Bracketology: Tennessee In, VCU and 11 Seed, Drexel Out

Bracketology projections will be coming fast and furious this week. Tennessee enters the field for the first time all season, replacing Arizona, who choked in a loss to Arizona State. UCONN also returns, replacing South Florida. South Florida still has a strong chance to return, while Arizona has been replaced by Oregon as the Pac-12's third most likely team.

 

Near the top of the bracket, North Carolina reclaimed a #1 seed in place of Duke, Murray St moved up to a #4 seed, and Creighton jumped to a #5 after winning the MVC. VCU won the CAA Monday night and moved into an #11 seed, but loser Drexel remains on the bubble needing help. With just one Top 50 win all season (against VCU) and no Top 100 road wins, the Dragons don't have an overwhelming resume. Iona and Oral Roberts, two other mid-majors that lost Monday night, are even farther back in the pack.

 

Why Pay Attention to What I Have to Say: Collegehoops.net's projections have consistently proven to be the best in the business. Over the last 4 years, Shawn Siegel is the #1 ranked Bracketologist according to the Bracket Project. This ranking includes the likes of Joe Lunardi, Gary Parrish, Jerry Palm, and Andy Glockner.. none of whom come close. 

 

As always, the field below is a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand today, not what they should do. This is done by taking into account standings, polls, computer rankings, and the committee's historical biases. Check out the follow up Bubble Watch for updates about teams on the NCAA Tournament Bubble, and NITology for a ranking of the best of the rest.

 

Notes:

Arrows indicate how many seeds a team has moved up or down since the previous update. Teams in Green are new to the field today. Teams in CAPS have locked up a bid. **=Projected Conference Champs. Locked Up Bid.

 

 

ONE

Kentucky**

Syracuse**

Kansas**

North Carolina

 

TWO

Missouri

Duke**

Ohio State

Michigan St**

 

THREE

Marquette

Michigan

Baylor

Georgetown

 

FOUR

Wisconsin

Indiana

Murray St**

Wichita St

 

FIVE

Florida St

UNLV

Temple**

Creighton**

 

SIX

Florida

Vanderbilt

Saint Mary's**

Gonzaga

 

SEVEN

San Diego St**

Louisville

Notre Dame

Memphis**

 

EIGHT

New Mexico

Iowa St

Saint Louis

Alabama

 

NINE

Purdue

Kansas St

Virginia

Cincinnati

 

TEN

Southern Miss

California

West Virginia

Harvard**

 

ELEVEN

Mississippi St

Miami

Washington**

VCU**

TWELVE

Long Beach**

BYU

Northwestern

Seton Hall

 

THIRTEEN + 2

Xavier / Texas

Tennessee / UCONN

Belmont**

Nevada**

 

FOURTEEN

Davidson**

South Dakota St**

Akron**

Montana**

 

FIFTEEN

Loyola (MD)**

Valparaiso**

Bucknell**

Long Island**

 

SIXTEEN + 2

Texas-Arlington**

UNC-Asheville**

North Texas** / Mississippi Valley St**

Stony Brook** / Savannah St**

 

Last In: UCONN, Tennessee, Texas, Xavier

 

First Out: Colorado St, South Florida, Drexel, Oregon

Further Four: NC State, St. Joseph's, Iona, Ole Miss

 

Dropped Out Of Field (at-large): Arizona, South Florida

New (at-large): Tennessee, UCONN

 

 

Conference Bids

- Multiple Bid Leagues

 

Big East - 9

Big Ten - 7

Big 12 - 6

ACC - 5

SEC - 5

A-10 - 3

MWC - 3

Pac-12 - 3

WCC - 3

CUSA - 2

MVC - 2

------------------- (20 one-bid leagues)

 

League Leaders/Winners (31)

- #1 team according to current standings

- New leaders in green

- Locked Up Bid

 

America East - Stony Brook
A-10 - Temple
ACC - Duke
Atlantic Sun - Belmont
Big 12 - Kansas
Big East - Syracuse
Big Sky - Montana
Big South - UNC-Asheville
Big Ten - Michigan St
Big West - Long Beach
CAA - VCU
Conference USA - Memphis
Horizon - Valparaiso
Ivy - Harvard
MAAC - Loyola (MD)
MAC - Akron
MEAC - Savannah St
MVC - Creighton
MWC - San Diego St
Northeast - Long Island
Ohio Valley - Murray St
Pac-12 - Washington
Patriot - Bucknell
SEC - Kentucky
Southern - Davidson
Southland - Texas-Arlington
SWAC - Mississippi Valley St
Summit - South Dakota St
Sun Belt - North Texas
WAC - Nevada
WCC - Saint Mary's

 

Check out Bubble Watch for updates and more in-depth looks at teams on the NCAA Bubble. Also, NITology covers teams that are 2nd best..