Barnes Bracketology - March 9th

What a weekend of games. While some teams helped themselves out tremendously with some big wins, other left themselves a lot of work to do in conference tournaments or in some cases, are done with the season and hoping their resume is enough to get in the field of 65. Today, I have new seedings and changes to many of the categories, thanks to my much-needed research over the weekend.

MY PROJECTED FIELD OF 65
(new teams in italics)

LOCKS: I thought long and hard about a few teams to add to this category. In the end though, I can only add one after Sunday's games and that is Ohio State. They beat a Northwestern team that is on the BUBBLE and with an already solid resume, they should be just fine, even if they fall to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tourney.

LOCKS (32): Duke, UNC, Clemson, Florida St, Wake, Pitt, UConn, L'Ville, Villanova, West Virginia, Syracuse, Marquette, Michigan St, Illinois, Purdue, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Washington, UCLA, Arizona St, LSU, Utah, Memphis, Xavier, Butler, Gonzaga, Texas, Tennessee, California, Texas A+M and Ohio State.

AUTO: Some big news in this category as not only do we have some conference champions, but some changes to will ultimately end up with the automatic spot for their conference. The biggest one is in the SoCon where Davidson was bounced, leaving them now wondering if they have done enough to be an AT-LARGE. Again, those who have already won their conference tourney are in bold.

AUTO (20): Binghamton (Am. East), East Tennessee St (A-Sun), Weber State (Big Sky), Radford (Big South), Long Beach St (Big West), VCU (Colonial), Cornell (Ivy), Siena (MAAC), Buffalo (MAC), Morgan St (MEAC), Northern Iowa (MVC), Robert Morris (Northeast), Morehead St (Ohio Valley), American (Patriot), Charleston (SoCon), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), Alabama St (SWAC), ND State (Summit), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt), and Utah St (WAC)

AT-LARGE: Down to just 13 spots now with Ohio State moving to the LOCK category. No one among this group lost Sunday but after some more research, this category has been shaken up a bit so take a look. Again, this is in order of those who are almost firmly to those who are hanging by a thread.

AT-LARGE (13): BYU, OKST, Michigan, Dayton, Wisconsin, Minnesota, BC, UNLV, Penn State, Arizona, Providence, St. Mary's, and South Carolina.

BUBBLE WATCH

On Sunday, the biggest Bubble team to lose was Davidson. They are in trouble. Real big trouble. Their resume just doesn't stack up really well. The only way they get in is with some big losses by a lot of teams and/or some Stephen Curry love from the committee for what he brought to last year's tournament. Other than that, VT lost to FSU, all but bursting their bubble but since FSU is a quality loss, they stay for now. But they need to win and win fast. Northwestern also lost but if they get to the Big Ten semifinals or title game, that may be enough so they are still alive. Finally, I added Siena and Temple to the list. Siena should win the MAAC but if they don't, they have a case for an at-large. Temple is getting in this group barely.

BUBBLE (26): BC, VT, Providence, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Penn St, OKST, Kansas St, Arizona, South Carolina, Florida, BYU, UNLV, San Diego St, Dayton, Utah St, Creighton, St. Mary's, Rhode Island, Davidson, New Mexico, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Siena, and Temple.

SEEDING

Okay, we have new seeds, including a new top overall seed in North Carolina. The win over Duke was enough to sway me. The top seeds are the same though. As far as big movers/shakers, Xavier falls from a 4 to a 6 thanks to an unimaginable loss to Richmond. UCLA moves up to the vacated 4 spot because of the modest 4-game win streak they are on. Siena continues to move up, as does Tennessee, Texas A+M and Utah. The Big Ten and Big East both have 8 teams in the tournament, making for tough seeding, as I try to keep them from not meeting until the Elite Eight. Other than that, I am satisfied with my results and if this were to come true, there would be quite a few intriguing matchups.

And again, if you missed the last post, check out exactly how serious I am taking my bracketology crash course by checking out the following slideshow.



SOUTH-WEST vs. MIDWEST-EAST (Click on bracket for enlarged version)

SOUTH REGION (Memphis)
1 North Carolina vs. 16 Morgan State (Greensboro)
2 Michigan State vs. 15 East Tennessee St (Minneapolis)
3 Wake Forest vs. 14 Western Kentucky (Miami)
4 Syracuse vs. 13 VCU (Boise)
5 Arizona State vs. 12 St. Mary's (Boise)
6 Butler vs. 11 Arizona (Miami)
7 West Virginia vs. 10 Dayton (Minneapolis)
8 Texas A+M vs. 9 Ohio State (Greensboro)

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis)
1 Pittsburgh vs. 16 Long Beach St/Alabama St (Dayton)
2 Duke vs. 15 Morehead State (Greensboro)
3 Kansas vs. 14 North Dakota State (Boise)
4 LSU vs. 13 Buffalo (Miami)
5 Purdue vs. 12 Northern Iowa (Miami)
6 Marquette vs. 11 UNLV (Boise)
7 California vs. 10 Wisconsin (Greensboro)
8 BYU vs. 9 Oklahoma St (Dayton)

EAST REGION (Boston)
1 UConn vs. 16 Robert Morris (Philadelphia)
2 Oklahoma vs. 15 Stephen F. Austin (Kansas City)
3 Villanova vs 14 Cornell (Philadelphia)
4 UCLA vs. 13 Weber State (Portland)
5 Illinois vs. 12 South Carolina (Portland)
6 Florida State vs. 11 Minnesota (Philadelphia)
7 Gonzaga vs. 10 Siena (Kansas City)
8 Tennessee vs. 9 Boston College (Philadelphia)

WEST REGION (Phoenix)
1 Memphis vs. 16 Radford (Kansas City)
2 Louisville vs. 15 American (Dayton)
3 Missouri vs. 14 Vermont (Minneapolis)
4 Washington vs. 13 Charleston (Portland)
5 Clemson vs. 12 Providence (Portland)
6 Xavier vs. 11 Penn State (Minneapolis)
7 Utah vs. 10 Michigan (Dayton)
8 Texas vs. 9 Utah State (Kansas City)

MONDAY'S GAMES TO WATCH
St. Mary's vs. Gonzaga (WCC Championship) - The Zags are in the tourney win or lose. Can't say the same for the Gaels. A win would keep their minds at ease until Selection Sunday.
Niagara vs. Siena (MAAC Championship) - Siena would become a bubble team with a loss, thanks to their RPI of 24. But why be on the bubble when you don't have to be.
Charleston vs. Chattanooga (SoCon Championship)- The winner is going dancing. Charleston already beat Davidson so they have to be the favorite, right?
George Mason vs. VCU (Colonial Championship) A couple of teams that have had tournament glory. One is going to the NCAA tourney. The other is headed to the NIT.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading up. If you have any questions/comments/criticisms, you know what to do. Place it in the comments below and check back a few hours later for my response. Enjoy Championship Week. It's just a precursor to the Madness that awaits us!