Nittany White Out Bracketology – Version 2
Two teams, UCLA and Central Florida, had very intense weeks. After being on the outside looking in, UCLA vastly improved their NCAA Tournament resume with wins over California and Stanford to launch themselves into the bracket. Central Florida meanwhile continues to fall flat in Conference USA play. They have lost four straight and have a must win against Memphis on Wednesday. Marcus Jordan, the son of Michael, needs to step up and play like his father as he tries to battle the Knights back into the NCAA Tournament picture. San Diego State debuts as a 1-seed for the first time after Kansas blew a gigantic lead to Texas. I have said all year that Texas has been a more impressive team than Kansas. Yeah Texas did lose to USC on the road, but Kansas needed a strong surge in the final minutes at home to knock off USC. I give the edge to Texas and have them above Kansas on the overal seed line. In my write-up about last weekend’s games, I said Kansas needs to do more to impress and convince me that they are really a Top 5 team. Well, I am still waiting for that to happen. I once again have Pittsburgh winning the National Championship, and if you look closely you will see a few upsets. I won’t get into teams like Oakland, Belmont or Coastal Carolina until late February/early March, but keep an eye on those teams for now.
The next post will be in the next 24 hours or so when I finish up a story on BYU.
Nittany White Out Exclusive: Penn State has two huge games this week. Wednesday night is a 100% must win against Iowa at home, and Saturday is a near must win against Wisconsin at home. If Penn State loses to Iowa they will basically guarantee themselves no chance at earning an at-large into the NCAA Tournament. A loss on Saturday would mean that Penn State will almost certainly have to beat Ohio State when they come to town in March. A win on Saturday would put Penn State right back on the line between in the Big Dance and just out of the Big Dance. Their two last second losses to Purdue and Ohio State hurt, but Penn State is still alive in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament.
The bracket and the breakdown after the jump
Who made the bracket:
Conference | Conference Bids | # of Teams last week | Teams |
American East | 1 | 1 | Maine |
Atlantic Coast | 5 | 6 | Boston College, Duke*, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech |
Atlantic Sun | 1 | 1 | Belmont |
Atlantic 10 | 3 | 2 | Richmond, Temple*, Xavier |
Big East | 11 | 11 | Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh*, St. John’s, Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova |
Big Sky | 1 | 1 | Northern Colorado |
Big South | 1 | 1 | Coastal Carolina |
Big Ten | 6 | 6 | Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State*, Purdue, Wisconsin |
Big XII | 5 | 6 | Kansas State, Kansas*, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M |
Big West | 1 | 1 | Long Beach State |
Colonial | 2 | 1 | Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth |
Conf USA | 1 | 2 | Memphis |
Horizon | 2 | 1 | Butler, Cleveland State* |
Ivy | 1 | 1 | Harvard |
Metro Atlantic | 1 | 1 | Fairfield |
Mid American | 1 | 1 | Ball State |
Mid Eastern | 1 | 1 | Hampton |
Missouri Valley | 2 | 2 | Missouri State*, Wichita State |
Mountain West | 3 | 3 | Brigham Young, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State* |
Northeast | 1 | 1 | Long Island |
Ohio Valley | 1 | 1 | Austin Peay |
Pacific 10 | 3 | 2 | Arizona, UCLA, Washington* |
Patriot | 1 | 1 | Bucknell |
Southeastern | 5 | 5 | Florida, Georgia, Kentucky*, Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
Southern | 1 | 1 | Charleston |
Southland | 1 | 1 | McNeese State |
Summit | 1 | 1 | Oakland |
Sun Belt | 1 | 1 | Florida Atlantic |
Southwestern | 1 | 1 | Jackson State |
Western (WAC) | 1 | 1 | Utah State |
West Coast | 2 | 1 | Gonzaga, St. Mary’s* |
* – Automatic Bid / italic - New Team
—————————————————
The Breakdown
CONFERENCE | TEAM |
Big East | 11 |
Big Ten | 6 |
Big XII | 5 |
Atlantic Coast | 5 |
Southeastern | 5 |
Mountain West | 3 |
Atlantic Ten | 3 |
Pacific 10 | 3 |
West Coast | 2 |
Colonial Athletic | 2 |
Missouri Valley | 2 |
Horizon League | 2 |
Conference USA | 1 |
Last Four In |
|
First Four Out |
|
Next Four Out |
|
Also Considered |
|
New Additions (Power Conferences)
- Richmond
- Memphis
- Cleveland State
- UCLA
Dropped Out (Power Conferences)
- Central Florida
- Miami (FL)
- Colorado
- Southern Miss
1st Round Games
12 – Kansas State vs. Old Dominion
12 – Butler vs. Wichita State
16 – Northern Colorado vs. McNeese State
16 – Long Beach State vs. Jackson State
—————————————————
NCAA Tournament Seeding
#1 Seeds -
- Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Duke, San Diego State
#2 Seeds -
- Connecticut, Texas, Villanova, Kansas
#3 Seeds -
- Syracuse, Brigham Young, Texas A&M, Notre Dame
#4 Seeds -
- Missouri, Kentucky, Purdue, Wisconsin
#5 Seeds -
- Washington, West Virginia, Illinois, Florida
#6 Seeds -
- Minnesota, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Louisville
#7 Seeds -
- Florida State, Temple, Nevada-Las Vegas, Tennessee
#8 Seeds -
- Michigan State, Xavier, North Carolina, Cincinnati
#9 Seeds -
- Arizona, St. John’s, Georgia, Boston College
#10 Seeds -
- Saint Mary’s, UCLA, Missouri State, Utah State
#11 Seeds -
- Virginia Tech, Memphis, Gonzaga, Richmond
#12 Seeds -
- Marquette, Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion vs. Kansas State, Butler vs. Wichita State
#13 Seeds -
- Cleveland State, Belmont, Harvard, Oakland
#14 Seeds -
- Charleston, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Fairfield
#15 Seeds -
- Long Island, Bucknell, Maine, Florida Atlantic
#16 Seeds -
- Austin Peay, Hampton, Northern Colorado vs. McNeese State, Long Beach State vs. Jackson State
—————————————————
The Bracket
(Click to view full-size image)
—————————————————
Any thing to say to @JeffDLowe about the brackets?
Contact on Twitter: @JeffDLowe or E-Mail: JeffDBrackets@gmail.com