With a host of changes coming today as conference champions are crowned, we’ll keep this brief.
Duke likely solidified a No. 1 seed by beating North Carolina; the Blue Devils will be evaluated with their full team intact. Now it’s a race for the final two spots on the top line - Kentucky, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Michigan State and Tennessee are all in play. I stuck with Gonzaga this morning, but the Committee could easily put three ACC teams in that position if Kentucky or Michigan State fall short of conference tourney titles. Let’s see how the day plays out.
By my count, we have five potential bid thieves in play today - so the cutline could change by two or three spots come tomorrow morning.
Championship Week: Teams in all CAPS reflect automatic bid (exceptions made to traditional teams with acronyms (VCU, UCF, etc.)
UPDATED: March 16, 2019
FIRST FOUR - DAYTON | |
SOUTH REGION | St. John’s vs. Arizona State |
WEST REGION | Temple vs. Belmont |
SOUTH REGION | IONA vs. FAIR-DICKINSON |
EAST REGION | NO DAKOTA ST vs. Norfolk State |
EAST - Washington, DC | SOUTH - Louisville | |
Columbia | Columbia | |
1) Virginia | 1) Duke | |
16) ND STATE / Norfolk State | 16) Abilene Christian | |
8) Iowa | 8) Ole Miss | |
9) UCF | 9) Washington | |
San Jose | Hartford | |
5) Villanova | 5) Marquette | |
12) SAINT MARY’S | 12) MURRAY STATE | |
4) Kansas State | 4) Purdue | |
13) Vermont | 13) NORTHEASTERN | |
Tulsa | Tulsa | |
6) Cincinnati | 6) Iowa State | |
11) TCU | 11) Florida | |
3) LSU | 3) Houston | |
14) Georgia State | 14) Old Dominion | |
Des Moines | Columbus | |
7) Louisville | 7) WOFFORD | |
10) Utah State | 10) VCU | |
2) Michigan | 2) Tennessee | |
15) GARDNER-WEBB | 15) COLGATE | |
WEST - Anaheim | MIDWEST - Kansas City | |
Salt Lake City | Columbus | |
1) Gonzaga | 1) Kentucky | |
16) Prairie View AM | 16) IONA / FDU | |
8) Minnesota | 8) Seton Hall | |
9) Syracuse | 9) Baylor | |
San Jose | Hartford | |
5) Mississippi State | 5) Virginia Tech | |
12) New Mexico State | 12) Davidson | |
4) Texas Tech | 4) Wisconsin | |
13) UC-IRVINE | 13) LIBERTY | |
Jacksonville | Salt Lake City | |
6) Auburn | 6) Maryland | |
11) Temple / Belmont | 11) St. John’s / Arizona State | |
3) Florida State | 3) Kansas | |
14) Harvard | 14) NORTHERN KENTUCKY | |
Des Moines | Jacksonville | |
7) Nevada | 7) Buffalo | |
10) Oklahoma | 10) Ohio State | |
2) Michigan State | 2) North Carolina | |
15) Montana | 15) BRADLEY |
BUBBLE NOTES | |||
Last 4 Byes | Last 4 IN | First 4 OUT | Next 4 OUT |
VCU | Temple | NC State | Furman |
Ohio State | St. John’s | Indiana | Xavier |
Florida | Arizona State | Alabama | Oregon |
TCU | Belmont | NC Greensboro | Texas |
TOP SEED LINE: Virginia is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Duke, Kentucky, and Gonzaga
Breakdown by Conference ...
Big 10 (8): MICHIGAN STATE, Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State
SEC (7): KENTUCKY, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida
ACC (7): DUKE, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse
BIG 12 (7): KANSAS, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Oklahoma, TCU
Big East (4): VILLANOVA, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John’s
American (4): HOUSTON, Cincinnati, UCF, Temple
Pac 12 (2): WASHINGTON, Arizona State
Mountain West (2): UTAH STATE, Nevada
West Coast (2): SAINT MARY’S, Gonzaga
Atlantic 10 (2): DAVIDSON, VCU
Southern (1): WOFFORD
Mid American (1): BUFFALO
ONE BID LEAGUES: BRADLEY (MVC), IONA (MAAC), Old Dominion (C-USA), Georgia State (SBELT), Harvard (IVY), Montana (BSKY), NORTHERN KENTUCKY (HORIZON), Abilene Christian (SLND), UC-Irvine (BWEST), LIBERTY (ASUN), MURRAY STATE (OVC), NORTHEASTERN (CAA), GARDNER-WEBB (BSO), Norfolk State (MEAC), NORTH DAKOTA STATE (SUM), New Mexico State (WAC), Vermont (AEAST), COLGATE (PAT), FAIRLEIGH-DICKINSON (NEC), Prairie View (SWAC)
Bracketing principles: read them for yourself at www.ncaa.com.