2015 Barnes Bracketology: Feb. 27

Just think, the next post after this one will be in March! Not sure where you are reading this from but here in Columbus, it's freezing. So the month of March brings about two things. One, the best sporting event in the world. And two, the hope of warmer weather. But in case the warmer weather doesn't come that soon, the good news is you can just stay inside and watch March Madness inside anyways!

MY PROJECTED FIELD OF 68
(changes in italics)

LOCKS: Truly expected to add 2-3 teams to this group after Sunday's post but the top 3 teams in the AT-LARGE group all lost so no changes. Maybe by the weekend, we'll be able to get this group up to 30 teams, especially when you consider how close we are to the finish line. The biggest changes here just came in the shuffling as Wisconsin is no longer a top seed, now  replaced by Villanova, who holds a slight edge on Gonzaga for the final number one seed.

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

LOCKS (26): Kentucky, Virginia, Duke, Villanova, Gonzaga, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, Utah, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Northern Iowa, Wichita State, North Carolina, Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisville, VCU, SMU, Providence, Georgetown, San Diego State, Butler



AUTOS: No changes until after the weekend. Nothing to see here.

Teams that have clinched their berth will appear in bold

AUTOS (21): America East - Albany, Atlantic Sun - Florida Gulf Coast, Big Sky - Eastern Washington, Big South - High Point, Big West - UC Davis, Colonial - Northeastern, Conference-USA - Louisiana Tech, Horizon - Valparaiso, Ivy - Harvard, MAAC - Iona, MAC - Central Michigan, MEAC - NC Central, 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 State, WAC - New Mexico State

AT-LARGE: Kudos to NC State, doing what very few BUBBLE teams do. Take the control out of the hands of the committee and the bracketlogists and proving they belong in the field by beating quality competition and on the road! Their latest win at North Carolina vaulted them from out of the field to in the field, and without playing in the "First Four". Beyond them, lots of shuffling but no new teams jumping in. Texas is the team that falls out.

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

AT-LARGE (21): Xavier, Dayton, Oklahoma State, Indiana, Temple, Ole Miss, St. John's, Colorado State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Georgia, Texas A&M, Purdue, Iowa, NC State, LSU, Stanford, Illinois, UCLA, Pittsburgh

 BUBBLE WATCH

BUBBLE: Bubbles just keep bursting. Losses by Rhode Island and Wyoming have them longer under consideration. UMass lost as well and are barely hanging on. I brought Old Dominion back from the dead but as you can see, it's still a longshot. Still about 7 teams on the outside looking in who are very much alive, depending on their results and those in front of them.

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

SEEDING

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

NEW TEAMS IN: NC State

NEW TEAMS OUT: Texas

(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