Bracketology is both the art and the science of looking at the resumes of 70+ teams and deciding which teams should be “in” and “out” of the field, not based on what I think, but based on the historical trends of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Predicting what the Committee will do is often a difficult venture but that’s the fun and the challenge. I’ll be updating my bracket projection at least once a week from here until Selection Sunday and including some analytical posts delving deeper into the science of Bracketology.
For starters, check out the Bracketology 101 post to give some baseline for how the Committee develops the bracket.
A full breakdown of my 2/16 bracket from last week is available here.
Here is my latest bracket projection of the 2017-2018 College Basketball Season. Once again, I will be taking part in The Bracket Matrix‘s annual bracket competition where I am ranked in the Top 50 in the nation.
(Current conference leaders are presumed as conference champions and appear in bold.)
Bracket Date: 3/10
Seed List:
Red – Conference Tournament winner, Bold – current conference leader/highest remaining seed, Italic – bubble team)
1. Virginia, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas
2. North Carolina, Duke, Purdue, Cincinnati
3. Auburn, Michigan St, Tennessee, Texas Tech
4. Michigan, Gonzaga, Wichita St, West Virginia
5. Clemson, Kentucky, Arizona, Ohio St
6. Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Miami
7. Houston, TCU, Creighton, Rhode Island
8. Missouri, Florida St, Texas, Butler
9. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Nevada
10. Kansas St, USC, NC State, Alabama
11. UCLA, Louisville, Providence, Syracuse, St Bonaventure, Loyola-Chicago
12. Western Kentucky, New Mexico St, South Dakota St, Murray St
13. Vermont, Buffalo, Louisiana-Lafayette, Charleston
14. UNC-Greensboro, New Mexico, Montana, Bucknell
15. UC Irvine, Wright St, Lipscomb, Iona
16. Radford, Harvard, SE Louisiana, LIU-Brooklyn, Hampton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
South Region
Charlotte
1. Virginia vs 16. SE Louisiana/Arkansas-Pine Bluff
8. Texas vs 9. Seton Hall
Boise
4. Michigan vs 13. Buffalo
5. Kentucky vs 12. South Dakota St
Nashville
3. Auburn vs 14. UNC-Greensboro
6. Florida vs 11. Louisville/St Bonaventure
Nashville
2. Cincinnati vs 15. UC Irvine
7. Creighton vs 10. NC State
East Region
Pittsburgh
1. Villanova vs 16. LIU-Brooklyn/Hampton
8. Florida St vs 9. Nevada
San Diego
4. West Virginia vs 13. Louisiana
5. Arizona vs 12. New Mexico St
Wichita
3. Michigan St vs 14. Bucknell
6. Arkansas vs 11. Providence/Syracuse
Charlotte
2. North Carolina vs 15. Iona
7. Houston vs 10. Kansas St
Midwest Region
Wichita
1. Kansas vs 16. Radford
8. Butler vs 9. Virginia Tech
San Diego
4. Wichita St vs 13. Charleston
5. Ohio St vs 12. Murray St
Dallas
3. Tennessee vs 14. New Mexico
6. Miami vs 11. Loyola-Chicago
Pittsburgh
2. Duke vs 15. Wright St
7. TCU vs 10. USC
West Region
Detroit
1. Xavier vs 16. Harvard
8.Missouri vs 9. Oklahoma
Boise
4. Gonzaga vs 13. Vermont
5. Clemson vs 12. Western Kentucky
Dallas
3. Texas Tech vs 14. Montana
6. Texas A&M vs 11. St. UCLA
Detroit
2. Purdue vs 15. Lipscomb
7. Rhode Island vs 10. Alabama