Maneater Bracketology: Tigers stuck at a 7-seed
Missouri came oh-so-close to moving up to perhaps a No. 5 seed if it had won at Kansas State this weekend. But without that victory, the Tigers remain at a No. 7 seed, where they've been in most of the brackets we've published.
Likewise, the bracket has become fairly stagnant. I swapped Mississippi State with Charlotte to put the Bulldogs in the bracket, and Rhode Island is out as well for Notre Dame. I think The Atlantic-10 and Big East are the conferences to watch right now, because they offer a good number of bubble teams.
Despite both going down Saturday, Kansas and Kentucky remain most likely to take the Final Four trip to Indianapolis with six votes each. Statistically, Michigan State, Purdue and Villanova each have three votes, but I'd trade all three to put in two conference leaders I've finally gotten a chance to watch and now must take seriously: Syracuse and Ohio State.
Here's my bracket:
SOUTH (Houston)
Oklahoma City: 1. Syracuse vs. 16. Jackson State/Lipscomb; 8. California vs. 9. Texas
Spokane: 4. Pittsburgh vs. 13. Dayton; 5. Gonzaga vs. 12. UAB
New Orleans: 3. Villanova vs. 14. Sam Houston State; 6. Xavier vs. 11. Virginia Tech
Milwaukee: 2. New Mexico vs. 15. Morgan State; 7. Baylor vs. 10. Florida
MIDWEST (St. Louis)
Oklahoma City: 1. Kansas vs. 16. Quinnipiac; 8. UTEP vs. 9. Georgia Tech
Providence: 4. Temple vs. 13. Siena; 5. Wisconsin vs. 12. Notre Dame
Spokane: 3. Ohio State vs. 14. Oakland; 6. Maryland vs. 11. Old Dominion
Providence: 2. West Virginia vs. 15. Weber State; 7. Richmond vs. 10. Oklahoma State
EAST (Syracuse)
New Orleans: 1. Kentucky vs. 16. Lehigh; 8. Florida State vs. 9. UNLV
San Jose: 4. Butler vs. 13. Murray State; 5. Texas A&M vs. 12. Utah State
Buffalo: 3. Vanderbilt vs. 14. Coastal Carolina; 6. Georgetown vs. 11. Cornell
Jacksonville: 2. Purdue vs. 15. North Texas; 7. Missouri vs. 10. Clemson
WEST (Salt Lake City)
Buffalo: 1. Duke vs. 16. Stony Brook; 8. Northern Iowa vs. 9. Marquette
San Jose: 4. BYU vs. 13. Akron; 5. Tennessee vs. 12. Saint Mary's
Jacksonville: 3. Michigan State vs. 14. Wofford; 6. Louisville vs. 11. Mississippi State
Milwaukee: 2. Kansas State vs. 15. UCSB; 7. Richmond vs. 10. Illinois
6:29 p.m., Feb. 28, 2010
Mycoskie said:
Conference opponents can not meet until the regional finals. Teams get shifted to avoid this. For instance, in the South, Pittsburgh can't be #4 if Syracuse is #1, since that would line them up for a regional semi-final game. Perhaps trade Butler for Pittsburgh.