Although this week’s No. 1 seeds remain intact, Kentucky and Florida State are pushing for slots on the top line of the bracket. One could make the case for dropping Baylor after the Bears’ loss at West Virginia, but the seed list doesn’t always work the same as a poll. Baylor’s resume is still quite strong, and a lone loss in Morgantown doesn’t change that - much the same as Villanova’s loss at Butler last week didn’t drop the Wildcats from the overall No. 1 seed position. That said, resumes are still very much a recurring work in progress.
It’s no surprise that the cutline is quite fluid. With another full slate of games tonight, the bottom of the bracket might look different if we updated it again tomorrow. The process slows in mid-February and resumes become more complete.
As a reminder, conference champions are determined by league standings until Championship Week. In the event of a tie in the loss column, the automatic bid for the bracket is awarded to the team with the best RPI at the time of publication. To an extent, this helps simulate some variances that occur in the process. For example, Illinois State and Wichita State are both unbeaten (5-0) in the Missouri Valley. Largely due to non-conference schedule strength, Illinois State’s RPI is distinctly better than Wichita State’s this morning. Thus, ISU earns the auto bid from the Valley (similar to what might happen in a league tournament, per se). As a result, Wichita State joins the at-large pool for consideration. It’s also why Florida is listed as the auto bid instead of Kentucky.
Enjoy another busy weekend of college hoops.
UPDATED: January 12, 2017
Regarding bracketing principles, can read them for yourself at www.ncaa.com. For example: teams from the same conference may now meet before a Regional final, even if fewer than eight teams are selected. The goal is to keep as many teams as possible on their actual seed line.
FIRST FOUR PAIRINGS - Dayton (First Round)
- Marquette vs. Kansas State | East Region
- Rhode Island vs. Texas Tech | South Region
- UC-IRVINE vs. WEBER STATE | Midwest Region
- FDU vs. DELAWARE STATE | East Region
BRACKET PROJECTION ...
| EAST - New York | MIDWEST - Kansas City | |
| Buffalo | Tulsa | |
| 1) VILLANOVA | 1) KANSAS | |
| 16) FDU / DELAWARE ST | 16) UC-IRVINE / WEBER ST | |
| 8) USC | 8) Northwestern | |
| 9) South Carolina | 9) Pittsburgh | |
| Orlando | Sacramento | |
| 5) Purdue | 5) Wisconsin | |
| 12) Marquette / Kansas St | 12) BOISE STATE | |
| 4) Virginia | 4) OREGON | |
| 13) VERMONT | 13) NEW MEXICO ST | |
| Buffalo | Indianapolis | |
| 6) FLORIDA | 6) CINCINNATI | |
| 11) NC-WILMINGTON | 11) TCU | |
| 3) West Virginia | 3) Louisville | |
| 14) GA-SOUTHERN | 14) E. TENNESSEE ST | |
| Orlando | Salt Lake City | |
| 7) Maryland | 7) Virginia Tech | |
| 10) Seton Hall | 10) VCU | |
| 2) FLORIDA STATE | 2) Creighton | |
| 15) PRINCETON | 15) RIDER | |
| WEST - San Jose | SOUTH - Memphis | |
| Sacramento | Tulsa | |
| 1) UCLA | 1) Baylor | |
| 16) TEXAS-SOUTHERN | 16) NEW ORLEANS | |
| 8) Iowa State | 8) MICHIGAN STATE | |
| 9) Indiana | 9) Dayton | |
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee | |
| 5) Notre Dame | 5) Arizona | |
| 12) OAKLAND | 12) ILLINOIS STATE | |
| 4) Butler | 4) Minnesota | |
| 13) FLA GULF CST | 13) AKRON | |
| Greenville | Greenville | |
| 6) Saint Mary’s | 6) Xavier | |
| 11) MID TENNESSEE ST | 11) Rhode Island / Texas Tech | |
| 3) North Carolina | 3) Duke | |
| 14) BELMONT | 14) NC-ASHEVILLE | |
| Salt Lake City | Indianapolis | |
| 7) SMU | 7) Clemson | |
| 10) Arkansas | 10) Illinois | |
| 2) GONZAGA | 2) KENTUCKY | |
| 15) NORTH DAKOTA ST | 15) BOSTON UNIV |
NOTES on the BRACKET: Villanova is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Kansas, Baylor, and UCLA
Last Four Byes (at large): Seton Hall, Arkansas, Illinois, TCU
Last Four IN (at large): Rhode Island, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Marquette
First Four OUT (at large): Miami-FL, Michigan, Wichita State, Houston
Next four teams OUT (at large): NC State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, California
Breakdown by Conference ...
ACC (9): FLORIDA STATE, Louisville, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Notre Dame, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh
Big 10 (8): MICHIGAN STATE, Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Northwestern, Indiana, Illinois
Big 12 (7): KANSAS, Baylor, West Virginia, Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas State
Big East (6): VILLANOVA, Creighton, Butler, Xavier, Seton Hall, Marquette
SEC (4): FLORIDA, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas
Pac 12 (4): OREGON, UCLA, Arizona, USC
Atlantic 10 (3): VCU, Dayton, Rhode Island
American (2): CINCINNATI, SMU
West Coast (2): GONZAGA, Saint Mary’s
Missouri Valley (1): ILLINOIS STATE
Mountain West (1): BOISE STATE
ONE BID LEAGUES: Rider (MAAC), Middle Tennessee State (C-USA), UT-Arlington (SBELT), Princeton (IVY), Weber State (BSKY), Oakland (HORIZON), New Orleans (SLND), East Tennessee State (STHN), UC-Irvine (BWEST), Akron (MAC), Florida Gulf Coast (ASUN), Belmont (OVC), UNC-Wilmington (CAA), UNC-Asheville (BSO), Delaware State (MEAC), North Dakota State (SUM), New Mexico State (WAC), Vermont (AEAST), Boston University (PAT), Fairleigh-Dickinson (NEC), Texas-Southern (SWAC)