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It’s been yet another fun roller coaster of a college basketball season, leading up to the NCAA Tournament. But now, it’s time for the final exam, if you will.
With Yale, Saint Louis, Auburn, Georgia State, Michigan State and Cincinnati locking up tournament bids today, the 32 automatic qualifiers are now set. Time to find out which 36 teams will join them.
With that in mind, here is my final bracket.
FINAL PROJECTION
| East Region (Washington, D.C.) | South Region (Louisville) |
|---|---|
| East Region (Washington, D.C.) | South Region (Louisville) |
| Columbia (Mar. 22/24) | Columbia (Mar. 22/24) |
| 1. Duke (ACC) | 1. Virginia |
| 16. F. Dickinson (NEC) / NC Central (MEAC) | 16. Bradley (Missouri Valley) |
| 8. Seton Hall | 8. Ole Miss |
| 9. VCU | 9. UCF |
| San Jose (Mar. 22/24) | San Jose (Mar. 22/24) |
| 5. Kansas State | 5. Iowa State (Big 12) |
| 12. Liberty (Atlantic Sun) | 12. Murray State (Ohio Valley) |
| 4. Wisconsin | 4. Buffalo (MAC) |
| 13. Vermont (America East) | 13. Northeastern (Colonial) |
| Des Moines (Mar. 21/23) | Tulsa (Mar. 22/24) |
| 6. Mississippi State | 6. Virginia Tech |
| 11. Syracuse | 11. Saint Mary's (West Coast) |
| 3. Kansas | 3. LSU |
| 14. Old Dominion (Conference USA) | 14. Yale (Ivy) |
| Jacksonville (Mar. 21/23) | Columbus (Mar. 22/24) |
| 7. Maryland | 7. Wofford (Southern) |
| 10. Temple | 10. Florida |
| 2. Tennessee | 2. Michigan |
| 15. Colgate (Patriot) | 15. Gardner-Webb (Big South) |
| West Region (Anaheim) | Midwest Region (Kansas City) |
| Columbus (Mar. 22/24) | Jacksonville (Mar. 21/23) |
| 1. Michigan State (Big Ten) | 1. North Carolina |
| 16. Iona (MAAC) | 16. Prairie View (SWAC) / N. Dakota St. (Summit) |
| 8. Utah State (Mountain West) | 8. Iowa |
| 9. Minnesota | 9. Washington |
| Salt Lake City (Mar. 21/23) | Hartford (Mar. 21/23) |
| 5. Auburn (SEC) | 5. Villanova (Big East) |
| 12. Ohio State / St. John's | 12. New Mexico State (WAC) |
| 4. Texas Tech | 4. Purdue |
| 13. UC Irvine (Big West) | 13. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) |
| Hartford (Mar. 21/23) | Tulsa (Mar. 22/24) |
| 6. Nevada | 6. Marquette |
| 11. Oregon (Pac-12) | 11. Arizona State / TCU |
| 3. Florida State | 3. Houston |
| 14. Northern Kentucky (Horizon) | 14. Georgia State (Sun Belt) |
| Salt Lake City (Mar. 21/23) | Columbus (Mar. 22/24) |
| 7. Cincinnati (AAC) | 7. Louisville |
| 10. Baylor | 10. Oklahoma |
| 2. Gonzaga | 2. Kentucky |
| 15. Montana (Big Sky) | 15. Abilene Christian (Southland) |
Last Four Byes: Florida, Baylor, Temple, Syracuse
Last Four In: Arizona State, TCU, Ohio State, St. John’s
First Four Out: North Carolina State, Alabama, Belmont, Indiana
Next Eight Out: Creighton, Nebraska, Texas, Furman, Clemson, UNC Greensboro, Xavier, LIpscomb
Conference Breakdown
Big Ten - 8
ACC - 7
Big 12 - 7
SEC - 7
American - 4
Big East - 4
Pac-12 - 3
Atlantic 10 - 2
Mountain West - 2
West Coast - 2
One-bid leagues - 22
And here also is my final seed list.
Untitled
| 1 | Duke |
|---|---|
| 1 | Duke |
| 2 | Virginia |
| 3 | North Carolina |
| 4 | Michigan State |
| 5 | Gonzaga |
| 6 | Tennessee |
| 7 | Kentucky |
| 8 | Michigan |
| 9 | Houston |
| 10 | LSU |
| 11 | Kansas |
| 12 | Florida State |
| 13 | Texas Tech |
| 14 | Purdue |
| 15 | Wisconsin |
| 16 | Buffalo |
| 17 | Villanova |
| 18 | Iowa State |
| 19 | Kansas State |
| 20 | Auburn |
| 21 | Marquette |
| 22 | Mississippi State |
| 23 | Virginia Tech |
| 24 | Nevada |
| 25 | Wofford |
| 26 | Maryland |
| 27 | Cincinnati |
| 28 | Louisville |
| 29 | Seton Hall |
| 30 | Iowa |
| 31 | Utah State |
| 32 | Ole Miss |
| 33 | UCF |
| 34 | VCU |
| 35 | Washington |
| 36 | Minnesota |
| 37 | Oklahoma |
| 38 | Florida |
| 39 | Baylor |
| 40 | Temple |
| 41 | Oregon |
| 42 | Syracuse |
| 43 | Arizona State |
| 44 | Saint Mary's |
| 45 | TCU |
| 46 | Ohio State |
| 47 | St. John's |
| 48 | Murray State |
| 49 | New Mexico State |
| 50 | Liberty |
| 51 | UC Irvine |
| 52 | Vermont |
| 53 | Northeastern |
| 54 | Saint Louis |
| 55 | Old Dominion |
| 56 | Yale |
| 57 | Georgia State |
| 58 | Northern Kentucky |
| 59 | Montana |
| 60 | Colgate |
| 61 | Gardner-Webb |
| 62 | Abiene Christian |
| 63 | Bradley |
| 64 | Iona |
| 65 | North Dakota State |
| 66 | Prairie View A&M |
| 67 | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 68 | North Carolina Central |
With Tennessee’s blowout loss to Auburn in the SEC Championship, the door opened for three ACC teams to land No. 1 seeds. In fact, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina make up the top three spots overall, with Gonzaga as the fourth No. 1 seed.
On the other side of the bracket, after going back and forth between St. John’s and North Carolina State, in the end, I decided St. John’s wins total more and look better than those of North Carolina State’s. The NCAA added breakdowns of wins within quadrants one and two in half and North Carolina State ended up 0-9 against what we’ll call Quadrant 1A, while St. John’s had one such win, at Marquette (part of St John’s sweep of Marquette). The Johnnies also hold a neutral-court win over VCU, giving them two wins away from home better than the best North Carolina State produced, which came just last week in the ACC tournament against Clemson, a team destined for the NIT.
Sure, North Carolina State’s win over Auburn now looks better with the Tigers winning the SEC tournament title, but it was at home. There are no home games in the NCAA Tournament. St. John’s also didn’t score a measly 24 points in a game like North Carolina State did.
In the end, the NET may be the only case North Carolina State can hang their hat on and it may not be enough. Their weak overall schedule may end up being their downfall to the NIT.
It’s been a joy being able to be here with Rocky Top Talk this season to share some bracket nuggets with you all. Thank you coming on this ride with me and enjoy the selection show.