2015 Barnes Bracketology - Feb. 20

I had two friends on Twitter on Monday saying how this college basketball season just has not been riveting enough. I disagreed and said they just haven't been watching. Well, these past 4 days proved that college basketball is alive and well. Games like Purdue-Indiana, West Virginia-Kansas, Xavier-Cincinnati and of course the Duke-North Carolina OT thriller were must-see TV for any sports fan. And that was just 4 days of games. Just imagine what is it come in the days and weeks to come as the importance of these games is multiplied.

MY PROJECTED FIELD OF 68
(changes in italics)

LOCKS: I said in the last update don't be surprised if I add 3-4 teams to this group as there is less time for teams to really mess up their resumes. Well, I didn't add 3-4. I added 5. Maryland is in and probably should have already been. Also, joining this group are Providence, West Virginia, Georgetown and SMU. All won over the past 4 days and have or are very close to 20 wins on the season.

This group is in order, so you have an idea of how they rank on my S-Curve.

LOCKS (24): Kentucky, Virginia, Duke, Wisconsin, Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona, Notre Dame, Utah, Iowa State, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Baylor, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Maryland, Louisville, Arkansas, VCU, Providence, West Virginia, Georgetown, SMU



AUTOS: No changes here. Will make any necessary changes after this weekend's games.

Teams that have clinched their berth will appear in bold

AUTOS (22): America East - Albany, Atlantic Sun - Florida Gulf Coast, Big Sky - Eastern Washington, Big South - High Point, Big West - UC Davis, Colonial - William & Mary, Conference-USA - Louisiana Tech, Horizon - Valparaiso, Ivy - Harvard, MAAC - Iona, MAC - Toledo, MEAC - NC Central, Mountain West - San Diego State, Northeast - St. Francis (NY), Ohio Valley - Murray State, Patriot - Bucknell, Southern - Wofford, Southland - Stephen F. Austin, SWAC - Texas Southern, Summit - South Dakota State, Sun Belt - Georgia Southern, WAC - New Mexico State

AT-LARGE: As usual, this group saw its fair share of changes. Much of it had to do with movement out of the group with those 5 teams graduating to LOCKS. Miami (FL) rejoined the group after two wins in the 4 days. Pittsburgh dropped out despite a fine loss as Virginia. The quality wins of the week went to Xavier, Purdue, and Texas A&M who all beat fellow teams in this category, with the first two teams doing it on the road nonetheless.

These are in order, so the last four teams will be playing in the "First Four" in Dayton.

AT-LARGE (22): Butler, Oklahoma State, Dayton, Ohio State, Indiana, Xavier, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Temple, Texas, Cincinnati, Colorado State, St. John's, Illinois, Texas A&M, Purdue, Iowa, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Miami (FL), UCLA

 BUBBLE WATCH

BUBBLE: Right now, we just have a group of 10 teams on the outside looking in. Pretty good at this point. That just means teams are starting to separate themselves as contenders or pretenders. And this group could get smaller, depending on their results over the next few games. Or of course, it could grow. Did not make one addition but did say goodbye to George Washington and Seton Hall for now.

These are in order, so to figure out the first teams out, head to the final team from the AT-LARGE category and look for all the teams behind them.

BUBBLE (33): Butler, Oklahoma State, Dayton, Ohio State, Indiana, Xavier, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Temple, Texas, Cincinnati, Colorado State, St. John's, Illinois, Texas A&M, Purdue, Iowa, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Miami (FL), UCLA, Boise State, BYU, NC State, Pittsburgh, Oregon, Tulsa, Davidson, Rhode Island, UMass, Wyoming

SEEDING

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
 Big Ten (8), Big 12 (7), ACC (6), Big East (6), SEC (6), Pac-12 (4), American (3), A-10 (2), Mountain West (2), Missouri Valley (2)

NEW TEAMS IN: UCLA, Miami (FL)

NEW TEAMS OUT: Pittsburgh

(Click on bracket to enlarge)
MIDWEST vs. WEST
EAST vs. SOUTH

**Kentucky is the overall top seed

Next update will come after Sunday's games.

MB