Bracketology 3/9/10: Predictions and Locks, Bubble Teams Beware
Editor’s Note: Brian Dachel is our guest bracketologist for March Madness this season. Read more of Brian’s work at his blog Oak Creek’s March Madness.
Four more bids went out last night with three more on tap for tonight. Let’s hit them as well as an updated Bracket.
Southern Conference: The top seeded Wofford Terriers hold off a late run by Appalachian State to grab a bid for the tournament. Wofford is looking at a 14 seed as of this writing.
Colonial Conference: Old Dominion beats both Bill and Mary to leave the Colonial as a one bid league. William and Mary’s RPI floating around 60 isn’t going to be enough for an at-large.
MAAC – Siena needed overtime but they eventually put away Fairfield to grab the MAAC bid. Their seeding could go anywhere from a 10 down to a 13 based on other conference tournaments. We’ll be watching them closely.
West Coast Conference – St. Mary gets the auto-bid and won’t have the sweat out Selection Sunday. I think a third loss to the Zags would have been devastating. Gonzaga, surprisingly as a very low RPI and may be looking at a 6 seed this year.
Tournaments Concluding Tonight
Sun Belt Conference – The top two seeds meet for the chance at a 15 seed. North Texas won the regular season match 75-72 but I look for Troy to hang on and grab the win.
Horizon Conference – All bubble teams will be watching this game as Wright State could steal a bid with an upset over Butler. Too bad that’s not going to happen as Butler concludes an undefeated Horizon season and looks for a 4-6 seed in the bracket.
Summit Conference - IUPUI and Oakland battle it out as the top seeds. I’m calling for an “upset” here as IUPUI outscores the Grizzlies in an high scoring affair, 84-78.
In addition the Big East and Atlantic 10 kick off their tournaments today. Bubble teams to watch are Connecticut, South Florida, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, and Dayton who all need at least a win or two to stay in the discussion.
Brackets haven’t changed much from yesterday, just a couple re-seedings.
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1 seed vs 16 seed |
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Kansas vs Jackson St (SWAC)/Lehigh (Patriot) |
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Kentucky vs Quinnipiac (Northeast) |
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Syracuse vs Vermont (America East) |
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Duke vs Winthorp (Big South) |
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2 seed vs 15 seed |
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West Virginia vs E. Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun) |
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Purdue vs Troy (Sunbelt) |
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New Mexico vs Morgan State (MEAC) |
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Kansas State vs UC-Santa Barbara (Big West) |
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3 seed vs 14 seed |
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Ohio State vs Wofford (Southern) |
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Pittsburgh vs Weber State (Big Sky) |
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Villanova vs Sam Houston St (Southland) |
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Tennessee vs Oakland (Summit) |
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4 seed vs 13 seed |
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Butler (Horizon) vs Murray State (Ohio Valley) |
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Vanderbilt vs Kent State (MAC) |
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Temple vs Arizona State |
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BYU vs Mississippi |
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5 seed vs 12 seed |
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Wisconsin vs Florida |
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Georgetown vs Memphis |
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Michigan State vs Cornell (Ivy) |
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Maryland vs San Diego State |
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6 seed vs 11 seed |
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Gonzaga vs Notre Dame |
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Xavier vs Georgia Tech |
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Baylor vs St. Mary’s |
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Texas A&M vs Siena (MAAC) |
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7 seed vs 10 seed |
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Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) vs Virginia Tech |
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Richmond vs Marquette |
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Florida State vs Oklahoma State |
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Clemson vs Utah State – WAC |
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8 seed vs 9 seed |
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Texas vs California |
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UTEP vs UNLV |
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Missouri vs Louisville |
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Wake Forest vs Old Dominion (Colonial) |
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Last Four Out |
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UAB |
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Illinois |
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Rhode Island |
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Dayton |
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Next Four Out |
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Mississippi State |
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Seton Hall |
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Washington |
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South Florida |
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Also Considered |
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Wichita State |
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Minnesota |
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Connecticut |
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