Bracketology 101's Book Pick: "Cinderella"

It's rare at B101 that we outwardly promote or endorse the work of others (or endorse books at all for that matter), but if you're a college basketball fan looking for a fix between now and Thursday's regionals, or if you just love rooting for the little guy, Michael Litos' book "Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball" is a must-read.

Here's a quick preview from the publisher: "Cinderella" is an inside look at the NCAA's mid-major basketball programs, which fight for one shot to battle the association's elite teams for the national championship. The rise of mid-majors has been one of the biggest sport stories of the past few years, and never more so than now.

Litos spent the 2005-06 season on the frontlines of the Colonial Athletic Association. With complete access to coaches and players, he found expected tales of pressure and passion. He also found the unexpected: a player being shot; another accused and eventually acquitted of rape. And he was there for George Mason's historic run to the Final Four.

In what was dubbed "The Year of the Mid-major," Cinderella delivers the ultimate story of what it means to be an underdog, and how the sport of college basketball is being transformed.
The book includes a foreword by ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

You can read more about "Cinderella" or order a copy by clicking here or here.

Bracketology 101's Final Four Picks

Here are Bracketology 101's Final Four picks. To see our complete brackets, join our ESPN Tournament Challenge group (see post below). Enjoy the games...

Chris's Final Four

Championship Game: Florida over Georgetown

Craig's Final Four

Championship Game: Florida over Ohio State

Matt's Final Four

Championship Game: Texas A&M over Florida

Bracketology 101's Tournament Challenge

Now that the brackets have finally been announced, do you want to see how your NCAA Tournament picks stack up against the guys from B101? Sign up for Bracketology 101's Tournament Challenge group at ESPN.com.

Private Group: B101's Bracket Challenge
Password: b101

JOIN BRACKETOLOGY 101's TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE GROUP NOW!

Bracketology 101's Final Review

We know everyone is already looking ahead to the tournament and filling out their brackets, but here is our final look back at B101's "season".

Leading up to Selection Sunday we feel that our projection-prediction method was once again the most realistic and reliable way to project the field. Before conference tournaments started, and in most cases much before that, we already had 2 out of the 3 eventual bid stealers (WAC, Horizon, A-10) in our bracket. We had Wright State in the bracket since February 26, and we had New Mexico State in every bracket since December 26. We were also a week ahead of other brackets in giving Kansas a 1 seed and in taking Missouri State out of the field completely. Hopefully more bracketologists will start using our method (and not the traditional "season ending today" model) in the future, so that fans have a better idea of their team's chances as the amount of bubble spots available inevitably shrinks during championship week.

As for the final bracket, we are once again happy with our success in seeding the field compared to other bracketologists. We were very pleased to have predicted all of the 1 and 2 seeds correct, considering it was a much harder decision this year than most. We are also pleased with our number of exact seeds and teams within one seed line. In both of those statistics, we did considerably better, or at least the same, as the other "major" bracketologists.

Our biggest regret is changing our mind on Selection Sunday and including 3 teams from the CAA for the first time all season. We were never a huge fan of Drexel all week and unfortunately we ended up riding the wave of support that was being generated for the team throughout the weekend. We should have thought with our heads more and tried to get into the minds of the committee instead of using our hearts.

This year's committee once again seemed to put a lot of importance on the strength of the conference. We don't think they are sitting in a room and saying that we need to have so many teams from this conference and so many from this one, but a major reason why the committee may have included Arkansas over Syracuse is because they were not about to put 7 teams in from the 5th rated conference and only 4 teams in from the 2nd rated conference. The same could be said for the potential 3 teams out of the 13th rated Colonial.

In the end, it was another exciting and successful season for B101. We'd like to thank all the fans for their comments, e-mails, and contributions to the site. The insight, questions, and analysis that you brought to the site were impressive all season long. We also want to thank our resident geographical genius Matt Reeves for his tireless work each week in compiling the bracket.

Enjoy the tournament. We'll be making periodic updates throughout, starting Wednesday with our complete brackets and Final Four picks.

Chris and Craig
Bracketology 101

Bracketology 101's Final Bracket Stats

Here are our final numbers for this year's bracket:

Teams correct: 63/65
Exact Seeds: 27/65
Seeds Within One Of Seed Line: 52/65

For a complete breakdown of how every bracketologist did in predicting the field, click here:

http://bracketproject.atspace.com/comparison.htm

Looking around a little bit, we did very well compared to most (especially Lunardi - he cheated, still did terrible, and then lied about it on TV, saying he got 55 of 65 teams within a seed line when in reality he got 48 of 65). Congrats to Bracket Project for being the only bracket to got 64 out of 65 and for having the most exact seeds with 34. CBS Sportsline also had a strong showing in all three stat categories.

Overall we are a little disappointed and kicking ourselves for leaving Illinois out for Drexel. We thought it might be difficult for the committee to leave a 29 RPI out from a major conference and I guess it was. We went with Drexel because we thought the committee would give a little more love to the small conferences and in the back of their minds would be George Mason's run from last year out of the CAA. We also should have just copied Lunardi's Arkansas last minute inclusion (just like last year with George Mason). It really wouldn't have made a difference though because we wouldn't have taken Syracuse out to include them anyways.

There are a few seedings we are kicking ourselves about. We had Duke the top 8 and they ended up getting a 6. We should have put them a 7 so we'd only be one spot off. Also we seriously considered Eastern Kentucky being a 16 (our last 15) and North Texas a 15 (our first 16).

As for the committee some of their seeds we think are way off (Butler, UNLV, Indiana, Purdue) but there is always going to be some teams. The committee really seemed to use the Conference RPI in their decision making. For example, the SEC got 5 bids because they are the 2nd rated conference, while the Big East only got 6 out of 16 because they are the 5th rated conference. There are also some examples in the seedings of where a conference RPI is the only thing that justifies a seed.

Running Commentary On The Bracket

Got all the 1s!!!!

With Purdue a 9 seed, we like Illinois' chances...

Not feeling too good about Stanford or Drexel right now...

How does Butler get a 5 and Wright State a 14???

REALLY doesn't look good for Drexel....

The committee loves the Big Ten...

Wouldn't be shocked if FSU made it now...

And Lunardi CHEATS AGAIN!!!!! Arkansas in....unbelievable....

Syracuse needs to be worried with how the Big East has been seeded so far...

How did Michigan State and Purdue both get 9s??

It's down to Syracuse, Stanford, Drexel, Kansas State, and Florida State for the last bid...

Bracketology 101's Final Field of 65

The Breakdown
Here is Bracketology 101's FINAL Field of 65.

Conference Breakdown
ACC (7), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), Colonial (3), A-10 (2), Horizon (2), MWC (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)

Last Four In
Texas Tech, Stanford, Drexel, Purdue

Last Four Out
Illinois, Kansas State, Air Force, Florida State

Next Four Out
West Virginia, Missouri State, Arkansas, Appalachian State

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, North Carolina, Florida, Kansas

The 2s
UCLA, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Memphis

The 3s
Oregon, Pittsburgh, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M

The 4s
Washington State, Maryland, Texas, UNLV

The 5s
Notre Dame, Louisville, Tennessee, Virginia Tech

The 6s
USC, Marquette, Nevada, Virginia

The 7s
BYU, Arizona, Creighton, Boston College

The 8s
Duke, Butler, Villanova, Vanderbilt

The 9s
Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan State, Xavier

The 10s
Georgia Tech, VCU, Winthrop, Syracuse

The 11s
Gonzaga, Old Dominion, Texas Tech, Drexel

The 12s
Stanford, Purdue, New Mexico State, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, George Washington, Holy Cross, Penn

The 14s
Miami (OH), Oral Roberts, Long Beach State, Albany

The 15s
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Niagara, Eastern Kentucky

The 16s
North Texas, Weber State, Central Connecticut State, Jackson State (Play-In Game), Florida A&M (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
Bracketology 101's Final Field of 65



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com.

Bracketology 101's Selection Sunday Schedule

All times are Eastern and approximate.

12:30 PM - B101 posts 1-4 and 14-16 seed lines

1:00 PM - Live One Hour Online Chat (link will be posted)

3:00 PM - B101 posts 5-10 seed lines

3:30 PM - B101 posts 11-13 seed lines

5:00 PM - Live Online Chat until Selection Show (6:00PM)


Here is B1o1's schedule of events for the big day. Today we will be preparing our final bracket and will not be posting a new bracket until Sunday and we will try to do so by following the above schedule. We will still answer all questions and comments posted.

Bubble Breakdown

Friday's chaos actually made the picture a little bit clearer. The A-10 will send a bid stealer to the dance (Xavier is safe for a bid) so that eliminated one bid. We anticipated a WAC bid stealer so Nevada losing does not affect our bracket. Here is how we see things breaking on the bubble going into tomorrow.

Everyone that was a nine seed or better in Friday's bracket is still safe for a bid. Georgia Tech we will consider safe on the 10 line. We will throw Texas Tech into the group of bubble teams only because of the fact that Kansas State blew them out and because Oklahoma State is still alive in the Big 12 tourney. Here is our list of bubble teams fighting for the final 6 at-large bids...
Texas Tech
Old Dominion
Purdue
Kansas State
Illinois
Syracuse
Stanford
Air Force
Drexel
Missouri State
West Virginia
Florida State
Arkansas/Mississippi State winner

We see no one outside of this group having a chance for an at-large bid. Right now if we were to pick six from this list we would probably go with Texas Tech, Old Dominion, Purdue, Illinois, Kansas State, and Syracuse. We are expecting Kansas State, Purdue and Illinois to all lose today and so long as these losses are not embarrassing it should not hurt them too much. As games play out today things will likely become clearer.

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 9

The Breakdown
Enough overtime games for you on Thursday? And after all of that the same 65 teams remain in our bracket. The bubble teams waiting around (ODU, Missouri State, and Drexel) had to like some of the results with WVU, Syracuse, Stanford, Air Force, GT, and UMass losing. They weren't happy to see all the Big Ten bubble teams and FSU winning. We'll break things down how we see them right now.

Any at-large bids that are a 10 seed or better we think are safe for a bid. GT lost a 2OT game to Wake but because of their strong finish (7-3) and their quality wins we feel they are safe. Should Texas Tech lose to Kansas State we still think they are safe as well. Xavier also does not need to win another game to get a bid.

Now on to the at-large bids seeded on the 11 and 12 line: First a note on the seeding...we had to make FSU an 11 seed and Syracuse a 12 seed for bracketing purposes. FSU remains the last team in, while Syracuse would be the 3rd 11 seed. FSU won the elimination game with Clemson and now all that separates them and a berth is UNC. If they can't pick up another victory, then they will at least need a good showing to hold onto their bid. Stanford lost a tough one to USC and now they will have to wait. Their RPI is getting into a dangerous zone (62) and they have lost 4 of 5 (although none of the losses are bad losses). What we like and think that the committee will like is the fact that they finished 10-8 in one of the top 3 conferences and they have quality wins in and out of conference. Air Force has finished the season on a complete freefall. They have lost 4 in a row with 2 of them being bad losses (@TCU, Wyoming). Their RPI remains strong (33) but they don't have the quality victories on their resume to offset these recent losses. They stay in the bracket for the time being but they need to cheer hard against fellow bubble teams. The back-breaker for them would be Wyoming or Colorado State winning the MWC tourney.

West Virginia was a traveling call away from finding themselves in the bracket. It may seem like a harsh fate for a 21-9, 9-7 team out of the Big East who beat a current #1 seed, but they lack quality wins inside the conference. Their unbalanced Big East schedule really hurt them (they had the second easiest Big East schedule based on conference win %, thanks to no games against Syracuse and Louisville and two each with Seton Hall and Cincinnati), and being the 8th team out of the Big East is not a good place to be right now. It's make or break today for Illionis, Kansas State, and Michigan. All three would likely find themselves in the bracket if they get victories today.

Our last bracket before our final bracket will be made early on Saturday. Also look for some live chats this weekend.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 9:

Last Four In
Purdue, Stanford, Air Force, Florida State

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Drexel, Kansas State, West Virginia

Next Four Out
Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Massachusetts

Conference Breakdown
ACC (8), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics. Teams in bold have already clinched an automatic bid.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Niagara

MAC - Akron

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Creighton, Southern Illinois

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky

Pac-10 - Washington State, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Wisconsin, UCLA

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 3s
Memphis, Pittsburgh, Southern Illinois, Washington State

The 4s
Virginia, UNLV, Oregon, Texas

The 5s
Nevada, Maryland, Tennessee, Louisville

The 6s
Virginia Tech, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Marquette

The 7s
Notre Dame, Creighton, BYU, Kentucky

The 8s
Indiana, Boston College, USC, Duke

The 9s
Villanova, Butler, Xavier, Michigan State

The 10s
Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, Winthrop, Gonzaga

The 11s
VCU, Old Dominion, Purdue, Florida State

The 12s
Syracuse, Stanford, Air Force, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, Akron, New Mexico State, Holy Cross

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Niagara, Eastern Kentucky

The 16s
Weber State, North Texas, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 9

(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Want more Bracketology 101? Read about B101 in Eric Prisbell's Bracketology story in this past Sunday's Washington Post: Need For Information Is Creating A Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 8

The Breakdown
Wednesday's results did not affect the bracket much. Syracuse was moved to an 11 seed and out of the last four in category while WVU moved into the last four out column. Now the real fun begins. The biggest bubble game of the day is between Florida State and Clemson. Fans of bubble teams should probably cheer for Clemson in this one, since they likely need a victory over UNC to secure a bid while FSU has a chance at a bid with just a solid showing against UNC. The Big Ten has some important bubble games as well. Michigan State needs a win to secure their bid while Michigan and Illinois need wins to stay alive. Despite West Virginia's solid record they will need a win Thursday over Louisville to feel good about their chances on Sunday. Stanford will need a win over USC to lock down their bid or else they will sweat it out come Sunday. In the MWC, Air Force has stumbled down the stretch and will be in search of their first ever conference tourney win today when they face Wyoming. Should they go down, they still have a good shot at a bid, but they would have to worry a little should SDSU make a deep tourney run.

We will continue to update the bracket this week daily or as necessary.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 8:

Last Four In
Stanford, Old Dominion, Purdue, Florida State

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Drexel, West Virginia, Kansas State

Next Four Out
Clemson, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan

Conference Breakdown
ACC (8), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics. Teams in bold have already clinched an automatic bid.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Niagara

MAC - Akron

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Creighton, Southern Illinois

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky

Pac-10 - UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Oregon, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, UCLA, Kansas, Wisconsin

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 3s
Memphis, Maryland, Southern Illinois, Washington State

The 4s
Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, UNLV

The 5s
Arizona, Nevada, Marquette, Oregon

The 6s
Texas, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Duke

The 7s
Louisville, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Creighton

The 8s
BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Boston College

The 9s
Villanova, Butler, USC, Xavier

The 10s
Air Force, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Gonzaga

The 11s
Winthrop, VCU, Syracuse, Stanford

The 12s
Old Dominion, Purdue, Florida State, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, Akron, New Mexico State, Holy Cross

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Niagara, Eastern Kentucky

The 16s
Weber State, North Texas, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 8



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Want more Bracketology 101? Read about B101 in Eric Prisbell's Bracketology story in this past Sunday's Washington Post: Need For Information Is Creating A Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 7

The Breakdown
(Updated to include Tuesday night's results)
Life on the bubble just got a little more difficult. As we had projected, Wright State's "upset" of Butler sent the Raiders dancing out of the Horizon, and left our Last Four Out looking elsewhere for an open spot. Butler's seed, meanwhile, remained a 9 since we had already placed them assuming that they would lose in the final. With five days of games left, how many more spoilers will follow Wright State's lead?

Heading into Wednesday's games, there is still little difference between at-large teams seeded 10-12 and some of the teams on the last 8 out list. Stanford has struggled of late losing six of their last 10. They have a tough first round matchup against USC in the Pac-10 tourney so it will be tough for them to pick up another win. Should they lose the game against USC they will be one of the last teams in if they get a bid, and we think they still will. They have good wins in and out of conference (vs. Texas Tech, @UVa, Wazzu, UCLA, Oregon) and no head scratching losses. Their resume will stack up favorably against fellow bubble boys. Our last three teams in (Syracuse, Purdue, FSU) all gained their bids by predicting future results. Right now Missouri State and Drexel may have better resumes then these teams but we feel that one more win for each of these three will propel them into the tourney. We like FSU against Clemson this week and with a good showing against UNC in the quarterfinals we think it should be enough to get the Seminoles a bid. Should Clemson come out on top in that game there is a chance that we put them into the bracket and take FSU out. Purdue has a huge quarterfinal matchup with Iowa this week and if they can win that we like their chances. They would be 7-3 in their last 10 (assuming a loss in the semis) and would have enough quality victories to warrant a bid. Syracuse needs to get by UConn on Wednesday to secure their bid.

We didn't like doing it but we had to take Missouri State out of the field for now. The reasons for this were their 0-5 record against SIU and Creighton, their recent home loss to Winthrop, and the fact they lost by 17 to Creighton in the MVC semis. It will be a long week and Selection Sunday for Missouri State. Kansas State, WVU, and Illinois, meanwhile, all have great opportunities this week to play themselves into the field by picking up two wins in their conference tournies.

The CAA tourney certainly didn't break as we had expected. Bubble teams all over the country who were rooting hard for VCU last night can now exhale, as the Rams held off Mason's Cinderella finals run. The attention in the CAA now turns to the bubble, where ODU is safer then Drexel at this point given their two wins over the Dragons and the fact that they finished two games better in conference. Drexel's 13 road wins are impressive, especially since 3 of them were Syracuse, Villanova, and Creighton. Their struggles in conference may come back to kill them, though. The Dragons are in for a long week and lots of discussion. For Drexel fans, the first bit of help came in the WCC final, where Gonzaga muted the potential debate about their at-large credentials by taking care of business against Santa Clara.

New Mexico State's recent struggles have left us less then enthusiastic about their chances in the WAC tourney. The main reason we kept them in the field is because we think there is a better then 50% chance that Nevada goes down, and if it's not New Mexico State that beats them, it will be someone else in the conference. We just like New Mexico State's chances better than anyone else since they are at home.

Some final notes on the bracket: In our original seeding we had Georgia Tech as a 7 seed and Kentucky as an 8. We had to change that because we ended up with too many ACC teams on the 2,3,6,7,10,11 seed lines. We also had to move BYU from a 7 seed down to an 8 and Creighton from an 8 up to a 7 to avoid seeding BYU in New Orleans, which is a Fri./Sun. site.

We will continue to update the bracket this week daily or as necessary.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 7:

Last Four In
Stanford, Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Drexel, Clemson, Kansas State

Next Four Out
West Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, DePaul

Conference Breakdown
ACC (8), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics. Teams in bold have already clinched an automatic bid.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Niagara

MAC - Akron

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Creighton, Southern Illinois

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky

Pac-10 - UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Oregon, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, UCLA, Kansas, Wisconsin

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 3s
Memphis, Maryland, Southern Illinois, Washington State

The 4s
Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, UNLV

The 5s
Arizona, Nevada, Marquette, Oregon

The 6s
Texas, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Duke

The 7s
Louisville, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Creighton

The 8s
BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Boston College

The 9s
Butler, USC, Villanova, Xavier

The 10s
Air Force, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Gonzaga

The 11s
Winthrop, VCU, Old Dominion, Stanford

The 12s
Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, Akron, New Mexico State, Holy Cross

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Niagara, Eastern Kentucky

The 16s
North Texas, Weber State, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 7



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Want more Bracketology 101? Read about B101 in Eric Prisbell's Bracketology story in this past Sunday's Washington Post: Need For Information Is Creating A Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 6

The Breakdown
(Updated to include Monday night's results)
The top of the bubble is getting very crowded and there is little difference between at-large teams seeded 10-12 and some of the teams on the last 8 out list. Stanford has struggled of late losing six of their last 10. They have a tough first round matchup against USC in the Pac-10 tourney so it will be tough for them to pick up another win. Should they lose the game against USC they will be one of the last teams in if they get a bid, and we think they still will. They have good wins in and out of conference (vs. Texas Tech, @UVa, Wazzu, UCLA, Oregon) and no head scratching losses. Their resume will stack up favorably against fellow bubble boys. Our last three teams in (Syracuse, Purdue, FSU) all gained their bids by predicting future results. Right now Missouri State and Drexel may have better resumes then these teams but we feel that one more win for each of these three will propel them into the tourney. We like FSU against Clemson this week and with a good showing against UNC in the quarterfinals we think it should be enough to get the Seminoles a bid. Should Clemson come out on top in that game there is a chance that we put them into the bracket and take FSU out. Purdue has a huge quarterfinal matchup with Iowa this week and if they can win that we like their chances. They would be 7-3 in their last 10 (assuming a loss in the semis) and would have enough quality victories to warrant a bid. Syracuse needs to get by UConn on Wednesday to secure their bid.

We didn't like doing it but we had to take Missouri State out of the field for now. The reasons for this were their 0-5 record against SIU and Creighton, their recent home loss to Winthrop, and the fact they lost by 17 to Creighton in the MVC semis. It will be a long week and Selection Sunday for Missouri State. Kansas State, WVU, and Illinois, meanwhile, all have great opportunities this week to play themselves into the field by picking up two wins in their conference tournies.

The CAA tourney certainly didn't break as we had expected. Bubble teams all over the country who were rooting hard for VCU last night can now exhale, as the Rams held off Mason's Cinderella finals run. The attention in the CAA now turns to the bubble, where ODU is safer then Drexel at this point given their two wins over the Dragons and the fact that they finished two games better in conference. Drexel's 13 road wins are impressive, especially since 3 of them were Syracuse, Villanova, and Creighton. Their struggles in conference may come back to kill them, though. The Dragons are in for a long week and lots of discussion. For Drexel fans, the first bit of help came in the WCC final, where Gonzaga muted the potential debate about their at-large credentials by taking care of business against Santa Clara.

New Mexico State's recent struggles have left us less then enthusiastic about their chances in the WAC tourney. The main reason we kept them in the field is because we think there is a better then 50% chance that Nevada goes down, and if it's not New Mexico State that beats them, it will be someone else in the conference. We just like New Mexico State's chances better than anyone else since they are at home.

Some final notes on the bracket: In our original seeding we had Georgia Tech as a 7 seed and Kentucky as an 8. We had to change that because we ended up with too many ACC teams on the 2,3,6,7,10,11 seed lines. We also had to move BYU from a 7 seed down to an 8 and Creighton from an 8 up to a 7 to avoid seeding BYU in New Orleans, which is a Fri./Sun. site.

We will continue to update the bracket this week daily or as necessary.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 6:

Last Four In
Stanford, Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Drexel, Clemson, Kansas State

Next Four Out
West Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, DePaul

Conference Breakdown
ACC (8), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics. Team in bold have already clinched an automatic bid.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Niagara

MAC - Akron

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Creighton, Southern Illinois

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky

Pac-10 - UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Oregon, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - Arkansas State

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, UCLA, Kansas, Wisconsin

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 3s
Memphis, Maryland, Southern Illinois, Washington State

The 4s
Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, UNLV

The 5s
Arizona, Nevada, Marquette, Oregon

The 6s
Texas, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Duke

The 7s
Louisville, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Creighton

The 8s
BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Boston College

The 9s
Butler, USC, Villanova, Xavier

The 10s
Air Force, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Gonzaga

The 11s
Winthrop, VCU, Old Dominion, Stanford

The 12s
Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, Akron, New Mexico State, Holy Cross

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Niagara, Eastern Kentucky

The 16s
Weber State, Arkansas State, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 6



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Want more Bracketology 101? Read about B101 in Eric Prisbell's Bracketology story in this past Sunday's Washington Post:
Need For Information Is Creating A Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 5

The Breakdown
Sorry for the delay in getting the breakdown posted. The top of the bubble is getting very crowded and there is little difference between at-large teams seeded 10-12 and some of the teams on the last 8 out list. Stanford has struggled of late losing six of their last 10. They have a tough first round matchup against USC in the Pac-10 tourney so it will be tough for them to pick up another win. Should they lose the game against USC they will be one of the last teams in if they get a bid, and we think they still will. They have good wins in and out of conference (vs. Texas Tech, @UVa, Wazzu, UCLA, Oregon) and no head scratching losses. Their resume will stack up favorably against fellow bubble boys. Our last three teams in (Syracuse, Purdue, FSU) all gained their bids by predicting future results. Right now Missouri State and Drexel may have better resumes then these teams but we feel that one more win for each of these three will propel them into the tourney. We like FSU against Clemson this week and with a good showing against UNC in the quarterfinals we think it should be enough to get the Seminoles a bid. Should Clemson come out on top in that game there is a chance that we put them into the bracket and take FSU out. Purdue has a huge quarterfinal matchup with Iowa this week and if they can win that we like their chances. They would be 7-3 in their last 10 (assuming a loss in the semis) and would have enough quality victories to warrant a bid. Syracuse needs to get by UConn on Wednesday to secure their bid.

We didn't like doing it but we had to take Missouri State out of the field this week. The reasons for this were their 0-5 record against SIU and Creighton, their recent home loss to Winthrop, and the fact they lost by 17 to Creighton in the MVC semis. It will be a long week and Selection Sunday for Missouri State. Kansas State, WVU, and Illinois, meanwhile, all have great opportunities this week to play themselves into the field by picking up two wins in their conference tournies.

The CAA tourney certainly didn't break as we had expected. Bubble teams all over the country will be routing hard for VCU tonight (especially ODU and Drexel). ODU is safer then Drexel at this point given their two wins over the Dragons and the fact that they finished two games better in conference. Drexel's 13 road wins are impressive, especially since 3 of them were Syracuse, Villanova, and Creighton. Their struggles in conference may come back to kill them though. The Dragons are in for a long week and lots of discussion.

New Mexico State's recent struggles have left us less then enthusiastic about their chances in the WAC tourney. The main reason we kept them in the field is because we think there is a better then 50% chance that Nevada goes down, and if it's not New Mexico State that beats them, it will be someone else in the conference. We just like New Mexico State's chances better than anyone else since they are at home.

Some final notes on the bracket: In our original seeding we had Georgia Tech as a 7 seed and Kentucky as an 8. We had to change that because we ended up with too many ACC teams on the 2,3,6,7,10,11 seed lines. We also had to move BYU from a 7 seed down to an 8 and Creighton froman 8 up to a 7 to avoid seeding BYU in New Orleans, which is a Fri./Sun. site.

We will continue to update the bracket this week daily or as necessary.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 5:

Last Four In
Stanford, Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Drexel, Clemson, Kansas State

Next Four Out
West Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, DePaul

Conference Breakdown
ACC (8), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), MVC (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics. Team in bold have already clinched an automatic bid.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Siena

MAC - Kent State

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Creighton, Southern Illinois

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky

Pac-10 - UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Oregon, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, UCLA, Kansas, Wisconsin

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 3s
Memphis, Maryland, Southern Illinois, Washington State

The 4s
Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, UNLV

The 5s
Arizona, Nevada, Marquette, Oregon

The 6s
Texas, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Duke

The 7s
Louisville, Notre Dame, BYU, Kentucky, Creighton

The 8s
BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Boston College

The 9s
Butler, USC, Villanova, Xavier

The 10s
Air Force, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Gonzaga

The 11s
Winthrop, VCU, Old Dominion, Stanford

The 12s
Syracuse, Purdue, Florida State, Davidson

The 13s
Wright State, Akron, New Mexico State, Holy Cross

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
Western Kentucky, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Belmont, Siena

The 16s
Weber State, Eastern Kentucky, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 5



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Bracketology Article In The Washington Post

Bracketology 101 was featured - along with several other Bracketology sites - in an article by Eric Prisbell in Sunday's Washington Post.

You can read the article here:

Need For Information Is Creating A Bracket

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 2

The Breakdown
To start things off, we would like to get on our soapbox and let off some steam: There is no way that the Colonial will get three bids. Anyone out there with 3 CAA teams in is being foolish, and is ignoring that fact that the potential Drexel vs. VCU game in the semifinals is an elimination game. The only way that the CAA could get 3 bids is if Hofstra wins the auto bid and somehow the winner of the Drexel/VCU game gets a bid along with ODU. That is still a long shot, though, unless there are no other upsets in conference tournies (Memphis, Nevada, Butler, Xavier all win). Another thing that will be tough to see happening is 8 teams dancing out of the Big East (unless there is an upset conference tourney winner). It is definitely possible after the results of the games so far this week (Syracuse and 'Nova both winning), but once again it is not likely because things would need to break perfectly in the conference tournament.

Now on to the breakdown....

Many may be surprised that we removed Illinois from this bracket. Here is our reasoning behind their exclusion: Illinois has a tough road game this weekend at Iowa, which we are not that confident in them winning. Should they get by Iowa, then they will likely end up a #4 seed in the Big Ten Tourney and likely have to play Purdue in the quarterfinals. We like Purdue's chances in this game on a neutral court. For Illinois to feel completely safe, they need to win their next 3 games (assuming Indiana beats Penn State and gets the 3 seed). Otherwise they will be right on the top of the bubble. Many believe that the Big Ten can not possibly get 6 teams in the field. We still disagree with this sentiment. With Michigan's win against Michigan State, the conference now has 7 teams that have a legitimate shot at a bid. It is all going to come down to the conference tourney.

As previously stated we believe there is no chance for 3 bids out of the CAA, but we have come around to the idea of 2 bids. Should Drexel and VCU meet in the semifinals, then the winner of that game has a good chance of receiving a bid (especially if Drexel wins). Should VCU make it to the finals they would have a good chance at a bid unless numerous bids were stolen in other conference tournies. Right now we are going with Drexel and ODU out of the CAA.

Many posted this week about the merits of FSU getting an at-large bid. They are still very much alive for a bid, but need to win 2 more games to feel somewhat comfortable. We are weary of the game at Miami (who recently beat UVa at home) this weekend, since no conference road game is easy. If they can win that game, then they will have another meeting with Clemson in the conference tourney. If the 'Noles can get by Clemson, they can be seriously considered for an at-large bid.

Here is Bracketology 101's Field of 65 for March 2:

Last Four In
Missouri State, Syracuse, Purdue, Drexel

Last Four Out
Florida State, Illinois, West Virginia, VCU

Next Four Out
Kansas State, Alabama, Appalachian State, Massachusetts

Conference Breakdown
ACC (7), Big East (7), Pac-10 (6), Big Ten (5), Big XII (4), SEC (4), MVC (3), MWC (3), Colonial (2), Horizon (2), WAC (2)
(Teams listed first from multiple bid conferences are automatics.)

America East - Vermont

ACC - North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Duke, Boston College, Georgia Tech

Atlantic Sun - East Tennessee State

A-10 - Xavier

Big East - Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue

Big 12 - Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, Drexel

C-USA - Memphis

Horizon - Wright State, Butler

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Marist

MAC - Kent State

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Southern Illinois, Creighton, Missouri State

MWC - UNLV, BYU, Air Force

Northeast - Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley - Austin Peay

Pac-10 - UCLA, Washington State, Oregon, Arizona, USC, Stanford

Patriot - Holy Cross

SEC - Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC - Jackson State

Sun Belt - South Alabama

WAC - New Mexico State, Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
UCLA, Ohio State, Kansas, Wisconsin

The 2s
Florida, North Carolina, Georgetown, Southern Illinois

The 3s
Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Virginia

The 4s
Maryland, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

The 5s
Virginia Tech, UNLV, Nevada, Duke

The 6s
Texas, Marquette, Oregon, Arizona

The 7s
Kentucky, Boston College, USC, Louisville

The 8s
BYU, Butler, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech

The 9s
Indiana, Stanford, Villanova, Xavier

The 10s
Air Force, Michigan State, Creighton, Old Dominion

The 11s
Texas Tech, Winthrop, Missouri State, Gonzaga

The 12s
Syracuse, Purdue, Drexel, Davidson

The 13s
New Mexico State, Wright State, Holy Cross, Kent State

The 14s
Vermont, Oral Roberts, Penn, Long Beach State

The 15s
South Alabama, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Marist, East Tennessee State

The 16s
Weber State, Austin Peay, Central Connecticut State, Delaware State (Play-In Game), Jackson State (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
This Week's Bracket - March 2



(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com