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Syracuse newest No. 1 seed in latest NCAA bracket projection

spt-110103-syracuse_standard

Syracuse joins Duke, Ohio State and Kansas as projected No. 1 seeds in the first of our 2011 weekly bracket projections here at NBCSports.com and Bracketville. Over the next two months, the Orange figure to battle it out with Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Georgetown for the Big East title. The winner will most likely emerge as a top-seed candidate. Joining Pitt and UConn as two-seeds today are Kentucky and San Diego State.

Remember, the NCAA tournament now features a new 68-team format. You will notice four matchups in the bracket that represent the First Four pairings. In this bracket the First Four games in Dayton would be ... Drexel vs. Virginia Tech | Oklahoma State vs. Cleveland State | Jackson State vs. Sam Houston | American vs. Quinnipiac. The final four at-large teams are paired along with the teams seeded 65-68 on the S-curve. Winners of these games advance to the Thursday-Friday sites.

Here are a couple of quick reminders ... 1) The Bracket projection is not based solely on if the season ended today - particularly regarding predicted conference champions (listed in ALL-CAPS - exceptions being teams such as BYU that often go by an acronym.) The goal is to use the data we currently have and combine it with reasonable expections. These expectations will change as teams build more complete resumes. Expect a fair amount of change as we go through the first month of conference play. 2) Seeding is very fluid at this point. There often isn’t much difference between a six and ten seed (now or in March).

Note: Records reflect Division I wins and loses. Games against D-II or D-III teams do not count for NCAA selection and seeding and thus aren’t considered here.

Next Update: Monday, January 10.

BRACKET PROJECTION ...

EAST - Newark SOUTHEAST - New Orleans
Charlotte Cleveland
1) DUKE (13-0) 1) OHIO STATE (14-0)
16) JACKSONVILLE (7-3) 16) HAMPTON (10-3)
8 Florida (10-3) 8 Louisville (11-2)
9) Baylor (9-3) 9) Florida State (11-3)
Tampa Denver
5) Minnesota (11-3) 5) Kansas State (10-3)
12) OLD DOMINION (9-3) 12) Drexel / Virginia Tech
4) Villanova (12-1) 4) BYU (13-1)
13) OAKLAND (8-8) 13) NORTH TEXAS (11-2)
Denver Charlotte
6) TEMPLE (9-3) 6) North Carolina (10-4)
11) Arizona (12-3) 11) Oklahoma St / Cleveland St
3) Missouri (13-1) 3) Georgetown (12-2)
14) KENT STATE (8-5) 14) CHARLESTON (9-5)
Washington, DC Tampa
7) Wisconsin (11-3) 7) MEMPHIS (11-2)
10) Washington State (10-4) 10) WICHITA STATE (10-2)
2) Connecticut (11-1) 2) KENTUCKY (11-2)
15) PRINCETON (10-4) 15) VERMONT (9-3)
SOUTHWEST - San Antonio WEST - Anaheim
Tulsa Cleveland
1) KANSAS (13-0) 1) SYRACUSE (15-0)
16) JACKSON ST / SAM HOUSTON 16) AMERICAN / QUINNIPIAC
8 BUTLER (9-4) 8 GONZAGA (9-5)
9) Boston College (11-3) 9) Tennessee (9-4)
Chicago Tucson
5) Illinois (12-3) 5) Texas A-M (11-1)
12) Georgia (11-2) 12) West Virginia (8-4)
4) Notre Dame (12-2) 4) Michigan State (8-4)
13) MURRAY STATE (7-4) 13) UTAH STATE (13-2)
Chicago Tulsa
6) Vanderbilt (11-2) 6) WASHINGTON (10-3)
11) Miami-FL (11-4) 11) St. John’s (9-3)
3) Purdue (13-1) 3) Texas (11-2)
14) COASTAL CAROLINA (8-2) 14) FAIRFIELD (9-3)
Washington, DC Tucson
7) UNLV (12-2) 7) Central Florida (12-0)
10) St. Mary’s (10-2) 10) Cincinnati (14-0)
2) Pittsburgh (13-1) 2) SAN DIEGO STATE (13-0)
15) UC-SANTA BARBARA (5-5) 15) MONTANA (8-4)

NOTES on the BRACKET: Duke is the No. 1 overall seed followed by Ohio State, Kansas, and Syracuse. The two seeds in order are Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Kentucky, and San Diego State.

Last Five teams in (at large): West Virginia, Drexel, Cleveland State, Georgia, Oklahoma State

First Five teams out (at large): Dayton, New Mexico, USC, Richmond, Rhode Island

Also Considered: Xavier, Northwestern, UCLA, Missouri State, Mississippi, Iowa State, Southern Mississippi, Marquette, Maryland, George Mason, Providence, Portland, Arkansas, Virginia, UAB, UTEP

Bracket adjustments: Bracket actually flowed together without the need for seed-line adjustments. This doesn’t happen very often.

Here is the team breakdown by Conference ...

Big East (9): SYRACUSE, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, Louisville, St. John’s, West Virginia

Big 12 (7): KANSAS, Missouri, Texas, Kansas State, Texas A-M, Baylor, Oklahoma State

Big Ten (6): OHIO STATE, Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

ACC (6): DUKE, North Carolina, Boston College, Florida State, Miami-FL, Virginia Tech

SEC (5): KENTUCKY, Vanderbilt, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia

Mountain West (3): SAN DIEGO STATE, BYU, UNLV

Pac 10 (3): WASHINGTON, Arizona, Washington State

Colonial (2): OLD DOMINION, Drexel

Conference USA (2): MEMPHIS, Central Florida

West Coast (2): GONZAGA, St. Mary’s

Horizon (2): BUTLER, Cleveland State

Atlantic 10 (1): TEMPLE

Missouri Valley (1): WICHITA STATE

Auto Bid conference champions ... Utah State (WAC), Murray State (OVC), Fairfield (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Montana (Big Sky), Charleston (Southern), Oakland (Summit), UC-Santa Barbara (Big West), Quinnipiac (NEC), Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun), North Texas (Sun Belt), Princeton (Ivy), Coastal Carolina (Big South), Hampton (MEAC), American (Patriot), Vermont (America East), Sam Houston (Southland), Jackson State (SWAC)