Bauertology on a Friday. That must mean we are less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday. Heck, we’re less than two weeks away from the start of the NCAA Tournament with the First Four on Thursday, March 18. It is almost the best time of the year.
Today’s bracket doesn’t see too many changes on the seed lines, just a handful of teams moving up or down a seed (as well as one new face: Boise State replaces Seton Hall after the Pirates’ home loss to UConn).
However, we do see some shuffling in the groupings, as I was alerted via my Twitter page that NCAA Director of Media Coordination and Statistics David Worlock announced that Regions 2 and 3 will be playing their first-round and second-round games on Friday and Sunday, while Regions 1 and 4 will be playing their first-round and second-round games on Saturday and Monday. This means that all eight teams in the First Four need to be in Regions 1 and 4, as they are all playing their First Four games on Thursday and need one day of rest before the first round. It also means that BYU, which doesn’t play on Sundays, also needs to be in Region 1 or 4.
With that clarification, let’s roll. Here’s the Friday morning edition of Bauertology for March 5.
THE BRACKET
THE TRUE SEED LIST
1 SEEDS
1. Gonzaga (24-0)
2. Baylor (20-1)
3. Michigan (19-2)
4. Illinois (19-6)
2 SEEDS
5. Ohio State (18-7)
6. Alabama (20-6)
7. Iowa (19-7)
8. Houston (20-3)
3 SEEDS
9. West Virginia (18-7)
10. Villanova (16-4)
11. Arkansas (20-5)
12. Kansas (19-8)
4 SEEDS
13. Florida State (15-4)
14. Purdue (17-8)
15. Texas (16-7)
16. Oklahoma State (17-7)
5 SEEDS
17. Virginia (16-6)
18. Texas Tech (17-8)
19. Colorado (20-7)
20. Creighton (17-7)
6 SEEDS
21. USC (20-6)
22. Oklahoma (14-9)
23. Missouri (15-7)
24. Tennessee (16-7)
7 SEEDS
25. Clemson (15-6)
26. BYU (19-5)
27. Wisconsin (16-10)
28. San Diego State (20-4)
8 SEEDS
29. Florida (13-7)
30. Oregon (18-5)
31. Virginia Tech (15-5)
32. Loyola Chicago (21-4)
9 SEEDS
33. UConn (13-6)
34. LSU (15-8)
35. Maryland (15-11)
36. Rutgers (13-10)
10 SEEDS
37. UCLA (17-7)
38. North Carolina (15-9)
39. Louisville (13-5)
40. Georgia Tech (14-8)
11 SEEDS
41. St. Bonaventure (13-4)
42. VCU (17-6)
43. Colorado State (17-4)
44. Michigan State (14-11)
12 SEEDS
*45. Drake (24-3)
*46. Xavier (13-6)
*47. Wichita State (14-4)
*48. Boise State (18-7)
49. Western Kentucky (17-5)
50. Winthrop (22-1)
13 SEEDS
51. UC Santa Barbara (17-4)
52. Toledo (19-7)
53. Belmont (25-3)
54. Colgate (11-1)
14 SEEDS
55. Liberty (21-5)
56. UNC Greensboro (18-8)
57. Abilene Christian (20-4)
58. South Dakota State (15-6)
15 SEEDS
59. Vermont (10-4)
60. Eastern Washington (12-7)
61. Grand Canyon (14-5)
62. Cleveland State (17-7)
16 SEEDS
63. Siena (12-3)
64. James Madison (13-6)
*65. Texas State (18-6)
*66. Bryant (14-5)
*67. Prairie View A&M (13-4)
*68. Norfolk State (14-7)
THE BUBBLE
LAST FOUR BYES
1. Georgia Tech (14-8)
2. VCU (17-6)
3. Colorado State (17-4)
4. Michigan State (14-11)
LAST FOUR IN
1. Drake (24-3)
2. Xavier (13-6)
3. Wichita State (14-4)
4. Boise State (18-7)
FIRST FOUR OUT (NIT 1 SEEDS)
1. Seton Hall (13-11)
2. Utah State (17-7)
3. Saint Louis (13-5)
4. Syracuse (15-8)
NEXT FOUR OUT (NIT 2 SEEDS)
1. Ole Miss (14-10)
2. Duke (11-10)
3. SMU (11-4)
4. Memphis (15-6)
NIT 3 SEEDS
1. Indiana (12-13)
2. St. John’s (15-10)
3. Stanford (14-12)
4. Minnesota (13-13)
NIT 4 SEEDS
1. NC State (13-9)
2. Richmond (13-8)
3. Dayton (14-8)
4. Louisiana Tech (20-6)
BIDS BY CONFERENCE
Big Ten: 9
ACC: 7
Big 12: 7
SEC: 6
Big East: 4
Pac-12: 4
Mountain West: 3
American: 2
Atlantic 10: 2
Missouri Valley: 2
WCC: 2