One of my biggest pet peeves isĀ all of the Bracketology articles in November. To me, making a bracket should be backward-looking, not forward-looking, or at least a combination of the two. Do I really think Arizona is the worst #5 seed? No, they might be a top-five team in the country, but their resume is nowhere near that level. Projections are what filling out the bracket is for, the making of the bracket should be based on wins and losses. Now, we are about halfway through the year, and I’m finally ready to publish my first Bracketology.
BRACKET
S-CURVE
1 Seeds: Villanova, Duke, Virginia, West Virginia
2 Seeds: Purdue, Oklahoma, Xavier, Michigan State
3 Seeds: Kansas, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Seton Hall
4 Seeds: Wichita State, North Carolina, Clemson, Auburn
5 Seeds: TCU, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Arizona
6 Seeds: Tennessee, Gonzaga, Miami, Arkansas
7 Seeds: Creighton, Florida State, Florida, Notre Dame
8 Seeds: Nevada, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Michigan
9 Seeds: Butler, Rhode Island, St. Mary’s, Missouri
10 Seeds: Georgia, Maryland, UCLA, SMU
11 Seeds: Syracuse, Houston, Texas, Louisville, Boise State, Minnesota
12 Seeds: Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Missouri State, South Dakota State
13 Seeds: East Tennessee State, Murray State, Vermont, Louisiana-Lafayette
14 Seeds: Buffalo, William & Mary, UC Davis, Lipscomb
15 Seeds: Northern Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin, Montana, Pennsylvania
16 Seeds: Bucknell, Rider, Radford, Robert Morris, Texas Southern, North Carolina A&T
BUBBLE
Avoiding Dayton
UCLA
SMU
Syracuse
Houston
Last Four In
Texas
Louisville
Boise State
Minnesota
First Four Out
Marquette
St. Bonaventure
Alabama
Washington
Next Four Out
Mississippi State
Baylor
USC
Western Kentucky
By Conference
ACC – 9 Bids (60%)
American – 4 Bids (33%)
Big 12 – 6 Bids (60%)
Big East – 5 Bids (50%)
Big Ten – 6 Bids (43%)
Mountain West – 2 Bids (18%)
Pac-12 – 3 Bids (25%)
SEC – 8 Bids (57%)
West Coast – 2 Bids (20%)
All other conferences are one-bid leagues.