The regular season has officially come to an end, and the remaining conference tournaments are set. Kansas won another Big 12 regular season championship. Florida State outlasted Duke, Louisville and Virginia. Creighton beat Seton Hall for the Big East title. After all the craziness in the Pac-12, Oregon came away with the regular season championship. Cincinnati outlasted Houston and Tulsa. Kentucky won the SEC a week ago and with the biggest surprise of them all, Wisconsin clinched the Big Ten’s 1 seed yesterday when Maryland won.
Utah State pulled the upset at the Mountain West Conference and handed San Diego State their second loss this season and won’t have to sweat it out on Selection Sunday. As for the Aztecs, they’re the 2 seed in the West and there’s a new team on the 1 line. Cincinnati won’t be on the bubble until if and when they lose a game in the American because the Bearcats have the 1 seed. That knocked Tulsa out of the field, but the Golden Hurricanes are firmly on the bubble. The other auto bids rewarded this past weekend were Liberty, Belmont, Bradley and Winthrop. The Bradley Braves were the last team standing in Arch Madness, which means we’ll be debating Northern Iowa’s at-large possibilities until Sunday.
Texas Tech lost a respectable game to Kansas, but my adjusted winning percentage for them fell below what Florida’s was last season, which was the lowest among at-large teams last season. I’m only using one year of data with this tool, but I’m hoping it’s enough. Texas Tech will need two wins in the Big 12 Tournament to get in.
The Longhorns and Red Raiders play in the 2nd round of the Big 12 Tournament and that’ll basically be for a bid. UCLA entered the field midweek when I didn’t publish a bracket, but the Bruins stay alive even with a loss on Saturday. Same goes with Stanford. Welcome to the field, Richmond. Your win over the Big Ten champions help. The rest of the bubble is a fun little mess. Archie Miller and Big Bird aren’t quite on the play-in line and Rutgers should be pretty safe. But beating Michigan on Thursday in Indianapolis will for sure do it for the Scarlet Knights.
The next bracket will come Wednesday morning and then every morning through Selection Sunday. I work my last shift today through Selection Sunday. Peyton has appointments all day tomorrow in Milwaukee to make sure her stomach is doing fine. So I’m Sorry, Erik. I’m glad there isn’t a full slate of afternoon basketball until Wednesday.
Continue to check us all out on Bracket Matrix because we’re the most knowledgeable humans beings this time of year.
Midwest
1 Kansas
16 Prairie View A&M/NC Central
8 LSU
9 USC
5 Ohio State
12 UCLA/Richmond
4 Louisville
13 North Texas
6 Colorado
11 East Tennessee State
3 Michigan State
14 Eastern Washington
7 Virginia
10 Oklahoma
2 Creighton
15 North Dakota State
South
1 Baylor
16 Siena/Robert Morris
8 Providence
9 Arizona State
5 West Virginia
12 Yale
4 Wisconsin
13 Akron
6 Iowa
11 Stanford/Texas
3 Seton Hall
14 Colgate
7 Illinois
10 Xavier
2 Florida State
15 Little Rock
West
1 Gonzaga
16 UC Irvine
8 Florida
9 Marquette
5 Auburn
12 Vermont
4 Oregon
13 Stephen F. Austin
6 Penn State
11 Utah State
3 Duke
14 Belmont
7 Houston
10 Rutgers
2 San Diego State
15 Wright State
East
1 Dayton
16 Winthrop
8 Saint Mary’s
9 Michigan
5 Butler
12 Liberty
4 Kentucky
13 New Mexico State
6 BYU
11 Cincinnati
3 Maryland
14 Bradley
7 Arizona
10 Indiana
2 Villanova
15 Hofstra
Last 4 byes
Rutgers
Indiana
Xavier
Oklahoma
Last 4 in
Stanford
UCLA
Texas
Richmond
First 4 out
Texas Tech
NC State
Wichita State
South Carolina
Next 4 out
Memphis
Mississippi State
Rhode Island
Saint Louis