January 27, 2009 Bracket

EAST REGION (Boston):
#1 Duke (18-1) vs. #16 Winner of Alabama State (9-8)/Bethune-Cookman (11-9)
#8 Ohio State (13-5) vs. #9 Davidson (16-3)
#5 Washington (15-4) vs. #12 Utah (12-7)
#4 Marquette (18-2) vs. #13 VCU (15-5)
#6 Georgetown (12-6) vs. #11 Michigan (14-6)
#3 Xavier (17-2) vs. #14 Austin Peay (12-7)
#7 Tennessee (12-6) vs. #10 Kansas (15-4)
#2 Wake Forest (16-1) vs. #15 Vermont (14-6)

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis):
#1 Connecticut (18-1) vs. #16 Holy Cross (9-11)
#8 Virginia Tech (14-5) vs. #9 Purdue (15-4)
#5 Baylor (15-4) vs. #12 Temple (11-7)
#4 Butler (18-1) vs. #13 Northern Iowa (14-6)
#6 West Virginia (14-5) vs. #11 Dayton (18-2)
#3 Clemson (17-2) vs. #14 Cornell (12-6)
#7 Siena (16-5) vs. #10 Kentucky (16-4)
#2 Michigan State (16-3) vs. #15 North Dakota State (14-5)

SOUTH REGION (Memphis):
#1 Pittsburgh (18-1) vs. #16 Robert Morris (13-7)
#8 California (16-4) vs. #9 Minnesota (17-3)
#5 Texas (14-4) vs. #12 Miami (14-5)
#4 Memphis (16-3) vs. #13 Western Kentucky (13-7)
#6 Missouri (17-3) vs. #11 St. Mary's (18-1)
#3 Syracuse (17-4) vs. #14 VMI (16-3)
#7 Florida (17-3) vs. #10 UCLA (15-4)
#2 North Carolina (17-2) vs. #15 East Tennessee State (15-5)

WEST REGION (Glendale):
#1 Oklahoma (20-1) vs. #16 Long Beach State (10-8)
#8 UNLV (16-4) vs. #9 Wisconsin (12-7)
#5 Villanova (15-4) vs. #12 Utah State (19-1)
#4 Arizona State (16-3) vs. #13 Buffalo (12-5)
#6 Florida State (16-4) vs. #11 Gonzaga (14-4)
#3 Illinois (17-3) vs. #14 Portland State (15-5)
#7 Oklahoma State (13-6) vs. #10 BYU (15-4)
#2 Louisville (15-3) vs. #15 Texas A&M-CC (11-9)

Next Bracket: February 2

January 19, 2009 Bracket

Memo to the mid-major conferences: Good luck getting multiple bids this year, because the BCS conferences are going to get multiple bids.
Of my 34 at-larges, 19 come from only three: Big East, Big Ten, Big 12.
This is going to be a good NCAA Tourney for major teams, not really for Cinderellas.
Here's the latest bracket:

EAST REGION (Boston)
#1 Duke (16-1) vs. #16 Winner of Hampton (9-8)/New Hampshire (7-8)
#8 Ohio State (13-3) vs. #9 Stanford (12-3)
#5 Texas (13-4) vs. #12 Utah (12-6)
#4 Marquette (16-2) vs. #13 VMI (14-3)
#6 Missouri (15-3) vs. #11 Miami (13-4)
#3 Minnesota (16-2) vs. #14 Buffalo (10-5)
#7 Tennessee (11-5) vs. #10 George Mason (14-3)
#2 Connecticut (16-1) vs. #15 Cornell (11-6)

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis)
#1 Michigan State (15-2) vs. #16 Jacksonville (8-8)
#8 Oklahoma State (12-4) vs. #9 Gonzaga (12-4)
#5 Louisville (13-3) vs. #12 Utah State (17-1)
#4 Memphis (14-3) vs. #13 Illinois State (16-2)
#6 Villanova (14-3) vs. #11 Siena (14-5)
#3 Xavier (15-2) vs. #14 Northern Iowa (12-6)
#7 Davidson (14-3) vs. #10 Michigan (13-5)
#2 North Carolina (16-2) vs. #15 North Dakota State (12-5)

SOUTH REGION (Memphis)
#1 Pittsburgh (16-1) vs. #16 Robert Morris (12-7)
#8 Purdue (14-4) vs. #9 Texas A&M (15-3)
#5 Florida (16-2) vs. #12 Washington (13-4)
#4 Butler (16-1) vs. #13 Western Kentucky (13-5)
#6 Illinois (15-3) vs. #11 West Virginia (13-4)
#3 California (15-3) vs. #14 American (11-6)
#7 Florida State (15-3) vs. #10 Dayton (16-2)
#2 Oklahoma (17-1) vs. #15 Austin Peay (10-7)

WEST REGION (Glendale)
#1 Wake Forest (16-0) vs. #16 Alabama State (8-7)
#8 St. Mary's (17-1) vs. #9 Wisconsin (12-5)
#5 UCLA (14-3) vs. #12 Kansas (13-4)
#4 Syracuse (17-2) vs. #13 Stephen F. Austin (11-4)
#6 Arizona State (15-3) vs. #11 Kentucky (14-4)
#3 Georgetown (12-4) vs. #14 Long Beach State (10-7)
#7 Baylor (14-3) vs. #10 BYU (14-3)
#2 Clemson (16-1) vs. #15 Portland State (14-5)

Teams Also Considered:
Virginia Tech (12-5, RPI 52)
Maryland (12-5, RPI 85)
Boston College (13-6, RPI 68)
Rhode Island (12-6, RPI 61)
Providence (11-6, RPI 99)
Notre Dame (12-5, RPI 63)
Penn State (14-5, RPI 86)
Nebraska (12-4, RPI 76)
VCU (13-5, RPI 62)
UAB (10-7, RPI 47)
Southern Miss (11-5, RPI 70)
Tulsa (12-6, RPI 73)
UTEP (11-6, RPI 80)
Houston (11-4, RPI 98)
Evansville (12-5, RPI 56)
Bradley (11-6, RPI 75)
Creighton (14-5, RPI 78)
UNLV (14-4, RPI 54)
San Diego State (12-4, RPI 59)
TCU (12-6, RPI 69)
USC (12-5, RPI 64)
Arizona (11-7, RPI 74)
Arkansas (12-4, RPI 58)
Boise State (12-5, RPI 55)

Next Bracket: Monday, January 26

January 12, 2009 Bracket

Before I post this, I must say it's been a much tougher call this year to pick which 65 are going to be in. The selection committee is going to have a whale of a time determining which mid-major conferences should have multiple bids OR how many bids do you give to the major conferences? When I decide, I look at the RPI, the SOS, and the overall record. STILL, it's tough...so if some teams are in and some teams are out, it's truly by fractions. It's that close.
At the bottom of the bracket, I'll list the other teams that I considered. I don't call them "bubble" teams, I just put them on a "watch" list. That means they could be in next time, or they could be out. It just depends on their performance.
Enough rambling, here's the bracket.

EAST REGION (Boston)
#1 Pittsburgh (15-0) vs. #16 Winner of Hampton (7-7)/Alabama State (6-7)
#8 Florida State (13-3) vs. #9 Washington (11-4)
#5 Florida (14-2) vs. #12 Kansas (11-4)
#4 Minnesota (15-1) vs. #13 Drake (13-4)
#6 Oklahoma State (12-3) vs. #11 Siena (12-5)
#3 Syracuse (16-1) vs. #14 Binghamton (10-5)
#7 Gonzaga (10-4) vs. #10 Michigan (13-3)
#2 North Carolina (14-2) vs. #15 Navy (12-4)

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis)
#1 Michigan State (13-2) vs. #16 Harvard (9-6)
#8 UCLA (13-2) vs. #9 George Mason (12-3)
#5 Tennessee (10-4) vs. #12 Miami University (8-5)
#4 Georgetown (11-3) vs. #13 VMI (13-2)
#6 Texas (12-3) vs. #11 Dayton (14-2)
#3 Wake Forest (14-0) vs. #14 East Tennessee State (11-4)
#7 Villanova (13-3) vs. #10 Ohio State (11-3)
#2 Butler (14-1) vs. #15 North Dakota State (10-5)

SOUTH REGION (Memphis)
#1 Clemson (16-0) vs. #16 Middle Tennessee (11-5)
#8 West Virginia (11-4) vs. #9 Stanford (11-3)
#5 Wisconsin (12-4) vs. #12 Kentucky (12-4)
#4 Memphis (12-3) vs. #13 Boise State (12-3)
#6 Louisville (11-3) vs. #11 UNLV (13-3)
#3 Oklahoma (15-1) vs. #14 Lamar (10-4)
#7 Davidson (11-3) vs. #10 Illinois State (14-2)
#2 Xavier (13-2) vs. #15 Austin Peay (9-7)

WEST REGION (Glendale)
#1 Duke (14-1) vs. #16 Robert Morris (10-7)
#8 Illinois (14-2) vs. #9 Texas A&M (14-2)
#5 Marquette (15-2) vs. #12 Utah State (15-1)
#4 Arizona State (14-2) vs. #13 Arkansas (12-2)
#6 St. Mary's (15-1) vs. #11 San Diego State (12-3)
#3 California (15-2) vs. #14 Long Beach State (9-7)
#7 BYU (13-2) vs. #10 Baylor (13-2)
#2 Connecticut (14-1) vs. #15 Weber State (9-7)

Also Considered "Watch List":
Miami (12-3) RPI: 41
Boston College (13-4) RPI: 61
Maryland (12-3) RPI: 72
Notre Dame (12-3) RPI: 62
Providence (11-5) RPI: 79
Purdue (12-4) RPI: 67
Penn State (13-4) RPI: 81
Missouri (13-3) RPI: 56
Northeastern (10-5) RPI: 66
VCU (11-5) RPI: 64
UAB (9-6) RPI: 43
Evansville (11-4) RPI: 40
Bradley (10-6) RPI: 58
Creighton (13-4) RPI: 71
Utah (10-6) RPI: 22
Arizona (11-5) RPI: 59
Western Kentucky (10-6) RPI: 69

See how hard this is?!
Next Bracket: Monday, January 19

First One of 2009 - January 5

Since conference season is kicking off for most conferences (but not all), I figured I would formulate the first prognostication of the 2008-2009 season. This is definitely subject to change since some major teams are lower seeds at the moment; but it's mostly due to the fact that they have lower RPI's than some mid-major teams who are definitely proving they are legit. This was also hard to make because the Big East is just the dominant conference this year. I currently give them 8 tournament bids, with a few others very close.
Here it is, for your enjoyment!

EAST REGION (Boston)
#1 Pittsburgh vs. #16 Winner of Alabama State/Western Illinois
#8 Davidson vs. #9 Michigan
#5 Arizona State vs. #12 Lamar
#4 Wake Forest vs. #13 Texas A&M
#6 Florida vs. #11 Missouri
#3 Syracuse vs. #14 Cornell
#7 Ohio State vs. #10 George Mason
#2 Xavier vs. #15 Binghamton

WEST REGION (Glendale)
#1 Oklahoma vs. #16 Robert Morris
#8 Stanford vs. #9 Western Kentucky
#5 St. Mary's vs. #12 Boise State
#4 Georgetown vs. #13 Kentucky
#6 Tennessee vs. #11 Utah
#3 Wisconsin vs. #14 Portland State
#7 UCLA vs. #10 Louisville
#2 North Carolina vs. #15 UC Riverside

SOUTH REGION (Memphis)
#1 Clemson vs. #16 Morehead State
#8 Minnesota vs. #9 Marquette
#5 Texas vs. #12 VMI
#4 Memphis vs. #13 Washington
#6 Florida State vs. #11 UAB
#3 California vs. #14 Baylor
#7 Villanova vs. #10 UNLV
#2 Michigan State vs. #15 East Tennessee State

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis)
#1 Duke vs. #16 Bethune-Cookman
#8 Illinois State vs. #9 Oklahoma State
#5 Illinois vs. #12 Evansville
#4 West Virginia vs. #13 Arkansas
#6 Boston College vs. #11 Gonzaga
#3 Butler vs. #14 Miami University
#7 Dayton vs. #10 Siena
#2 Connecticut vs. #15 Lehigh

Last Four Out: Maryland, Rhode Island, Purdue, BYU

Next Update: Monday, January 12