BUILD-A-BRACKET

PRELIMINARY SEEDS & PAIRIINGS

If the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament were to start today, Duke, Pitt, Ohio State and Kansas would be my choices for #1 seeds.

Illinois would face Georgia in the East Region "play-in" game for the 12^th seed. Penn State would do the same against Butler in the West Region. All four, along with Boston College, UTEP, Marquette, UAB, UNLV, Florida State and Virginia Tech are on my "bubble". The other two play-in games involve single-team conferences vying for a 16^th seed.

As required in Bracketology 202 (see previous post), a preliminary pairings bracket appears below.

SEED	EAST	SEED	WEST
1	DUKE	1	PITT
16	BUCKNELL/MCNEESE ST	16	LONG ISLAND
8	MEMPHIS	8	TENNESSEE
9	KANSAS STATE	9	MICHIGAN STATE
4	VILLANOVA	4	WISCONSIN
13	BELMONT	13	ST. MARY'S
5	VANDERBILT	5	LOUISVILLE
12	ILLINOIS*/GEORGIA*	12	PENN STATE*/BUTLER*
2	SAN DIEGO STATE	2	TEXAS
15	KENT STATE	15	LONG BEACH ST
7	OLD DOMINION	7	WEST VIRGINIA
10	BOSTON COLLEGE*	10	UTEP*
3	GEORGETOWN	3	ARIZONA
14	PRINCETON	14	UTAH VALLEY ST
6	XAVIER	6	TEXAS A&M
11	MURRAY STATE	11	UTAH STATE
	SOUTHEAST		SOUTHWEST
1	OHIO STATE	1	KANSAS
16	COASTAL CAROLINA	16	FAU/TEXAS SOUTHERN
8	WASHINGTON	8	UCLA
9	CINCINNATI	9	MARQUETTE*
4	FLORIDA	4	NORTH CAROLINA
13	UAB*	13	VERMONT
5	SYRACUSE	5	ST. JOHNS
12	FLORIDA STATE*	12	UNLV*
2	BYU	2	PURDUE
15	FAIRFIELD	15	HAMPTON
7	TEMPLE	7	GEORGE MASON
10	VIRGINIA TECH*	10	MISSOURI STATE
3	NOTRE DAME	3	UCONN
14	OAKLAND	14	MONTANA
6	KENTUCKY	6	MISSOURI
11	GONZAGA	11	CHARLESTON

[Teams from conferences in which only the tournament winner is expected to make the NCAA Tournament field are listed in BOLD type. Teams considered to be on the "bubble" at this time are listed in GREEN type with an asterisk (in case Green type doesn't post).]

 

Despite the preponderance of Big East teams and based upon the premise that higher (i.e. better) seeds will advance, my preliminary bracket avoids rematches of regular season games until later rounds. One possible exception could occur should Louisville (5) win a Round 3 game against Wisconsin (4) to advance to the Sweet 16 against Pitt.

 

Of course, the next two weeks will necessitate some adjustments to this preliminary bracket. Some of my bubble teams will fall out; and a few of the "minor" conferences will crown a champion not seeded here. Not unlike the challenge facing the Selection Committee, this initial bracket is a work in progress.