Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 27

Here are Chris and Craig's Field of 65 for Feb. 27:

The Breakdown
Every week it gets harder and harder to find 65 teams.

Big Conferences
The Big East has become a big mess. Four teams (ND, Pitt, G'town, and WVU) are on the bubble now. ND is in the best shape out of all of them. The only reason they are in this position is because of their loss at home against UCLA Sunday. They still have a good chance to get to 10-6 in conference with two home games remaining (Rutgers and Pitt) and should be fine. Pitt in next in line because of their 3 game losing streak. Their out of conference schedule was very weak which gives them a lousy RPI; it also doesn't help that they lost to WVU twice. But they have beaten Syracuse twice and won at UConn. They do have the toughest schedule remaining (@BC, @ND). They need to win one to get to 9-7 in conference and if they do it should be enough to get them in especially considering their strength of schedule in the Big East. G'town and WVU both sit in about the same boat. G'town has a 3 game losing streak and a lousy RPI because of some bad losses out of conference. What they have going for them is a 4-5 mark against the top 8 in the Big East. They should be able to get to 9-7 since they have a home game against Providence left. After that they'll need to win at least a game in the conference tourney and hope there aren't to many upsets elsewhere. WVU has been on a roll lately winning 7 of 9, they have a decent RPI, and have some good wins out of conference. Their problem is they have played an easy Big East schedule and have only one big win (Pitt). They finish up at Seton Hall, and if they win that and one game in the Big East tourney they basically sit in the same boat as G'town, except with a stronger finish.

The ACC cleared up a little bit this week. Georgia Tech's win against Miami was huge for them and devastating for Miami. Virginia Tech and N.C. State have the best chances of getting the sixth bid out of the league but both have some work to do. Maryland needs a win at Virginia Tech this week to finish .500 in conference and feel safe about their chances. The ACC tourney should be interesting because if VT, N.C. St., or Miami can manage to win 2 games then they will have a good shot at a bid.

Iowa St. really took a huge step backwards this week. They need to win their last two conference games and get to 9-7 in conference or all of their bad losses will come back to haunt them. Texas A&M gave itself a big boost by beating Iowa St. The problem is they need to win at Oklahoma St. to have a chance at 9 conference wins. Right now Iowa St. is has a better chance at a bid because of their big wins. Houston got the last at-large bid. They have won six of seven including wins over TCU and Memphis and if they can win out (@Marquette, UAB) and get to 11-5 in conference they should get in. Indiana needs one more big win, which it can get at Wisconsin this week or in the Big 10 tourney, to get in the tourney since right now their record is a ugly 14-11. Vanderbilt is still getting some consideration and with a 2 win week could see its name in the bracket next week.

Small Conferences
The MAC is another big mess. We still think Miami-Ohio and Buffalo are the two best teams in the conference, but the conferences chances for two bids are fading with everyone beating everyone else up so much. Buffalo and Miami-Ohio (despite a solid RPI) both need to win out probably until the conference finals to have a chance at an at-large. Bottom line: There is still a ton of basketball yet to be played in the MAC.

We still like Creighton to win the MVC conference tourney. They have beaten Wichita St. twice and will do so again in the conference semis. For the second straight week we will probably be the only people without Wichita St. in and we are fine with that.

UTEP played itself into the bracket this week by winning three games. They need to still win out till the conference tourney final and at least have a strong showing against Nevada to get a bid. We no longer think St. Joe's has what it takes to win the A-10 conference tourney (see their loss at Rhode Island). GW needs to win out until the tourney championship game to hold on to an at-large. New Mexico has helped its at-large chances this week with its win over Utah, and if they can win out till the conference title game they hold on to slim hopes for an at-large bid.

Conference Breakdown
Big East (8), Big XII (6), ACC (5), SEC (5), C-USA (5), Big Ten (4), PAC-10 (4), MAC (2), MVC (2), WAC (2), WCC (2).

Last Four In
UTEP, Buffalo, Iowa State, Houston

Last Four Out
Wichita State, Indiana, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech

The Field Of 65

America East
Vermont

A-10
George Washington

ACC
North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech

Atlantic Sun
Central Florida

Big 12
Oklahoma St., Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Iowa State

Big East
Boston College, Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, West Virginia

Big Sky
Portland State

Big South
Winthrop

Big Ten
Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Big West
Pacific

Colonial
Old Dominion

C-USA
Louisville, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Houston

Horizon
Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy
PENN

MAAC
Rider

MCC
Oral Roberts

MAC
Miami-Ohio, Buffalo

MEAC
Coppin St.

MVC
Southern Illinois, Creighton

MWC
Utah

Northeast
Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley
Tennessee Tech

PAC-10
Arizona, Washington, Stanford, UCLA

Patriot
Holy Cross

SEC
Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida

Southern
Davidson

Southland
SE Louisiana

SWAC
Alabama A&M

Sun Belt
Denver

WCC
Gonzaga, St. Mary's

WAC
Nevada, UTEP

*Note - In the conferences where mulitple bids were given the first place team was given the automatic bid. In the case of a tie, overall record was the tiebreaker.

The Seeds

The 1s
Illinois, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Kansas

The 2s
Boston College, Duke, Kentucky, Washington

The 3s
Oklahoma State, Arizona, Gonzaga, Louisville

The 4s
Michigan State, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Syracuse

The 5s
Charlotte, Utah, Wisconsin, Alabama

The 6s
Cincinnati, Pacific, Villanova, Southern Illinois

The 7s
LSU, Nevada, Florida, Texas Tech

The 8s
Mississippi State, DePaul, UCLA, Texas

The 9s
Maryland, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh

The 10s
Holy Cross, Minnesota, St. Mary's, Stanford

The 11s
George Washington, Georgetown, West Virginia, Miami-Ohio

The 12s
UTEP, Buffalo, Vermont, Iowa State

The 13s
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Houston, Creighton, Old Dominion

The 14s
PENN, Davidson, Winthrop, Denver

The 15s
Oral Roberts, Rider, SE Louisiana, Central Florida

The 16s
Portland State, Tennessee Tech, Coppin St., Alabama A&M (Play-In Game), Fairleigh Dickinson (Play-In Game)

CAPS denotes automatic bid earned.

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Questions For The Competition

This is the latest edition of our popular weekly feature, where we call out our fellow bracketologists (including ourselves) and question why some teams are in, why some teams are out, and why some teams are seeded where they are seeded. It appears, just by looking at our rivals' predictions, that our questions and picks from last week have influenced their share of brackets.

This week's questions:

Joe Lunardi (ESPN)
Memphis wins two games and goes down a spot? Sounds like someone read last week's questions...
Should we really have to pay to read 90% of your site?
UAB last four out? West Virginia nowhere to be found?

Stewart Mandel (CNNSI)
What dorm did you live in at Marquette?
Miami over Virginia Tech? How is this possible?

Tony Mejia (CBS Sportsline)
How about a Monday update? Once?
Why so much faith in UTEP? Must be their recent hot streak.

Jerry Palm (CollegeRPI)
Are you and Lunardi waging some sort of Insider war?
Why do you rip Vanderbilt on the radio, and yet have them in this week's bracket?
ODU goes from a 6 to a 13? You're welcome for the advice.

David Mihm (Bracketography)
Where'd you get that Buffalo idea from?
I don't remember where I heard about Iowa State first...oh wait, yeah I do. Bracketology 101 - three days before you "broke the news."
Did you room with Mandel at Marquette?

Chris and Craig (Bracketology 101)
Which one of you went to Buffalo and which one of you went to Creighton?
How are those Oklahoma State and N.C. State picks working out for you?

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 20

Here are Chris and Craig's Field of 65 for Feb. 20:

The Breakdown
Big Conferences…The ACC has become a big mess. Georgia Tech saved itself winning at Florida State and should be able to get to 8-8 in conference so they hang on. Virginia Tech had a huge week and has the best chance of any of the ACC bubble teams to get to 9-7. Their RPI is still 100 but it will continue to improve. N.C. State also had a big week with its win over Maryland. Their two wins over Georgia Tech and Maryland is what lands them here this week. Their RPI is also poor but they have some good opportunities to get another big win and get to 8-8. Miami, who does have a decent RPI, will have a hard time getting in since they lost to Virginia Tech twice and with their schedule they probably won’t be able to get to 8-8 in conference. We still are not believers in Memphis. Their RPI should improve with the schedule they have upcoming but they will need to win 3 out of their remaining 4 (at Charlotte, Louisville, at Saint Louis, Cincinnati) to get a bid, which we don’t think is possible. If West Virginia can pull out a victory at Pitt that would put them in the bracket next week, especially considering their remaining games. South Carolina is back on the bubble but they will have trouble finishing any better then 8-8 in conference, which won’t be enough to get them in.

Small Conferences….People may be surprised to see Creighton in the bracket this week. They were given the automatic bid out of the MVC. Wichita State is no longer looking good for an at-large bid and their schedule does not get any easier, while Southern Illinois has got one almost locked up. History forced us to give the MVC two bids. In the past 6 years the regular season conference champion has lost in the conference tourney and still gotten an at-large bid. In the last 2 years, Southern Illinois has been that regular season conference champion. If Buffalo can finish up strong they have the best chance of being the #2 team out of the MAC. George Washington and St. Mary’s need to take care of business on the road this week if they want to see their names here next week. UTEP's loss at Pacific hurts; they have an easy schedule left but we think they won't get thru it unscathed. They have slim hopes for an at-large if they get through the rest of the season without losing until facing Nevada in the conference championship. If Nevada or Pacific falter in their conference tournaments then they will be stealing bids from the big conferences because they are near locks for at-large bids.

Conference Breakdown
Big East (7), ACC (7), Big XII (6), SEC (5), C-USA (4), Big Ten (4), PAC-10 (4), A-10 (2), MAC (2), MVC (2), WCC (2).

Last Four In
Minnesota, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Buffalo

Last Four Out
Miami-Fla., Memphis, West Virginia, South Carolina

The Field Of 65

America East
Vermont

A-10
George Washington, St. Joseph's

ACC
North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State

Atlantic Sun
Gardner-Webb

Big 12
Oklahoma St., Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Iowa State

Big East
Boston College, Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Notre Dame, Georgetown

Big Sky
Portland State

Big South
Winthrop

Big Ten
Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Big West
Pacific

Colonial
Old Dominion

C-USA
Louisville, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul

Horizon
Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy
Penn

MAAC
Niagara

MCC
Oral Roberts

MAC
Miami-Ohio, Buffalo

MEAC
Coppin St.

MVC
Southern Illinois, Creighton

MWC
Utah

Northeast
Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley
Tennessee Tech

PAC-10
Arizona, Washington, Stanford, UCLA

Patriot
Holy Cross

SEC
Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida

Southern
Davidson

Southland
SE Louisiana

SWAC
Alabama A&M

Sun Belt
Denver

WCC
Gonzaga, St. Mary's

WAC
Nevada

*Note - In the conferences where mulitple bids were given the first place team was given the automatic bid. In the case of a tie, overall record was the tiebreaker.

The Seeds

The 1s
Illinois, North Carolina, Boston College, Oklahoma State

The 2s
Wake Forest, Kansas, Duke, Arizona

The 3s
Kentucky, Washington, Gonzaga, Michigan State

The 4s
Alabama, Utah, Wisconsin, Connecticut

The 5s
Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Charlotte

The 6s
Oklahoma, Pacific, Southern Illinois, Cincinnati

The 7s
Villanova, Nevada, Texas Tech, Notre Dame

The 8s
Florida, Maryland, LSU, Texas

The 9s
Mississippi State, DePaul, Iowa State, Miami-Ohio

The 10s
Georgia Tech, George Washington, Georgetown, Stanford

The 11s
St. Mary's, Vermont, UCLA, Minnesota

The 12s
North Carolina State, Buffalo, Virginia Tech, Holy Cross

The 13s
Old Dominion, St. Joseph's, Creighton, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The 14s
Niagara, Penn, Winthrop, Davidson

The 15s
Denver, Oral Roberts, SE Louisiana, Portland State

The 16s
Tennessee Tech, Coppin St., Gardner-Webb, Alabama A&M (Play-In Game), Fairleigh Dickinson (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Questions For The Competition

This is the first edition of a new weekly feature to Bracketology 101, where we call out our fellow bracketologists (including ourselves) and question why some teams are in, why some teams are out, and why some teams are seeded where they are seeded. The questions are based on original weekly picks, not on what has happened since picks were posted.

This week's questions:

Joe Lunardi (ESPN)
Can Indiana get a couple games above .500 before they reach "Last 4 Out" status?
Where's Iowa State and Arkansas? Behind Western Kentucky and UL-Lafayette?
How is Memphis a #9 seed?

Stewart Mandel (CNNSI)
What year did you graduate from Marquette?
UTEP and Nevada both a 12?

Tony Mejia (CBS Sportsline)
Did Memphis crack the RPI top 100 yet? (Nope - 109)
Iowa State - at large and bubble burst?
How about a Monday - and not a Wednesday - update?

Jerry Palm (CollegeRPI)
West Virginia "Last 4 Out"?
Would ODU ever get a #6 seed?

David Mihm (Bracketography)
If the season "ended today," how would TCU, Boston University, and Kent State be in?
Wichita State a 6 seed?
How does Iowa go from out to in? A "gutsy" loss and a win at home over a .500 team? Really, that gets them in?

Chris and Craig (Bracketology 101)
Why do you still have faith in UAB? Is it all those wins over Top 50 RPI teams?
Why did the first believers in LSU jump ship so quickly?

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 14

Here are Chris and Craig's Field of 65 for Feb. 14:

The Breakdown
Quite a few changes from last week's picks. With less then 3 weeks left until conference tourney time we really looked ahead at the remaining schedules for each bubble team. However the seeding is always done based upon what each teams has done so far. Bracket Buster Saturday will be huge.

Big Conferences....Iowa St. has come out of no where to win 5 straight including games over Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. With their remaining schedule they should finish at least 9-7 in conference if not 10-6. Their RPI is still weak but that should continue to improve with each win. Stanford really benefited from ASU's collapse this week and even though they lost their leading scorer they should be able to get to 10-8 in conference which would give them a bid. Minnesota nearly played themselves out of the tourney this week losing two winnable games but they hung on because of their medicore remaining schedule. LSU and Arkansas both need to get some more marquee wins and are hurt by the weakness of the SEC this year. It will be tough for Arkansas to get over .500 in conference and the way LSU is playing right now doesn't bode well given their remaining schedule. With Iowa already being 4-6 in conference it is going to be very tough for them to finish any better then 7-9 in conference with what they have left.

Small Conferences....UTEP is barely hanging on but their remaining conference games are all winnable and they have a chance to prove themselves worthy at Pacific on Saturday. Seeing St. Joe's and BU in the bracket this week might be surprising to many of you. But we are standing by our words from last week when we said more small conference teams will be given bids to make the bracket more realistic, so both teams are in as automatic bids this week. BU proved they can beat Vermont this week and even if they don't beat them in the conference championship if things break their way they have a legitimate shot at an at-large bid as long as they win out. St. Joes has no chance at an at-large bid but with GW looking more like an at-large lock its more likely to see another team come out of the A-10. St. Joes is looking like the team that has the best shot to knock GW off in the conference tourney. If Xavier gets hot watch for them since they A-10 conference tourney is in Cinci. In the coming weeks the MAC may be able to secure another spot in our bracket. We expect another team from the MAC East to step up in the remaining weeks to join Miami-Ohio as a second bid out of a relatively strong conference.

Conference Breakdown
Big East (7), ACC (6), Big XII (6), C-USA (5), Big Ten (4), SEC (4), PAC-10 (4), A-10 (2), America East (2), MVC (2), WAC (2), WCC (2).

Last Four In
UTEP, Minnesota, Iowa State, Stanford

Last Four Out
LSU, Arkansas, Iowa, TCU

The Field Of 65

America East
Vermont, Boston University

A-10
George Washington, St. Joseph's

ACC
North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Miami-Fla.

Atlantic Sun
Gardner-Webb

Big 12
Oklahoma St., Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Iowa State

Big East
Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown

Big Sky
Portland State

Big South
Winthrop

Big Ten
Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Big West
Pacific

Colonial
Old Dominion

C-USA
Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Charlotte, UAB

Horizon
Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy
Penn

MAAC
Niagara

MCC
Oral Roberts

MAC
Miami-Ohio

MEAC
Coppin St.

MVC
Southern Illinois, Wichita State

MWC
Utah

Northeast
Monmouth

Ohio Valley
Samford

PAC-10
Arizona, Washington, UCLA, Stanford

Patriot
Holy Cross

SEC
Kentucky, Alabama, Miss. St., Florida

Southern
Davidson

Southland
SE Louisiana

SWAC
Alabama A&M

Sun Belt
Western Kentucky

WCC
Gonzaga, St. Mary's

WAC
Nevada, UTEP

*Note - In the conferences where mulitple bids were given the first place team was given the automatic bid. In the case of a tie, overall record was the tiebreaker.

The Seeds

The 1s
Illinois, Kansas, Wake Forest, North Carolina

The 2s
Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Duke, Boston College

The 3s
Syracuse, Arizona, Washington, Gonzaga

The 4s
Michigan State, Alabama, Utah, Wisconsin

The 5s
Connecticut, Louisville, Maryland, Pittsburgh

The 6s
Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, DePaul

The 7s
Florida, Pacific, Charlotte, Georgetown

The 8s
Texas Tech, Southern Illinois, Villanova, Nevada

The 9s
Texas, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Wichita State

The 10s
George Washington, Vermont, UCLA, St. Mary's

The 11s
Miami-Fla, UAB, Minnesota, Stanford

The 12s
Miami-Ohio, Old Dominion, UTEP, Iowa State

The 13s
St. Joseph's, Boston University, Holy Cross, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The 14s
Niagara, Penn, Western Kentucky, Davidson

The 15s
Winthrop, Portland State, SE Louisiana, Oral Roberts

The 16s
Gardner-Webb, Samford, Coppin St., Alabama A&M (Play-In Game), Monmouth (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket graphic courtesy Matt Reeves.

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 7

Here are Chris and Craig's Bracketology 101 selections for Feb. 7:

The Breakdown
Not too many changes from last week. The reason that Marquette gets a bid this week is because they have 2 winnable road games this week and a favorable schedule after that (since they have only one more road game left). Stanford who we have left out has a similar situation with only 2 road games left and could very well finish up 6-1 in Pac-10 play, but Marquette gets the nod over them because of their better out of conference play and overall record. LSU hangs on for another week because they have 2 winnable conference games this week. Texas A&M continues to be plagued by their low RPI. Notre Dame really could have used that win at Syracuse on Saturday. Things don't get any easier for them with BC coming in and playing at Pitt this week. We think ND can pull off an upset in one of these games but if they can't, then don't expect to see them here next week. Having the toughest Big East schedule in the league will help there RPI and make up for a weak out of conference showing but if that leads to a .500 or worse conference record they will be left out of the dance.

Mid-Major/Small Conference ramblings....There are a number of teams coming from one bid conferences right now that have a good chance of getting an at large bid if they did not win their conference tourneys. Utah and Pacific (unless they get screwed like Utah St. did last year) should both receive at-large berths, while Vermont and GW also have resumes that would land them on the bubble. Every year upsets happen in conference tourney's which end up costing the big conferences at-large berths and we don't expect this year to be any different. Starting next week we will try to predict some of the potential upsets by looking at past conference tourney history and by looking at the venues where conference tourney's are being held this year. This will give a more realistic bracket in terms of the number of at-large berths that the big conferences will be fighting for.

Conference Breakdown
Big East (7), ACC (6), C-USA (6), Big XII (5), Big Ten (5), SEC (5), PAC-10 (4), MVC (2), WAC (2), WCC (2).

Last Four In
UTEP, Miami-Fla., LSU, Marquette

Last Four Out
Texas A&M, South Carolina, Stanford, Boston University

The Field Of 65

America East
Vermont

A-10
George Washington

ACC
North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami-Fla.

Atlantic Sun
Gardner-Webb

Big 12
Oklahoma St., Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech

Big East
Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown

Big Sky
Portland State

Big South
Winthrop

Big Ten
Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota

Big West
Pacific

Colonial
Old Dominion

C-USA
Cincinnati, Louisville, Charlotte, DePaul, UAB, Marquette

Horizon
Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy
Penn

MAAC
Rider

MCC
UMKC

MAC
Miami-Ohio

MEAC
Coppin St.

MVC
Southern Ill., Wichita State

MWC
Utah

Northeast
Monmouth

Ohio Valley
Samford

PAC-10
Washington, Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State

Patriot
Holy Cross

SEC
Kentucky, Miss. St., Alabama, Florida, LSU

Southern
Davidson

Southland
SE Louisiana

SWAC
Alabama A&M

Sun Belt
Denver

WCC
Gonzaga, St. Mary's

WAC
UTEP, Nevada

*Note - In the conferences where mulitple bids were given the first place team was given the automatic bid. In the case of a tie, overall record was the tiebreaker.

The Seeds

The 1s
Illinois, Boston College, North Carolina, Kansas

The 2s
Wake Forest, Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma State

The 3s
Syracuse, Washington, Louisville, Arizona

The 4s
Oklahoma, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Wisconsin

The 5s
Cincinnati, Alabama, Utah, Pittsburgh

The 6s
Connecticut, Texas Tech, Texas, Mississippi State

The 7s
Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Pacific, Florida

The 8s
Villanova, Wichita State, Maryland, Georgetown

The 9s
Southern Illinois, St. Mary's, Charlotte, Depaul

The 10s
Vermont, Nevada, UAB, Iowa

The 11s
George Washington, Notre Dame, UCLA, Arizona State

The 12s
Miami-Ohio, LSU, UTEP, Miami-Fla.

The 13s
Marquette, Holy Cross, Old Dominion, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The 14s
Rider, Penn, Denver, Davidson

The 15s
Winthrop, Portland State, SE Louisiana, Gardner-Webb

The 16s
UMKC, Samford, Coppin St., Alabama A&M (Play-In Game), Monmouth (Play-In Game)