Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Bracket Update: Tournament bubble a revolving door

Jacob Kurtz, Karl-Anthony Towns

AP Photo

AP

Welcome to the Revolving Door - otherwise known as this year’s NCAA tournament bubble. Teams come and go, enter and leave. It reminds one of Black Friday shoppers, moving in and out of stores at a brisk pace. They’re in search of a victory with the right shape and size. Finding those gifts can be elusive, and in the bustle of the moment, they stumble. Between Monday and today, a variety of teams passed through the bracket. A few others had the opportunity and missed the gate. If it gives you a better idea, most teams seeded on the 8-line or lower are a part of the bubble; to varying degrees. Buckle up, another weekend awaits.

What we do have is stability at the top of the bracket. Kentucky may have used up another of its lives this week, but the Cats survived at Florida. In search of a perfect season, it’s a good thing UK has nine. Virginia, Gonzaga, and Duke remain entrenched as top seeds - with Kansas, Wisconsin, Villanova, and Arizona next in line.

There will be 68 teams announced on Selection Sunday. That much we know. Which 68? We have a pretty good idea about 15 to 20 at this point. After that? There’s a lot of uncertainty. It’s shaping up to be a wild Championship Week - one in which the Selection Committee may use (or need) results to separate teams with similar profiles.

You can find the complete Seed List for today’s bracket at Bracketville.

UPDATED: February 13, 2015

Teams in CAPS represent the projected AUTOMATIC bid. In the event of a tie in the loss column, RPI is the first tiebreaker used. Exceptions are made for teams that use an abbreviation (UCLA, BYU, etc).

Several new bracketing principles were introduced last year. You 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)


  • Temple vs. St. John’s | Midwest Region
  • Miami-FL vs. Oregon | East Region
  • TX-SOUTHERN vs. BUCKNELL | Midwest Region
  • ST. FRANCIS-BROOKLYN vs. ALBANY | East Region

BRACKET PROJECTION ...

MIDWEST - ClevelandEAST - Syracuse
LouisvilleCharlotte
1) KENTUCKY1) VIRGINIA
16) BUCKNELL / TX-STHERN16) SFBK / BUCKNELL
8) Cincinnati8) Georgia
9) Dayton9) Texas
SeattlePittsburgh
5) Northern Iowa5) Butler
12) GREEN BAY12) Miami-FL / Oregon
4) Baylor4) Maryland
13) LOUISIANA TECH13) IONA
ColumbusLouisville
6) West Virginia6) Ohio State
11) Temple / St. John’s11) Stanford
3) Notre Dame3) Oklahoma
14) BOWLING GREEN14) HARVARD
OmahaPittsburgh
7) Georgetown7) VCU
10) LSU10) Michigan State
2) WISCONSIN2) VILLANOVA
15) GA. SOUTHERN15) WILLIAM & MARY
SOUTH - HoustonWEST - Los Angeles
CharlotteSeattle
1) Duke1) GONZAGA
16) NEW MEXICO ST16) NORTH DAKOTA ST
8) Ole Miss8) SMU
9) Illinois9) SAN DIEGO ST
PortlandJacksonville
5) Oklahoma State5) WICHITA STATE
12) S.F. Austin12) WOFFORD
4) Utah4) Iowa State
13) E. WASHINGTON13) MURRAY STATE
JacksonvilleColumbus
6) Arkansas6) Indiana
11) Purdue11) Texas AM
3) North Carolina3) Louisville
14) HIGH POINT14) NC CENTRAL
OmahaPortland
7) Iowa7) Providence
10) Xavier10) Colorado State
2) KANSAS2) ARIZONA
15) FGCU15) UC DAVIS

NOTES on the BRACKET: Kentucky is the overall No. 1 seed followed by Virginia, Gonzaga, and Duke. Next in line: Kansas, Wisconsin, Villanova, and Arizona

Last Five teams in (at large): Purdue, Temple, St. John’s, Miami-FL, Oregon

First Five teams out (at large): Seton Hall, Boise State, UCLA, Tulsa, Old Dominion

Next five teams out (at large): NC State, Rhode Island, Davidson, Massachusetts, George Washington

Breakdown by Conference ...

Big 10 (8): Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 (7): Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Texas

Big East (6): Villanova, Butler, Providence, Georgetown, Xavier, St. John’s

ACC (6): Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, North Carolina, Miami-FL

SEC (6): Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, Texas AM

Pac 12 (4): Arizona, Utah, Stanford, Oregon

American (2): SMU, Cincinnati

Mountain West (2): San Diego State, Colorado State

Atlantic 10 (2): VCU, Dayton

Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State, Northern Iowa

Conference USA (1): Louisiana Tech

West Coast (1): Gonzaga

ONE BID LEAGUES: Georgia Southern (SBELT), Harvard (IVY), Eastern Washington (BSKY), Green Bay (HZN), S.F. Austin (SLND), Wofford (STHN), UC-Davis (BWEST), Bowling Green (MAC), Iona (MAAC), Florida Gulf Coast (ASUN), Murray State (OVC), William & Mary (CAA), High Point (BSO), NC-Central (MEAC), North Dakota State (SUM), New Mexico State (WAC), Albany (AEAST), Bucknell (PAT), St. Francis - NY (NEC), Texas-Southern (SWAC)