The less said the better about the bubble with just 27 days until the NCAA's 68-team field is announced.
One team is going to provide a bit of a headache going forward, and that's Florida State. Now down Chris Singleton (broken foot), it will be difficult to figure out just how much his loss will impact the Seminoles' seeding (or, potentially, selection).
There isn't much of an influence in this projection, if only because it's tough to tell how Florida State will be without him. The Seminoles won at home against Virginia on Saturday with Singleton out more than half of the game, but that isn't exactly a great sample. So for now, the Seminoles have an extra variable to consider.
Two other things: Kentucky and Vanderbilt have been flipped to avoid a potential Vanderbilt-Marquette rematch in the round of 64, and Illinois and Xavier have been flipped to avoid a Xavier-Cincinnati matchup. Observation: This exercise would be substantially easier with just one or two fewer Big East teams to keep track of.
This week's projected field is after the jump.
Tulsa, Okla.
(1) Kansas vs. (16) MEAC/Hampton-SOUTHLAND/McNeese State
(8) WEST COAST/Saint Mary's vs. (9) Florida State
Tampa, Fla.
(4) Villanova vs. (13) IVY/Princeton
(5) PAC-10/Arizona vs. (12) Colorado State
Chicago
(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) MID-AMERICAN/Kent State
(6) St. John's vs. (11) Virginia Tech
Charlotte, N.C.
(2) Georgetown vs. (15) METRO ATLANTIC/Fairfield
(7) Tennessee vs. (10) WESTERN ATHLETIC/Utah State
SOUTHEAST REGION
Cleveland
(1) BIG TEN/Ohio State vs. (16) SWAC/Jackson State-OHIO VALLEY/Murray State
(8) Temple vs. (9) COLONIAL/George Mason
Tucson, Ariz.
(4) Louisville vs. (13) HORIZON/Valparaiso
(5) Texas A&M vs. (12) CONFERENCE USA/Texas-El Paso
Washington
(3) Connecticut vs. (14) AMERICA EAST/Vermont
(6) Vanderbilt vs. (11) MISSOURI VALLEY/Missouri State
Denver
(2) MOUNTAIN WEST/Brigham Young vs. (15) PATRIOT/Bucknell
(7) Missouri vs. (10) Boston College
EAST REGION
Cleveland
(1) BIG EAST/Pittsburgh vs. (16) NORTHEAST/Long Island
(8) UCLA vs. (9) Old Dominion
Denver
(4) Purdue vs. (13) ATLANTIC SUN/Belmont
(5) Kentucky vs. (12) Colorado/Marquette
Tucson, Ariz.
(3) San Diego State vs. (14) SUMMIT/Oakland
(6) West Virginia vs. (11) Oklahoma State
Charlotte, N.C.
(2) ACC/Duke vs. (15) BIG SKY/Montana
(7) Georgia vs. (10) MIchigan State
WEST REGION
Tulsa, Okla.
(1) BIG 12/Texas vs. (16) SUN BELT/Florida Atlantic
(8) Washington vs. (9) Minnesota
Washington
(4) North Carolina vs. (13) BIG SOUTH/Coastal Carolina
(5) Syracuse vs. (12) Memphis/Richmond
Tampa, Fla.
(3) SEC/Florida vs. (14) SOUTHERN/College of Charleston
(6) Illinois vs. (11) Cincinnati
Chicago
(2) Notre Dame vs. (15) BIG WEST/Long Beach
(7) ATLANTIC 10/Xavier vs. (10) UNLV
Last four in: Colorado, Memphis, Richmond, Marquette
Last four out: Baylor, VCU, Kansas State, Alabama
Next four out: Wichita State, Mississippi, Cleveland State, Clemson
Conference call: Big East (11), Big Ten (6), Big 12 (6), ACC (5), SEC (5), Mountain West (4), Atlantic 10 (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2)
After Vandy beats a good bama team and a ranked Kentucky team, they do not move above a 6? It is finally clear to me that bracketology is the art of picking the same 12 schools at the top of the bracket, regardless of facts or records, etc.
Posted by: j.e. | 02/14/2011 at 12:49 PM
J.E. ---
Please go back and read the first few paragraphs. Dont think it could be explained much better that I had to switch Kentucky and Vanderbilt to avoid a Vanderbilt-Marquette rematch in the round of 64. In short, thats me saying that Vanderbilt SHOULD be a 5 and Kentucky SHOULD be a 6, but it would create a world of headaches to rip up a bunch of the bracket. Thats only worthwhile if its actually fairly close to the actual selections. Its a month out.
And that good Alabama team went 8-6 against the nations No. 261 nonconference schedule. Might want to revisit that assessment.
Posted by: D1scourse | 02/14/2011 at 01:32 PM