Welcome to March. Three new teams have joined the bracket: Colorado State, South Florida, and VCU. Sliding out: Northwestern, Dayton, and St. Joseph’s. It’s going to be an interesting nine days until Selection Sunday.
The race for No. 1 seeds continues with Goliath matchups this weekend. Michigan State hosts Ohio State and the Spartans can wrap up an outright Big Ten championship by beating the Buckeyes. There’s also Round 2 of the Duke and North Carolina rivalry. Results from those games will have a direct impact on the No. 1 seed line as we head into Championship Week. Kentucky and Syracuse continue to lead the field, and that’s unlikely to change. Kansas now has the inside track for the Midwest Regional in St. Louis, but it’s not locked in place. The No. 4 overall seed will be shipped West. In essence, there are five teams fighting for two spots on the top line. Ohio State could re-enter the discussion if the Buckeyes beat MSU this weekend and win the Big Ten conference tournament.
Here’s the latest bracket.
UPDATED: Friday, March 2 | 12:30 a.m. (ET)
Teams in CAPS represent the projected AUTOMATIC bid. Exceptions are made for teams that use an abbreviation (UTEP, BYU, etc). Records are for games against Division I teams only.
FIRST FOUR PAIRINGS – Dayton (First Round)
- Texas (19-11) vs. VCU (25-6) | East Region
- South Florida (18-11) vs. Xavier (18-11) | Midwest Region
- MISS VALLEY ST (18-12) vs. SAVANNAH ST (18-10) | South Region
- STONY BROOK (18-8) vs. UNC-ASHEVILLE (20-9) | East Region
BRACKET PROJECTION …
EAST – Boston | SOUTH – Atlanta | |
Pittsburgh | Louisville | |
1) SYRACUSE (29-1) | 1) KENTUCKY (29-1) | |
16) UNC-ASHEVILLE / STONY BROOK | 16) MS VALLEY ST / SAVANNAH ST | |
8) Purdue (20-10) | 8) ST. MARY’S (23-5) | |
9) Virginia (21-8) | 9) St. Louis (22-6) | |
Portland | Portland | |
5) Vanderbilt (20-9) | 5) MURRAY STATE (25-1) | |
12) Texas / VCU | 12) California (23-7) | |
4) TEMPLE (23-6) | 4) Wisconsin (21-8) | |
13) IONA (24-6) | 13) ORAL ROBERTS (26-5) | |
Albuquerque | Nashville | |
6) Creighton (25-5) | 6) New Mexico (22-6) | |
11) Connecticut (17-12) | 11) Mississippi State (20-10) | |
3) Baylor (24-5) | 3) Georgetown (21-6) | |
14) NEVADA (22-5) | 14) DAVIDSON (21-7) | |
Greensboro | Pittsburgh | |
7) Louisville (22-8) | 7) Kansas State (20-9) | |
10) HARVARD (22-4) | 10) Seton Hall (19-10) | |
2) North Carolina (26-4) | 2) Ohio State (24-6) | |
15) BELMONT (23-7) | 15) VALPARAISO (18-10) | |
MIDWEST – St. Louis | WEST – Phoenix | |
Omaha | Columbus | |
1) KANSAS (25-5) | 1) MICHIGAN STATE (23-6) | |
16) UT-ARLINGTON (21-6) | 16) LONG ISLAND (23-8) | |
8) Cincinnati (21-9) | 8) Alabama (20-9) | |
9) Memphis (22-8) | 9) Iowa State (21-9) | |
Nashville | Albuquerque | |
5) Florida (22-9) | 5) UNLV (22-7) | |
12) South Florida / Xavier | 12) BYU (22-7) | |
4) Indiana (23-7) | 4) WICHITA STATE (23-4) | |
13) DREXEL (25-5) | 13) LONG BEACH (19-7) | |
Louisville | Columbus | |
6) San Diego State (21-6) | 6) Florida State (20-9) | |
11) WASHINGTON (21-8) | 11) Colorado State (17-10) | |
3) Marquette (24-6) | 3) Michigan (21-8) | |
14) AKRON (19-10) | 14) MID TENNESSEE ST (22-5) | |
Greensboro | Omaha | |
7) Gonzaga (24-5) | 7) Notre Dame (20-10) | |
10) West Virginia (18-12) | 10) Southern Mississippi (22-6) | |
2) DUKE (26-4) | 2) Missouri (26-4) | |
15) BUCKNELL (22-8) | 15) MONTANA (21-6) |
NOTES on the BRACKET: Kentucky is the No. 1 overall seed followed by Syracuse, Kansas, and Michigan State. Next in line are Duke, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio State
Last Five teams in (at large): Colorado State, South Florida, Texas, VCU, Xavier
First Five teams out (at large): Northwestern, Dayton, St. Joseph’s, Miami (Fla), NC State
Bracket adjustments: Several one-line adjustments were made to accommodate bracket principles and procedures.
Here is the team breakdown by Conference …
Big East (10): Syracuse, Georgetown, Louisville, Connecticut, Marquette, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Florida
Big Ten (6): Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Purdue
Big 12 (6): Baylor, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Texas
SEC (5): Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Alabama
ACC (4): North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Florida State
Mountain West (4): UNLV, San Diego State, New Mexico, Colorado State
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, St. Louis, Temple
West Coast (3): Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, BYU
Conference USA (2): Memphis, Southern Mississippi
Pac 12 (2): Washingon, California
Missouri Valley (2): Creighton, Wichita State
Conference leaders/champions … Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt), Valparaiso (Horizon), Akron (MAC), Drexel (CAA), Nevada (WAC), Murray State (OVC), Iona (MAAC), Weber State (Big Sky), Davidson (Southern), Oral Roberts (Summit), Long Beach State (Big West), Long Island (NEC), Belmont (Atlantic Sun), Harvard (Ivy), NC-Asheville (Big South), Savannah State (MEAC), Bucknell (Patriot), Stony Brook (America East), UT-Arlington(Southland), Mississippi Valley State (SWAC)