs. 10-California(Pacific-12)
Portland
3-Marquette vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Colorado State

Line Adjustments:
Up 1 seed line: Harvard: Xavier/South Florida winner
Down 1 seed line: Alabama, Tennessee

Last four in the field(by seed list number): Xavier(48), Mississippi State(50), South Florida(51), Drexel(52)
First four left out: Seton Hall(53), Northwestern(54), North Carolina State(55), Iona(56)
Next four left out: Miami(FL)(57), Arizona(58), Oregon(59), Oral Roberts(61)
Also under consideration: Central Florida, Dayton, St. Joseph's, Marshall, Mississippi, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota

Important Note for Saturday

As you may already know, I'll be attending the Minnesota State High School Boy's Hockey Championships on Saturday, so if it's possible to do so, I'll have a bracket up early that day. If not, the next projection will be on Sunday morning, with the final one to be revealed after the early games are played.

Bracket Watch '12 - Thursday Update

Jeff Hathaway gave it away during his Indy presser, Peyton Manning is replacing him as chairman of the selection committee-NO WAIT! That wasn't it....Kentucky and Syracuse will be #1 seeds. As for the rest of the field, they're going to have to wait. But in the meantime, with enough results out there to be an influence, here's a freshly updated look at the field of 68.

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

First Four Pairings
Tuesday: Norfolk State(Mid-Eastern) vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY; Tennesse vs. Xavier
Wednesday: Stony Brook(America East) vs. Mississippi Valley State(Southwestern); Colorado State vs. Texas

SOUTH Regional

Louisville
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Norfolk State/WESTERN KENTUCKY
8-Kansas State vs. 9-Saint Louis
Portland
4-Georgetown vs. 13-Nevada(Western Athletic)
5-SAINT MARY'S vs. 12-VCU
Greensboro
2-Duke vs. 15-LEHIGH
7-Memphis(Conference USA) vs. 10-HARVARD
Portland
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-BELMONT
6-Notre Dame vs. 11-Long Beach State(Big West)

WEST Regional

Greensboro
1-North Carolina(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Stony Brook/Mississippi Valley State
8-Iowa State vs. 9-Alabama
Albuquerque
4-Indiana vs. 13-Tennessee/Xavier
5-Unlv vs. 12-Brigham Young
Columbus
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Texas-Arlington(Southland)
7-Louisville vs. 10-Southern Mississippi
Albuquerque
3-Baylor vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Wichita State vs. 11-Washington(Pacific-12)

EAST Regional

Pittsburgh
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-UNC ASHEVILLE
8-Virginia vs. 9-Purdue
Nashville
4-MURRAY STATE vs. 13-Colorado State/Texas
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-South Florida
Omaha
2-Missouri vs. 15-DETROIT
7-San Diego State(Mountain West) vs. 10-California
Pittsburgh
3-Michigan vs. 14-DAVIDSON
6-Florida vs. 11-West Virginia

MIDWEST Regional

Omaha
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-LONG ISLAND
8-New Mexico vs. 9-Cincinnati
Nashville
4-Florida State vs. 13-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Northwestern
Louisville
2-Ohio State vs. 15-Akron(Mid-American)
7-CREIGHTON vs. 10-Connecticut
Columbus
3-Marquette vs. 14-LOYOLA(MD)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Mississippi State

Line adjustments: None today

Last four in the field(by seed list number): Colorado State(48), Texas(50), Tennessee(51), Xavier(52)
First four left out: Drexel(53), Oregon(54), Seton Hall(55), North Carolina State(56)
Next four left out: Iona(57), Miami(FL)(59), Arizona(60), Central Florida(62)
Also under consideration: Oral Roberts, Dayton, St. Joseph's, Middle Tennessee, Marshall

Four sites in play for 2013 East Regional

The NCAA is ready to name a host site for the 2013 East Regional, and it will be held in New York. City, State, or Metropolitan Area, now that's the challenge. As reported by the Newark Star-Ledger, Madison Square Garden is in the mix, as are the Prudential Center in Newark and the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The fourth entrant is the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and if Greg Shaheen's words are to be taken as the gospel, it could very well be the favorite.

Also taken from the article, the NCAA was preparing to name the site last June, but at the last moment held it back. Now whether or not it was related to the on-going renovation of MSG, or the logistics of moving the NIT somewhere else, that is unkown. The naming of the site is expected soon, perhaps as late as the Final Four.