Here is our final Bracketology before the brackets our revealed on CBS in under an hour. This is my first year doing this, and my one lesson is to start bracketing much earlier on Sunday. I had two final versions, one where Michigan wins the Big Ten title and one where they lost to Michigan State. It was a lot more work than I expected building both. I give props to the committee for the work they do in the selection process.
You’ll see the big change in my bracket from yesterday is the final 1-seed. I’ve got Virginia taking that spot, as the 1-seed in the East region. I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that placement, but after winning the ACC regular season and tournament title, combined with other contenders dropping games in the last week, I think this is what the committee will do. The other big difference between my bracket and others is the inclusion of Green Bay over SMU. This is a bit of a risk, but the committee has shown a tendency to take a liking to one mid-major every week to send to Dayton. I think Green Bay is that pet team this season. And I think SMU, with their terrible non-conference schedule and lack of Top-100 wins on their resume, will be the surprise team left out of the field this season.
Okay, onto the final bracket. See below for a PDF and PNG link to our final bracket. Below those links is our final 1-to-68 seed list, Last 4 IN, First 4 OUT, and Next 4 OUT. Bids by conference are also below.
Final Bracketology – March 16 (PDF Link – CLICK HERE)
Final Bracketology – March 16 (PNG Image Link – CLICK HERE)
- 1 – Florida, Arizona, Wichita State, Virginia
- 2 – Michigan, Wisconsin, Villanova, Kansas
- 3 – Iowa State, Duke, Louisville, Creighton
- 4 – Syracuse, San Diego State, Michigan State, Cincinnati
- 5 – UCLA, Ohio State, Oklahoma, North Carolina
- 6 – UConn, New Mexico, VCU, Baylor
- 7 – Kentucky, Texas, St. Louis, UMass
- 8 – Oregon, Memphis, George Washington, Oklahoma State
- 9 – Gonzaga, Colorado, Kansas State, Stanford
- 10 – Pittsburgh, Arizona State, St. Joseph’s, Iowa
- 11 – Harvard, Nebraska, Tennessee, Providence
- 12 – BYU, Dayton, Xavier, Green Bay, North Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin
- 13 – Tulsa, Delaware, Manhattan, Western Michigan
- 14 – Mercer, New Mexico State, UL-Lafayette, North Carolina Central
- 15 – Eastern Kentucky, American, Milwaukee, Weber State
- 16 – Coastal Carolina, Wofford, Albany, Texas Southern, Mount St. Mary’s, Cal Poly
- Last 4 IN: BYU, Dayton, Xavier, Green Bay
- First 4 OUT: SMU, Minnesota, California, Arkansas
- Next 4 OUT: NC State, Southern Miss, Florida State, Toledo
Breakdown by Conference:
- Big 12: 7
- Big Ten: 6
- Pac-12: 6
- A-10: 6
- ACC: 5
- American: 4
- Big East: 4
- SEC: 3
- Mountain West: 2
- West Coast: 2
- Horizon: 2
As always, check out The Bracket Matrix. He’ll have his grading system posted later tonight or early tomorrow morning I believe. It’ll be interested to see where we fall in our first year of doing this.