Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 – Feb 25th Edition

Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 is proudly featured on THE BRACKET PROJECT 

 

This bracket’s major storylines:

-With almost every other bubble team playing their way out, Villanova’s win over UConn on Saturday get’s them in today’s bracket

-After a sub-100 loss to Michigan, Ohio State couldn’t hold on to it’s lead at home against Wisconsin. The loss knocks the Bucks out of today’s bracket. It will be an uphill climp to get in, with Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan State remaining. A 3-1 finish will help the Buckeyes from needing a run in the Big Ten Tournament

-After spending some time “solidly-in” Maryland is back on the bubble after their loss to Miami. Sitting in an 11 seed, they Terps were the weekend’s biggest loser, and are now fighting for their tournament lives

. -Kent State was the weekend’s biggest winner. The Golden Flashes’ road win over Saint Mary’s moved the MAC leaders from an 11 seed to an 8. It will also be much harder to keep Kent State out of field of 65 should they falter in the MAC tournament.

-Texas makes their first appearance as a one seed. After Kansas’ loss to Oklahoma State, the Longhorns are now the team to beat in the Big 12.

-The bubble teams right now are a complete mess. The already elderly selection committee might age another 20 years trying to select the field of 65.

Some guidelines to keep in mind when viewing the bracket:

-I operate on a “if the season ended now” scenario.

-I do my damndest to follow the NCAA’s official guidelines.

-According to the guidelines, teams are allowed to be swapped one seed in order to a)avoid conference rematches before the Elite 8, or b) to keep teams closer to their natural home area. For that reason, the following teams were swapped in the bracket: West Virginia and St. Joe’s swapped 9/10 seeds to avoid a Big East reamatch; Villanova and Maryland swapped 11/12 seeds to avoid a Big East rematch; Baylor/Umass swapped 10/11 seeds to avoid a Big 12 rematch; Boise State/American swapped 14/15 seeds to keep both teams at home; Lamar/Morgan State swapped 15/16 seeds to keep both teams at home.

THE BREAKDOWN:

LAST FOUR IN: Villanova, Florida, Arizona State, Rhode Island

FIRST ROUR OUT: Ohio State, Houston, Southern Illinois, Ole Miss

NEXT FOUR OUT: Western Kentucky, Syracuse, Southern Illinois, Oregon

Conferene-by-Conference (*=automatic bid. Automatic qualifiers are placed where they would be if NOT protected by their automatic bid)