And so the countdown begins. We are 22 days out from Selection Sunday and 26 days out from the first NCAA Tournament action since 2019. Boy, does it feel good to be back.
As we enter the homestretch, brackets may become more frequent (I’m thinking three a week once we’re in March), and differences between bracket to bracket are probably going to be smaller. You’ll notice that today’s projection is very similar to Wednesday’s, with just a couple changes here and there on the seed lines. Without further ado, here’s the Saturday morning edition of Bauertology for Feb. 20.
THE BRACKET
TRUE SEED LIST
1 Seeds
1. Gonzaga (21-0)
2. Baylor (17-0)
3. Michigan (15-1)
4. Ohio State (18-4)
2 Seeds
5. Illinois (15-5)
6. Alabama (17-5)
7. Villanova (13-3)
8. Iowa (16-6)
3 Seeds
9. Houston (17-3)
10. Virginia (15-4)
11. West Virginia (14-6)
12. Oklahoma (13-5)
4 Seeds
13. Florida State (12-3)
14. Texas Tech (14-6)
15. Tennessee (15-5)
16. Texas (13-5)
5 Seeds
17. USC (18-3)
18. Creighton (16-5)
19. Kansas (16-7)
20. Missouri (13-6)
6 Seeds
21. Virginia Tech (14-4)
22. Purdue (14-8)
23. Wisconsin (15-8)
24. Arkansas (17-5)
7 Seeds
25. Clemson (13-5)
26. Oklahoma State (14-6)
27. Rutgers (12-8)
28. LSU (13-6)
8 Seeds
29. BYU (16-5)
30. Colorado (16-7)
31. Florida (10-6)
32. Loyola Chicago (19-4)
9 Seeds
33. Louisville (11-4)
34. San Diego State (16-4)
35. UCLA (15-5)
36. Oregon (13-4)
10 Seeds
37. Seton Hall (13-8)
38. Boise State (18-4)
39. VCU (16-4)
40. Indiana (12-9)
11 Seeds
41. Xavier (11-4)
42. Drake (21-2)
43. Maryland (13-10)
44. Minnesota (13-9)
12 Seeds
*45. UConn (10-5)
*46. Stanford (14-8)
*47. North Carolina (13-7)
*48. St. Bonaventure (10-3)
49. Western Kentucky (15-4)
50. Belmont (23-1)
13 Seeds
51. Toledo (18-6)
52. Winthrop (20-1)
53. UC Santa Barbara (15-3)
54. Colgate (9-1)
14 Seeds
55. Wright State (17-5)
56. Abilene Christian (18-3)
57. UNC Greensboro (15-7)
58. Liberty (17-5)
15 Seeds
59. South Dakota State (13-5)
60. Grand Canyon (13-3)
61. Vermont (10-4)
62. Siena (8-2)
16 Seeds
63. Eastern Washington (11-6)
64. Texas State (15-6)
*65. James Madison (13-5)
*66. Wagner (8-5)
*67. Prairie View A&M (7-4)
*68. Norfolk State (12-7)
THE BUBBLE
Last Four Byes
1. Xavier (11-4)
2. Drake (21-2)
3. Maryland (13-10)
4. Minnesota (13-9)
Last Four In
1. UConn (10-5)
2. Stanford (14-8)
3. North Carolina (13-7)
4. St. Bonaventure (10-3)
First Four Out
1. Colorado State (14-4)
2. Wichita State (13-4)
3. Ole Miss (12-8)
4. St. John’s (14-8)
Next Four Out
1. Utah State (14-7)
2. Saint Louis (11-4)
3. Richmond (11-5)
4. Syracuse (12-6)
Also Considered
Dayton (12-7)
Duke (9-8)
Georgia (13-8)
Georgia Tech (10-8)
Marshall (12-5)
Memphis (12-6)
Penn State (7-11)
SMU (11-4)
BIDS BY CONFERENCE
Big Ten: 10
Big 12: 7
ACC: 6
SEC: 6
Big East: 5
Pac-12: 5
Atlantic 10: 2
Missouri Valley: 2
Mountain West: 2
WCC: 2