And now, for the analysis. Welcome to the first of two posts that we will be publishing today, the contents of which will contain two regional preview RTC Podblasts each. We’ll start with a breakdown of the East Region bracket, inviting RTC national columnist Brian Otskey (@botskey) in to talk things through what appears to be a wild region with us. We follow that up with analysis of the Midwest Region bracket, inviting national columnist Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) in to discuss a very difficult draw for #1 seed Wichita State. The full rundowns are below. Be sure to add the podcast to your lineup on iTunes so that you’ll get all of our ongoing coverage throughout the NCAA Tournament.

East Region

• 0:00-3:31 – Virginia as a #1 Seed and Region Favorite
• 3:34-10:25 – Which Top Seed is the Real Favorite
• 10:25-12:25 – Providence’s Big East Run – Hitting Their Stride or Peaking Too Early?
• 12:25-16:11 – 8/9 and 7/10 Games Preview
• 16:11-23:10 – Potential Upsets and Darkhorses
• 23:10-25:22 – Match-up Issues for Virginia
• 25:22-26:40 – Dream Match Ups
• 26:40-30:30 – Regional Games at MSG

Midwest Region

• 0:00-4:34 – Louisville as the Real Favorite in the Midwest
• 4:34-7:33 – UMass Prone For an Upset?
• 7:33-13:04 – Previewing 7/10 and 8/9 Game
• 13:04-13:53 – Conference Tournaments Impact on Midwest Region
• 13:53-16:35 – TJ Warren and the Fightin’ NC States
• 16:35-21:34 – Wichita State’s Realistic Expectations in this Region
• 21:35-23:28 – Predicting an MOP in the Midwest
• 23:28-25:49 – Most Exciting Thing About the Region
• 25:49-28:08 – Dream Match-Ups

And just like that, it’s settled. Other than Louisiana-Lafayette‘s thrilling overtime victory over Georgia State in the Sun Belt championship game Sunday afternoon, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee made its executive decision on the 36 at-large teams that will remain on this year’s Circle of March. Just two short weeks ago, we started with 340 eligible teams; now, we’re down to a mere 68, and it will be among that group from which we’ll crown this season’s national champion in a mere 21 more days. Can we get to Thursday afternoon already?

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.16.14)

• Arkansas
• California
• Clemson
• Florida State
• Georgia State
• Green Bay
• Indiana State
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• SMU
• Southern Miss
• St. John’s

In case you had other plans on Sunday evening, you may have already had a chance to review all the materials floating around out there upon the release of yesterday’s 2014 NCAA Tournament bracket. We’ll have a lot of detailed analysis coming out a bit later today, but, to whet your appetite… here’s everything you need to know up to this point.

Bracket Tools

• RTC Bracket – download and print our PDF bracket with locations and times for Thursday and Friday’s games
• Play RTC Bracket Nonsense – win Final Four tickets, vintage Final Four memorabilia, and more through our annual bracket game on Yahoo
• The RTC Podblast: Selection Sunday Reactions Edition – the guys made some quick thoughts immediately after the bracket was released on Sunday evening

Microsite Instareactions

• AAC Teams
• ACC Teams
• Big East Teams
• Big Ten Teams
• Big 12 Teams
• Pac-12 Teams
• SEC Teams

Bracket Prep: Automatic Bids

• Florida, Virginia, Michigan State
• Saint Joseph’s, Louisiana-Lafayette
• UCLA, New Mexico, New Mexico State
• North Carolina Central, Western Michigan, Cal Poly, Stephen F. Austin, Weber State
• Albany, Tulsa, Texas Southern
• American University
• Mount St. Mary’s, Milwaukee, Gonzaga, North Dakota State
• Delaware, Manhattan, Wofford
• Coastal Carolina, Wichita State, Mercer
• Eastern Kentucky
• Harvard

There wasn’t a whole lot of controversy this year, but several decisions by the NCAA Selection Committee certainly raised some eyebrows. In an effort to briefly hit on a few of those points in the hours immediately following the bracket’s release this evening, the RTC Podblast crew, hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) walked through a few quick n’ dirty reactions. The guys will return with detailed analyses of each of the four regions on Tuesday, followed by a number of quick-hit podblasts throughout the rest of the week. Make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after we record. The full rundown is below.

• 0:00-4:55 – Initial Bracket Reactions/The Questionable Louisville Seeding
• 4:55- 6:02 – Other Bracket Surprises
• 6:02-6:53 – Teams With the Easiest Roads
• 6:53-8:33 – Regions Stacked With Talent
• 8:33-11:34 – Takeaways From Conference Tournaments Heading Into the Big Dance
• 11:34-12:25 – Virginia Gets Final #1 Seed
• 12:25-13:41 – Lower Seeds That Can Make a Run
• 13:41-15:30 – Upset Possibilities
• 15:30- Previewing The Week in RTC’s Coverage of March Madness (Bracket Nonsense, etc.)

It’s time to play RTC 2014 Bracket Nonsense, and we’re pleased to announce that we’re going to have some outstanding prizes in the game this year. Last year we traveled to Atlanta with some memorabilia celebrating the 1977 and 2007 Final Fours that took place in the Peach State. The year before that, we went on the Road to New Orleans with a Pistol Pete Maravich jersey as our grand prize. Even before then, we went to Houston with a Clyde the Glide Cougars jersey. Prior to that it was a Hickory High School (Indiana) jacket. You get the point. We love our nostalgia and celebration of the game through retro gear. This year, we’ve done ourselves even one better. Here’s what you need to know:

• Group Name: RTC 2014 Bracket Nonsense
• Group#: 95502

We’ll have three different prize levels this year — one for each weekend — and they’re all pretty awesome.

Yeah, You Can Win Tickets to This Year’s Final Four

• First Weekend Prizes: The player who gets the most Bracket Nonsense points during the Second and Third Rounds will win their choice of a vintage 1986 Louisville national championship t-shirt (pictured below) OR a pair of tickets to the 2014 Final Four. Here’s the catch on the tickets — you actually have to show up in DFW in three weeks to receive the prize. You can do whatever you want with them after that point, but you have to meet us on the ground to earn the prize. If you can’t get there, take the t-shirt and we’ll move down the list to the next highest-ranked player.

Prizes For Each Weekend of Bracket Nonsense

• Second Weekend Prizes: The player who picks the most correct games during the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds (using the second weekend results only) will win a 1986 Louisville Cardinals autographed basketball (pictured above). This celebrates the last time the Final Four was played in the DFW Metroplex area, nearly 30 years ago at the old Reunion Arena in Dallas when the Cards defeated Duke for its second national title. Denny Crum, Milt Wagner, Pervis Ellison… they’re all on there. This is a really neat historical keepsake.
• Grand Prize. The player who wins RTC 2014 Bracket Nonsense with the most total points after the Championship Game will win an autographed Texas Longhorns Kevin Durant jersey (pictured above, to honor Texas, of course). The Durantula may not have had a long run in March Madness during his one season in Austin during the 2006-07 season, but he’s become one of the very best basketball players in the entire world since, and this is a fantastic piece of memorabilia that any college basketball fan would love to have in his collection.

There you have it. Some great prizes are on the line this year, and you can win something each of the next three weeks. Don’t forget to sign up before Noon ET on Thursday! Happy March Madness!

Joe Dzuback is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The chances for six bids, a record high for the Atlantic 10, are strong. The source for the seeds is the Bracket Matrix (a consensus of approximately 100 bloggers/bracketologists).

St. Joe’s Made Quite the Run This Weekend (credit: Mid-Majority)

Virginia Commonwealth (#6 seed)  — For the Rams, who have had problems generating offense from the half-court all season, turnovers leading to fast breaks and transition threes are especially important. Virginia Commonwealth’s HAVOC approach to defense is designed to generate turnovers through aggressive pressure and quick traps. HAVOC defense values turnovers and the scoring opportunities they create over shot defense. The key to negating the Rams’ strategy is to grow old and patient. Lineups that feature upperclassmen, especially in the ball-handling positions, can break the press on most possessions and make the Rams pay with easy baskets. A turnover or two should not rattle the backcourt and cause hasty, turnover-inducing decisions like the ones that plagued George Washington in the Atlantic 10 semifinals on Saturday. thrives in a hurry-up offense and defense that values turnovers over shot defense. Break the Rams’ press and avoid the half-court traps, unlike George Washington’s guard Joe McDonald Saturday, and the opponent should have a clean look at the basket. He and freshman point guard Miguel Cartagena threw two passes away with under four minutes to play and the Colonials down nine. “You can see it in their eyes… in their body language… when they are rattled,” a scout observed. Smart’s squad is the A-10’s best bet for a deep run this NCAA Tournament. While they have their flaws, they also have an experienced coach who will get them ready to play.

Saint Louis (#6 seed) — VCU may get most of the “defense” ink, but St. Louis has compiled the most impressive defensive resume in the conference… up until two weeks ago, holding opponents to 0.93 points per possession, good for #8 in Division I, according to Ken Pomeroy. The defense is vintage Rick Majerus — stifling shot defense (especially out to the three-point line) that values defensive rebounds, limited fouls and a hand in the face over turnovers. Their late February/early March slump could be anticipated because the Bills’ had a string of small point margins through much of their 12-0 start to conference play. Their 1-3 close has hurt their projected seeding and possibly their confidence. While Austin McBroom and Mike McCall are decent from beyond the arc, they are specialists. Opposing defenses know if McBroom or McCall (or forward Rob Loe) has the ball, the shot will come from the outside and anyone else will drive the lane or pass into the low post. Jordair Jett, the A-10 Player of the Year, has proven to be able to create his own shot, but everyone else needs a setup or set play to score. The Bills will have to find a third/fourth option on offense to take a deep run.

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What a fantastic Saturday of college basketball. So much fun. As we head into the final few games before the NCAA Tournament bracket comes out this evening, we’re left with a total of 80 teams still alive for this year’s national championship. Only one of those will fall off today as a result of a game — the loser of the Sun Belt Championship game between Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette. That will leave the Selection Committee with the dirty work of winnowing out the other 11 teams, none of which will find themselves standing in the field of 68 heading into the heart of March Madness. Here is your final pre-NCAA Tournament Circle of March.

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.15.14)

• Stony Brook
• Louisiana Tech
• St. Bonaventure
• Arkansas State
• Georgia
• Prairie View A&M
• Western Kentucky
• Morgan State
• Toledo
• North Dakota
• Sam Houston State
• Idaho
• Cal State Northridge

Well, we’re about down to it at this point. By this time on Sunday, we’ll probably be in the range of about 80 teams still “alive” for the national title as we await the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to show us the product of all its work. For the time being, Friday’s wall-to-wall action gave us 27 more eliminations from the Circle of March, leaving us with 93 teams holding out hope as we head into Championship Saturday. That’s right, no fewer than 14 conference championships will come down today, from leagues as divergent as the WAC and MEAC to the Big East and Pac-12. Let’s enjoy it all, shall we?

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.14.14)

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What’s Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Nick Fasulo (@nickfasuloSBN) is your weekly host.

The Creighton Globetrotters

The assist of the century may have also been my tweet of the year. Try and wrap your mind around this botched pass turned three-pointer from the Bluejays.

ASSIST OF THE CENTURY RT @nickfasuloSBN Almost looks like an illusion. https://t.co/kpUufeuxTI

— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 14, 2014

Russ Smith Tribute

The lovable Russ Smith’s college career is waning, which is really sad. Watch this tribute video over and over and remember just how awesome this kid is.

Georgetown Is Really Struggling

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What a day. We knew it was coming, but sitting through the Championship Fortnight Thursday bloodbath is always a bit more difficult that it first seems. Keeping track of some 60 elimination games scattered throughout 19 different tournament sites is quite the challenge, but one that ultimately proves rewarding with all the great match-ups that were produced for today. As it turned out, there were no championships yesterday, but a total of 48 teams were eliminated from the Circle of March on Thursday. Note that bubble teams won’t drop off until they’re officially eliminated by the Selection Committee on Sunday evening. That leaves us with 120 teams still alive. Three more days to 68. Shall we?

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.13.14)

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