Section 400’s Bracketology, January 16

Welcome to Views from 400 Bracketology! With the NCAA Tournament just two short months away, Brian and Matt will be giving their best prediction on how the field of 68 will shake out come “Selection Sunday”.

As has been the case for most of this season, this week was filled with upsets that shook up not only the Polls but future seeding as well.

Read below to see where your favorite team lands!

 

First Four Out: St Marys, St. Joes, Wake Forest, Providence

• St. Marys: The Gaels are fighting with Santa Clara for the second-best team in the WCC. The Broncos get the early edge thanks to an upset of the Zags last week.
• St. Joes: The A-10 is super talented this season. St. Joes hasn’t had the best start to conference play, but non-conference wins over Princeton and Villanova keep them afloat on the bubble. They are dangerously close to leaving the conversation though.
• Wake Forest: Could this be the year the Demon Deacons break through? ACC victories over Virginia and Miami have them in a decent spot right now. Unfortunetly they didn’t do much of anything in the non-conference.
• Providence: With Bryce Hopkins, the Friars are a tournament lock. Without him? They are not.

 

Last Four In: South Carolina, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio State

• South Carolina: A great non-conference record is subdued by a not-so-great NET ranking. Guard Meechie Johnson is electric and may be able to win the Gamecocks enough games in a loaded SEC.
• Seton Hall: Head coach Shaheen Holloway has enough talent to make something happen. The Pirates don’t have a good non-conference resume, but Big East wins vs. UCONN, Marquette, and at Providence loom large.
• Cincinnati: The Bearcats move to the BIG 12 is paying off. They’ll need to turn close loses into wins to stay as one of the last teams in.
• Ohio State: The Buckeyes loss to Michigan on Monday makes them the final team in. Still, Bruce Thorton and Jamison Battle should be good enough to lead Ohio State to enough wins in a sub-par BIG 10.

Projected Field of 68

16 seeds: Merrimack, Lafayette, Jackson State, Youngstown State

15 seeds: Sam Houston State, Winthrop, Western Illinois, Eastern Washington

14 seeds: Drexel, Vermont, Kennesaw State, South Dakota State

13 seeds: Akron, UC Irvine, James Madison, Samford

12 seeds: Drake, McNeese State, Oregon, Santa Clara

11 seeds: Nevada, St. Johns, South Carolina/Seton Hall, Cincinnati/Ohio State

10 seeds: Boise State, Michigan State, TCU, Mississippi State

9 seeds: Kansas State, Villanova, Princeton, Texas A&M

8 seeds: Alabama, Texas, Grand Canyon, Texas Tech

7 seeds: Utah State, Iowa State, Northwestern, Ole Miss

6 seeds: FAU, Gonzaga, Colorado State, Dayton

5 seeds: Oklahoma, Duke, Creighton, Clemson

4 seeds: Baylor, Memphis, BYU, San Diego State

3 seeds: Auburn, Wisconsin,, Illinois, Marquette

2 seeds: Kentucky, UNC, Arizona, Tennessee

1 seeds: Purdue, Houston, Kansas, UConn

 

Projected Major Conference Champions

Purdue, Houston, Kansas, UCONN, Kentucky, Arizona, San Diego State

 

Bids by Conference

AAC: 2

A-10: 1

ACC: 3

Big 10: 6

Big 12: 11

Big East: 6

Ivy League: 1

MVC: 1

MWC: 5

SEC: 9

WCC: 2

PAC 12: 2