Bracket Projection Update: February 24

Selection Sunday is getting closer and closer! This will be the last weekend of games for some of the smaller conferences around the nation, who will start conference tournament play next week. Earlier this week I wrote about the correlation between RPI rankings and the awarding of at-large bids to Major and Mid-Major schools. For now, here is my latest bracket update heading into the penultimate weekend of the regular season.

All current conference leaders are presumed as conference champions and appear in bold.

Previous editions: 1/27, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20

East Region

Buffalo
1. Villanova vs 16. UC Davis/Mt St Mary’s
8. Iowa St vs 9. Northwestern

Greenville
4. Duke vs 13. Winthrop
5. Cincinnati vs 12. Middle Tennessee St

Sacramento
3. UCLA vs 14. CSU-Bakersfield
6. St Mary’s vs 11. Wichita St

Indianapolis
2. Louisville vs 15. Vermont
7. Wisconsin vs 10. Arkansas

Midwest Region

Tulsa
1. Kansas vs 16. Texas Southern
8. Xavier vs 9. Michigan

Milwaukee
4. Purdue vs 13. Bucknell
5. Notre Dame vs 12. UT-Arlington

Indianapolis
3. Kentucky vs 14. Princeton
6. Creighton vs 11. Wake Forest/California

Salt Lake City
2. Arizona vs 15. North Dakota St
7. Virginia Tech vs 10. Vanderbilt

West Region

Salt Lake City
1. Gonzaga vs 16. North Dakota
8. USC vs 9. Seton Hall

Buffalo
4. West Virginia vs 13. Monmouth
5. Virginia vs 12. UNC-Wilmington

Orlando
3. Florida St vs 14. Florida Gulf Coast
6. SMU vs 11. Providence/Kansas St

Sacramento
2. Oregon vs 15. Akron
7. South Carolina vs 10. Dayton

South Region

Greenville
1. North Carolina vs 16. New Orleans/NC Central
8. Oklahoma St vs 9. Michigan St

Milwaukee
4. Butler vs 13. Valparaiso
5. Minnesota vs 12. Nevada

Orlando
3. Florida vs 14. East Tennessee St
6. Miami vs 11. VCU

Tulsa
2. Baylor vs 15. Belmont
7. Maryland vs 10. Marquette

Play-In Games (Tuesday in Dayton)
Providence vs Kansas St (winner to Orlando)
UC Davis vs Mt St Mary’s (winner to Buffalo)
Play-In Games (Wednesday in Dayton)
Wake Forest vs California (winner to Indianapolis)
New Orleans vs NC Central (winner to Greenville)

Bids by Conference: ACC – 9, Big Ten – 7, Big East – 7, Big XII – 6, Pac-12 – 5, SEC – 5, American – 2, A-10 – 2, West Coast – 2

Bubble Breakdown

In For Now: Northwestern, Michigan St, Seton Hall, Michigan

Last 4 Byes: Marquette, Arkansas, Dayton, Vanderbilt, (VCU), (Wichita St)

Last 4 IN: Wake Forest, Providence, Kansas St, California

First 4 OUT: Syracuse, Tennessee, Georgetown, Pitt

Next 8 OUT: Illinois, Clemson, Ohio St, TCU (Middle Tennessee), Rhode Island, (UT-Arlington), Ole Miss, Georgia, Illinois St

Note: Teams in parentheses appear in the field as projected conference champions. They are included in the “Bubble Breakdown” here to note their position if another team were to win the conference.