Daniel Evans (@bracketexpert) is RTC’s new resident bracketologist. According to Bracket Matrix, he ranks as one of the top several bracketologists among those who have produced brackets for more than three years, including two seasons with perfect bracket projections. He updates the field daily on his site, Bracketology Expert, and will be producing a weekly bracket update here at RTC on Fridays. RTC Bubble Watch will publish on Sunday nights and Wednesday afternoons for the rest of the season.
New in This Update:
- Saint Louis‘ big victory over Butler Thursday night pushed the Billikens into the field and moved Butler — once a No. 3 seed — down to a No. 5 seed. It should be noted that the Atlantic 10’s big dogs, Butler and VCU, have struggled lately and that is probably going to end up hurting the conference as a whole on Selection Sunday.
- At 2-6 in conference play, Illinois is now out of the field for the first time all season. Remember, this team was once 12-0 and 13-2 overall. Now it is just 15-7. But don’t fret, Illini fans. Just last season Connecticut made the field with a sub- .500 conference record and a lot of teams have done it historically. Here’s the scary part: Only two were four games under .500 in conference.
- This weekend’s Michigan-Indiana game probably will not help much with clarification of the No. 1 seeds. If the Wolverines win, it strengthens their margin for error the rest of the season. I am probably in the minority on this, but I feel like the No. 1 seeds are finally clear for the first time all season. With Duke struggling without Ryan Kelly, Michigan, Kansas, Florida, and Indiana are the four most worthy teams right now.
LAST FOUR IN: Saint Louis, Villanova, Indiana State, La Salle
FIRST FOUR OUT: Illinois, Wyoming, Boise State, Florida State
(full bracket after the jump)
Conference Roundup:
Big East (8), Big Ten (6), Big 12 (6), Atlantic 10 (5), Pac-12 (5), SEC (4), Mountain West (4), Missouri Valley (3), West Coast (2)
S Curve Rankings:
- 1s: Kansas, Michigan, Florida, Indiana
- 2s: Duke, Syracuse, Arizona, Miami (FL)
- 3s: Michigan State, Gonzaga, Louisville, New Mexico
- 4s: Oregon, Ohio State, Kansas State, Marquette
- 5s: Cincinnati, Creighton, San Diego State, Butler
- 6s: Ucla, N. C. State, Minnesota, Unlv
- 7s: Georgetown, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Wichita State
- 8s: Missouri, Baylor, Wisconsin, Mississippi
- 9s: Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Colorado State, North Carolina
- 10s: Colorado, Kentucky, Temple, Vcu
- 11s: Saint Mary’s, Arizona State, Iowa State, Saint Louis
- 12s: Villanova, Indiana State, La Salle, Memphis, Belmont, Middle Tennessee
- 13s: Bucknell, Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin, Akron
- 14s: Harvard, Valparaiso, Stony Brook, Florida Gulf Coast
- 15s: Western Illinois, Davidson, Montana, Long Beach State
- 16s: Niagara, Bryant, Northeastern, Southern, Charleston Southern, Norfolk State
View Comments (2)
You have Georgetown in the East Regional--which cannot happen as the Regional Final is on Georgetown's home court.
That selection invalidates the entire bracket--try again.
Charlie, you're right. I missed that. It is a mistake I should've caught. There is an easy fix that should have been made before the post was published. Flipping Pittsburgh and Georgetown. Here is how the 7/10 matchups should have looked in the bracket:
EAST: (7) Pittsburgh vs. (10) Colorado
WEST: (7) Georgetown vs. (10) VCU
In my most recent bracket (before your post), I had moved Georgetown to the West to avoid this error. Thank you for your post.