Before I get to today’s bracket, here’s a rundown of the final results that impacted it.
Bracketology 2013: The final NCAA bracket projection
The moment of truth has almost arrived. Here’s our bracketologist’s last attempt at projecting the NCAA Tournament field of 68.
Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
- Mississippi took its NCAA future into out of the Selection Committee's hands by defeating SEC regular-season champion Florida in the conference final in Nashville. The loss means the Gators are the lowest-ranked third seed in this bracket.
- Miami withstood a barrage of North Carolina threes to claim the ACC Tournament title. The Hurricanes have a case for a No. 1 seed thanks to their ACC regular-season title, but ultimately I think two bad late losses to Georgia Tech in Coral Gables and at Wake Forest keep them on the second line.
- Saint Louis defeated VCU to add the Atlantic 10 Tournament title to the regular season crown it earned a little more than a week ago. That double title bumps the Billikens to the No. 4 seed line.
- In the final game before the Tournament tips off, Ohio State topped Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game to lock up a two seed. The Badgers are now on the five line, though they could be a four-seed if the Committee decided to not make changes in the limited time postgame.
With those out of the way, here’s my final projection of the season. Check out my previous posts for my reasoning for the top four seeds and the last four in and first four out.
| (1) MIDWEST Indianapolis (Fri/Sun) | (2) EAST Washington (Thu/Sat) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington (Thu/Sat) | Dayton (Fri/Sun) | ||
| 1 | LOUISVILLE (Big East) | 1 | Indiana |
| 16 | JAMES MADISON or LIBERTY | 16 | LONG ISLAND U. or N.C. A&T |
| 8 | San Diego State | ↑ 8 | Missouri |
| 9 | BELMONT (OVC) | 9 | Iowa State |
| Kansas City (Fri/Sun) | Austin (Fri/Sun) | ||
| 55 5 | Wisconsin | ↑ 5 | Butler |
| 12 | BUCKNELL (Patriot) | 12 | California or St. Mary's |
| 4 | Kansas State | ↑ 4 | Syracuse |
| ↓ 13 | AKRON (MAC) | 13 | VALPARAISO (Horizon) |
| Austin (Fri/Sun) | Auburn Hills (Thu/Sat) | ||
| ↓ 6 | UNLV | ↑ 6 | Notre Dame |
| 11 | Villanova | 11 | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Florida | 3 | Michigan |
| 14 | MONTANA (Big Sky) | 14 | NORTHWESTERN STATE (Southland) |
| Dayton (Fri/Sun) | Philadelphia (Fri/Sun) | ||
| 7 | North Carolina | 7 | OREGON (Pac-12) |
| 10 | Wichita State | ↑ 10 | Boise State |
| 2 | OHIO STATE (Big Ten) | 2 | Duke |
| 15 | FLORIDA GULF COAST (A-Sun) | 15 | ALBANY (AmEast) |
| (4) WEST Los Angeles (Thu/Sat) | (3) SOUTH Arlington (Fri/Sun) | ||
| Salt Lake City (Thu/Sat) | Kansas City (Fri/Sun) | ||
| 1 | GONZAGA (WCC) | 1 | KANSAS (Big 12) |
| 16 | SOUTHERN (SWAC) | 16 | WESTERN KENTUCKY (Sun Belt) |
| ↓ 8 | CREIGHTON (MVC) | ↓ 8 | Colorado State |
| ↓ 9 | N.C. State | 9 | Illinois |
| San Jose (Thu/Sat) | San Jose (Thu/Sat) | ||
| 5 | Oklahoma State | ↓ 5 | Arizona |
| ↓ 12 | Cincinnati | 12 | MISSISSIPPI (SEC) |
| ↑ 4 | SAINT LOUIS (A-10) | 4 | Marquette |
| 13 | NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC) | 13 | SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Summit) |
| Auburn Hills (Thu/Sat) | Philadelphia (Fri/Sun) | ||
| ↑ 6 | Pittsburgh | 6 | VCU |
| 11 | La Salle or Tennessee | ↑ 11 | Minnesota |
| 3 | Michigan State | 3 | Georgetown |
| 14 | HARVARD (Ivy) | 14 | DAVIDSON (Southern) |
| Salt Lake City (Thu/Sat) | Lexington (Thu/Sat) | ||
| ↑ 7 | UCLA | ↓ 7 | MEMPHIS (C-USA) |
| 10 | Temple | 10 | Colorado |
| ↑ 2 | NEW MEXICO (MWC) | 2 | MIAMI (ACC) |
| 15 | PACIFIC (Big West) | 15 | IONA (MAAC) |
| FIRST FOUR (Dayton) | |||
| Tuesday: To Lexington | Tuesday: To Auburn Hills | ||
| 16 | JAMES MADISON (CAA) | 11 | La Salle |
| 16 | LIBERTY (Big South) | 11 | Tennessee |
| Wednesday: To Dayton | Wednesday: To Austin | ||
| 16 | LONG ISLAND U. (NEC) | ↓ 12 | California |
| 16 | NORTH CAROLINA A&T (MEAC) | 12 | St. Mary's |
| BIDS BY CONFERENCE | AVOIDING DAYTON | ARRIVALS | DEPARTURES |
| Big East: 8 | Cincinnati | None | None |
| Big Ten: 7 | Boise State | ||
| A-10: 5 | Wichita State | ||
| Big 12: 5 | Oklahoma | ||
| MWC: 5 | LAST FOUR IN | ||
| Pac-12: 5 | California | ||
| ACC: 4 | La Salle | ||
| SEC: 4 | Tennessee | ||
| MVC: 2 | St. Mary's | PROCEDURAL | MOVES |
| WCC: 2 | FIRST FOUR OUT | Minnesota | 10 down to 11 |
| 1-Bid Conferences: 21 | Middle Tennessee | Boise State | 11 up to 10 |
| Virginia | Villanova | 10 down to 11 | |
| Kentucky | Wichita State | 11 up to 10 | |
| Southern Mississippi | Cincinnati | 11 down to 12 | |
| NEXT FOUR OUT | Oklahoma | 12 up to 11 | |
| UMass | Mississippi | 11 down to 12 | |
| Alabama | La Salle, Tennessee | 12 up to 11 | |
| Maryland | |||
| Baylor |
Also considered (in order): Iowa, Arizona State, Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin
Later this evening, I’ll have my reaction to the Selection Committee’s bracket along with some final general thoughts. As I’ve said before, I don’t envy the Selection Committee’s task this season. The debates over the top seed line and the last couple of spots have surely been spirited, while I’d imagine the group will all sleep well tonight after racking their brains trying to seed and place the teams outside of the top four lines. There was a confounding level of similarity -- and mediocrity -- in this season’s profiles. I doubt that I’ll have all that much to critique about their choices.
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