March Madness Bracketology Update for 2/13: Gamecocks’ Ascent

The countdown continues to Selection Sunday in college basketball, and we’ve got you geared up with another edition of our bracket projections! If you’re just starting to tune in to the collegiate hardwood, we’ve covered you with our latest bracket projections.

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LAST FOUR IN: Utah, Ole Miss, Cincinnati, Nevada

FIRST FOUR OUT: Gonzaga, Seton Hall, Grand Canyon, Wake Forest

NEXT FOUR OUT: St. John’s, Providence, Villanova, Memphis

Bold = automatic qualifier through conference title

Odds = National Championship Odds for the Top 16 teams (1-4 seeds) 

Conference winners were determined based on the following:

• Power 6 conferences: Highest-seeded team
• Mid-major conferences: Highest current KenPom ranking

South Carolina Is Proving the Entire Country Wrong

Despite being selected dead last in the SEC’s preseason poll, the Gamecocks are tied with Alabama atop the conference at 9-2. Head coach Lamont Paris is the frontrunner for National Coach of the Year, and he’s got South Carolina flirting with the protected seeds in our projections. While the predictive metrics aren’t totally in love, their resume is good enough for the Gamecocks to feel like they are on their way to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since Frank Martin took them to the Final Four in 2017.

Grand Canyon’s Improbable Push for an At-Large Bid

Not many are discussing it, but Grand Canyon deserves to be a part of the at-large conversation. The Antelopes have a win over San Diego State, two wins over mid-major elites in San Francisco and Louisiana Tech, and only have two losses on the season, both of which are within the first two quadrants. The last time the Selection Committee left a team with fewer than four losses out of the NCAA Tournament was in 2004, when Utah State went 25-4 and fell short in the Big West Tournament. They’ll undoubtedly be a compelling candidate if they drop one more regular-season game and fall short in the WAC Tournament, which is why we have them right near the bubble.

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It’s Panic Time for the Utes

Utah is officially on the bubble after dropping four of their previous five. The Utes were hanging around the seven or eight-seed line for most of the season, but their recent string of defeats has dropped them squarely on our cut line. We’ve narrowly got them in our field as of today, but there are landmines aplenty in their remaining schedule. A loss to virtually anybody in their remaining seven games outside of Colorado and Oregon could really put things in jeopardy down the stretch.

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