Bracketology – Wichita State In, Boise State Out

Today is Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021. There are 11 days until Selection Sunday. From this point forward, this bracketology will be updated daily so you can see the most up-to-date forecasts from the most accurate bracketology website of the past two tournaments.

Following a Q4 loss at home to Fresno State (NET: 181) last night, Boise State has fallen out of the projected NCAA Tournament field. The loss was the Broncos’ third in a row, following a pair of defeats to San Diego State last week. One team’s loss is another’s gain, though, and as a result, Issac Brown’s Wichita State Shockers have entered the field for the first time this season. In fact, this is the first time in the calendar year that the AAC, generally thought of as the #7 league in the sport, has had two teams projected in the field.

It has been an up and down year for Wichita State, a program that was thrown into dissaray before the season even began, as allegations of physical abuse were levied against head coach Gregg Marshall, leading to his dismissal from the program. Well-liked assistant Issac Brown took over for Marshall, and following a couple of home losses to open the year, things looked grim.

Following those season-opening losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State, though, the team regrouped, and the Shockers went on a tear. Since they have won 12 games and lost only two, the defeats coming on the road to Houston and Memphis, a pair of Q1 games. Wins @ Ole Miss and in the return game against Houston more than made up for the losses.

On February 26th, following the win over Houston, Wichita State stripped the interim tag from Brown’s title and promoted him to full-time head coach, making him the first African-American to lead a Division 1 men’s basketball program in the state of Kansas.

As of today, Wichita State projects to win the AAC regular-season title, and even if they don’t follow that up with an AAC Tournament victory, the Shockers have done more than enough to deserve to be in the field; a storybook ending to what has been an unforgettable year for Brown and his team.

Seed List

KEY

Italicized – Play-in game
GREEN – Moved up one or more seed line
RED – Moved down one or more seed line
BLUE – New to bracket

Changes from: Monday, March 1st

Note: The furthest left team is considered to be the highest-ranked on the seed line and the furthest right is considered to be the lowest-ranked

1 Seeds: Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Illinois
2 Seeds: Ohio State, Alabama, Iowa,
Houston
3 Seeds: Villanova,
West Virginia, Kansas, Arkansas
4 Seeds:
 Florida State, Texas, Creighton,
Purdue
5 Seeds: 
Oklahoma State, Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma
6 Seeds: 
USC, Clemson, Tennessee, Colorado
7 Seeds: BYU, Missouri, Florida,
Wisconsin
8 Seeds: San Diego State,
Oregon, Virginia Tech, Loyola-Chicago
9 Seeds:
 Maryland, UCLA, LSU,
Rutgers
10 Seeds: Louisville,
Connecticut, North Carolina, St. Bonaventure
11 Seeds: 
VCU, Georgia Tech, Colorado State, Michigan State
12 Seeds: 
Xavier, Drake, Wichita State, Seton Hall, Western Kentucky, Toledo
13 Seeds: Colgate, Winthrop, UC Santa Barbara, Belmont
14 Seeds: Liberty,
UNC-Greensboro, Abilene Christian, South Dakota State
15 Seeds: Eastern Washington, UMBC,
Cleveland State, Siena
16 Seeds: 
Grand Canyon, James Madison, Texas StateBryantPrairie View A&M, North Carolina A&T

Dropped Out: Boise State, Furman, Wright State

Bubble Watch

Bids By Conference

Big Ten – 9 of 15 (+0 in First Eight Out)
Big 12 – 7 of 10 (0)
ACC – 7 of 15 (1)
SEC – 6 of 14 (1)
Big East – 5 of 10 (0)
Pac-12 – 4 of 12 (1)
WCC – 2 of 10 (0)
Missouri Valley – 2 of 10 (0)
Mountain West – 2 of 11 (2)
American – 2 of 11 (1)
Atlantic 10 – 2 of 14 (2)

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