Nittany Whiteout Bracketology – Version 6
Take a deep breathe folks – it is March! The madness is officially here, and will only get more ridiculous starting tomorrow in New York City for the Big East Tournament. So far Indiana State, Belmont, UNC-Asheville and Morehead State all clinched automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament. Only one of those teams, Belmont, was the 1-seed in their respective conference tournaments. What exactly does this mean? It means that after only four conference tournaments we already have witnessed some surprise outcomes. Missouri State thought it had a clear path to the NCAA Tournament, but their loss to the Sycamores of Indiana State has made them a lock for the bubble between now and Selection Sunday.
With one of the “softest” bubbles in NCAA Tournament history, these next six days will be wild for teams that are hanging on for dear life in terms of their NCAA Tournament hopes. There will be no write-ups attached to these daily bracketologies, but expect numerous blog posts. There will be one tonight previewing all of the remaining conference tournaments.
Nittany Whiteout Exclusive -
Well, well, well – looks like Penn State has managed to stick around the bracketology a little longer. The “also considered” list is slowly growing shorter and shorter, and fewer teams are being considered for NCAA Tournament slots. Amazingly enough, with their win over Minnesota (on the ROAD – yeah I know, a little shocking) the Nittany Lions kept their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Last week I said that even with a loss to Ohio State that Penn State would still have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament. Their first game is against Indiana on Thursday, and they take on Wisconsin if they win. Penn State will most likely need to make a run to the Big Ten title game, much like Minnesota last year, in order to make the NCAA Tournament. If Penn State can end the conference tournament with a 19-14 record, then they might find themselves in the NCAA Tournament. Well, sort of. If Penn State wants in the field of 64, they’ll most likely need to make the NCAA Tournament and then win one of the new “first four” play in games. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though people. Penn State needs to take care of business against Indiana on Thursday first.
Who made the bracket:
| Conference | Conference Bids | # of Teams last week | Teams |
| American East | 1 | 1 | Boston University |
| Atlantic Coast | 5 | 4 | Boston College, Duke*, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 | 1 | Belmont |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 2 | Temple*, Richmond, 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 | UNC-Asheville |
| Big Ten | 6 | 7 | Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State*, Purdue, Wisconsin |
| Big XII | 6 | 7 | Colorado, Kansas*, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M |
| Big West | 1 | 1 | Long Beach State |
| Colonial | 2 | 2 | George Mason*, Old Dominion |
| Conf USA | 1 | 1 | Alabama-Birmingham |
| Horizon | 1 | 1 | Butler |
| Ivy | 1 | 1 | Harvard |
| Metro Atlantic | 1 | 1 | Saint Peter’s |
| Mid American | 1 | 1 | Kent State |
| Mid Eastern | 1 | 1 | Bethune-Cookman |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 2 | Indiana State |
| Mountain West | 3 | 4 | Brigham Young*, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State |
| Northeast | 1 | 1 | Long Island |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 1 | Morehead State |
| Pacific 10 | 3 | 3 | Arizona*, UCLA, Washington |
| Patriot | 1 | 1 | Bucknell |
| Southeastern | 6 | 6 | Alabama, Florida*, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
| Southern | 1 | 1 | Charleston |
| Southland | 1 | 1 | McNeese State |
| Summit | 1 | 1 | Oakland |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 1 | Middle Tennessee State |
| Southwestern | 1 | 1 | Texas Southern |
| Western (WAC) | 1 | 1 | Utah State |
| West Coast | 2 | 1 | Gonzaga, St. Mary’s* |
* – Automatic Bid Prediction/ italic – New Team / Bold - Automatic Bid EARNED
NOTE: Saint Peter’s College won the MAAC after I made this bracket – they’ve replaced Iona
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The Breakdown
| CONFERENCE | TEAM |
| Big East | 11 |
| Big XII | 6 |
| Southeastern | 6 |
| Big Ten | 6 |
| Atlantic Coast | 5 |
| Mountain West | 3 |
| Pacific-10 | 3 |
| Atlantic Ten | 3 |
| West Coast | 2 |
| Colonial Athletic | 2 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 |
| Horizon League | 1 |
| Conference USA | 1 |
| Last Four In |
|
| First Four Out |
|
| Next Four Out |
|
| Also Considered |
|
1st Round Games
12 – Boston College vs. Colorado
12 – Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
16 – North Carolina-Asheville vs. Bethune-Cookman
16 – McNeese State vs. Texas Southern
New Additions (Power Conferences)
- Indiana State
- Boston College
Dropped Out (Power Conferences)
- Baylor
- Missouri State
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NCAA Tournament Seeding
#1 Seeds -
- Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Notre Dame
#2 Seeds -
- Brigham Young, Duke, Texas, San Diego State
#3 Seeds -
- North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Florida
#4 Seeds -
- St. John’s, Louisville, Kentucky, Wisconsin
#5 Seeds -
- West Virginia, Connecticut, Xavier, Arizona
#6 Seeds -
- Kansas State, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Georgetown
#7 Seeds -
- Temple, Vanderbilt, Villanova, California-L.A.
#8 Seeds -
- Missouri, Nevada-Las Vegas, Old Dominion, George Mason
#9 Seeds -
- Utah State, Illinois, Florida State, Tennessee
#10 Seeds -
- Washington, St. Mary’s, Gonzaga, Richmond
#11 Seeds -
- Marquette, Michigan, Butler, Alabama-Birmingham
#12 Seeds -
- Georgia, Michigan State, Boston College vs. Colorado, Virginia Tech vs. Alabama
#13 Seeds -
- Belmont, Harvard, Oakland, Indiana State
#14 Seeds -
- Charleston, Iona, Bucknell, Charleston
#15 Seeds -
- Morehead State, Long Island, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado
#16 Seeds -
- Boston University, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina-Asheville vs. Bethune Cookman, Texas Southern vs. McNeese State
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The Bracket
(Click to view full-size image)
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Contact on Twitter: @JeffDLowe or E-Mail:JeffDBrackets@gmail.com
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