Bracketology: Eric Prisbell's NCAA tournament field of 68
| Newark Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Team | Conf* | Note |
| 1 | Ohio State | Big Ten* | Finally lost on Saturday to Wisconsin |
| 2 | Georgetown | Big East | Hard to beat when Big Three are on |
| 3 | San Diego State | MWC | Could rise again with BYU win |
| 4 | Louisville | Big East | Injuries can't derail Cardinals |
| 5 | Texas A&M | Big 12 | Best rebounding team in league |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | SEC | UNC victory looking better now |
| 7 | Temple | Atlantic 10 | Owls winners of six straight |
| 8 | Washington | Pac-10 | Why play defense when you can score 109? |
| 9 | St. John's | Big East | Veteran team could be dangerous in tourney |
| 10 | Florida State | ACC | Defense good, offense not so good |
| 11 | Wichita State | MVC* | Southern Illinois loss hurts at-large hopes |
| 12 | Valparaiso | Horizon* | Horizon looks like one-bid league |
| 13 | Charleston | Southern* | Goudelock a scoring machine |
| 14 | Belmont | Atlantic Sun* | Keeping ahead of ETSU in Atlantic Sun |
| 15 | Fairfield | MAAC* | Rider loss snapped six-game win streak |
| 16 | Long Beach State/Northern Colorado | Play-in | Northern Colorado 2-7 vs. RPI top 200 |
| New Orleans Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Team | Conf* | Note |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | Big East* | Rebounding key with Gibbs sidelined |
| 2 | Duke | ACC* | Nolan Smith pries win away from UNC |
| 3 | Purdue | Big Ten | Plays three straight top 50 teams |
| 4 | Florida | SEC | No one loves close games like Gators |
| 5 | Missouri | Big 12 | Still looking for Big 12 road win |
| 6 | West Virginia | Big East | Remaining schedule too tough |
| 7 | UNLV | MWC | Played San Diego State tough in first meeting |
| 8 | UCLA | Pac-10 | Bruins are gaining steam |
| 9 | Minnesota | Big Ten | Gophers have lost four straight |
| 10 | Marquette | Big East | Record vs. RPI top 200 a concern |
| 11 | Georgia | SEC | Needs to tighten up defense |
| 12 | Memphis/Boston College | C-USA/ACC | Eagles' sweep of Terps could be key |
| 13 | Oakland | Summit* | Should be in BracketBuster |
| 14 | Princeton | Ivy* | Harvard rematch on March 5 |
| 15 | Bucknell | Patriot* | Has breathing room after second American win |
| 16 | Long Island | Northeast* | Blackbirds with 11 true road wins |
| Anaheim Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Team | Conf* | Note |
| 1 | Kansas | Big 12 | Selby nursing stress reaction in foot |
| 2 | Brigham Young | MWC* | Jackson Emery is unsung standout |
| 3 | Connecticut | Big East | Lamb compensating for Walker's slump |
| 4 | Villanova | Big East | Gift-wrapped big win for Rutgers |
| 5 | North Carolina | ACC | Marshall notable upgrade for Heels |
| 6 | Tennessee | SEC | Pearl's return can't boost Vols |
| 7 | Illinois | Big Ten | Too much experience to slide |
| 8 | Cincinnati | Big East | That nonleague schedule is a black eye |
| 9 | Old Dominion | CAA | May have popped VCU's bubble chances |
| 10 | Kansas State | Big 12 | Team Dysfunction still alive |
| 11 | Duquesne | Atlantic 10* | At-large hopes need boost |
| 12 | Alabama | SEC* | Most unlikely team in field |
| 13 | Coastal Carolina | Big South* | Great job by Cliff Ellis under radar |
| 14 | Vermont | America East* | Has not lost since Jan. 18 |
| 15 | Murray State | Ohio Valley* | Has 10 true road wins |
| 16 | Hampton/Texas Southern | Play-in | Hampton's best win: Colorado State |
| San Antonio Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Team | Conf* | Note |
| 1 | Texas | Big 12* | Thompson X-factor for Longhorns |
| 2 | Notre Dame | Big East | Hansbrough in league POY race |
| 3 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | The first to topple the Buckeyes |
| 4 | Syracuse | Big East | Orange lost three straight at home |
| 5 | Kentucky | SEC | Wall offers Wildcats inspired message |
| 6 | Arizona | Pac-10* | Rebuilding effort ahead of schedule |
| 7 | Xavier | Atlantic 10 | Georgia victory boosts hopes |
| 8 | George Mason | CAA* | No one in CAA can touch Patriots |
| 9 | Saint Mary's | WCC* | Not enough top 100 victories |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | Tough road games loom |
| 11 | Utah State | WAC* | At-large hopes took big hit |
| 12 | Richmond/Virginia Tech | Atlantic 10/ACC | Both teams pass eye test |
| 13 | Texas-El Paso | C-USA* | Six teams near top of standings |
| 14 | Kent State | MAC* | Little separation between first and last in MAC |
| 15 | Florida Atlantic | Sun Belt* | RPI at 89 entering weekend |
| 16 | Northwestern State | Southland* | SOS ranks 341st nationally |
* - Projected conference champion
By
Eric Prisbell
| February 11, 2011; 10:39 AM ET
Save & Share:
Previous: NCAA tournament 2011: Sizing up the Pac-10
Next: NCAA tournament 2011: Sizing up the non-BCS leagues
I'm assuming that you saw GMU beat ODU solidly on Saturday. So if Mason takes a misstep at the CAA tourney in Richmond then THEY will get the at-large bid over ODU if, say, VCU wins the automatic bid?
Posted by: pdawgy | February 11, 2011 10:56 AM | Report abuse
Hansbrough BE POY? Not likely...
Posted by: jdumb | February 11, 2011 12:00 PM | Report abuse
GMU is a solid #8 seed here...but it could hinge on conference tournament results.
Posted by: Bombo47jea | February 11, 2011 1:20 PM | Report abuse
Hansborough in the race? Sure, I think he's there with Marshon Brooks - but Kemba Walker should be the favorite, then pre-season choice Austin Freeman.
Posted by: Kev29 | February 11, 2011 2:56 PM | Report abuse
I can't get a gauge on how these 4 new spots are going to be used. Are we going to have essentially 4 play-in games between 8 16-seeds, because that's a giant waste of time if that's the case. However, if they put 8 12-seeds against each other, now we're cooking with gas!
Posted by: cao091402 | February 11, 2011 2:56 PM | Report abuse
Gee, what do you know? Another
down-to-the-wire CAA regular season.
I was hoping to go to Saturday's JMU-Mason game but I may've "hoped" too late--I heard it's sold out. To those attending: Be loud and make Mason proud.
GO, MASON!
The rise of the CAA continues.
Posted by: WaPoPimp | February 11, 2011 9:11 PM | Report abuse
The Big East tournament is going to be another heavyweight fight. Might not be anybody left standing by the time the NCAA's roll around. GO HOYAS!
Posted by: CHICO13 | February 12, 2011 8:29 AM | Report abuse
Am I missing something here?
I count only 3 ACC teams (Duke/UNC/Florida State)...
Posted by: IReadTheBaltimoreSunWhenIWantToReadGoodSportsWriting | February 12, 2011 12:31 PM | Report abuse
There are two more. Virginia Tech and Boston College are listed as 12 seed play-in teams.
Posted by: evwill | February 13, 2011 11:43 AM | Report abuse
We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.