March Madness Bracketology Update for 2/5: Sizzling Sycamores
Another week, another set of bracket projections in college basketball, with Selection Sunday just under six weeks away and conference tournaments looming at the start of next month. 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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| MIDWEST | EAST | SOUTH | WEST | |
| 1 | Purdue (+700) | UConn (+750) | Houston (+850) | North Carolina (+1500) |
| 2 | Marquette (+2500) | Kansas (+1500) | Arizona (+1500) | Tennessee (+1400) |
| 3 | Alabama (+1800) | Wisconsin (+2500) | Illinois (+3500) | Baylor (+4000) |
| 4 | Iowa State (+3500) | Duke (+3000) | Dayton (+7500) | Creighton (+4500) |
| 5 | San Diego State | Auburn | BYU | Texas Tech |
| 6 | Florida Atlantic | South Carolina | Utah State | Kentucky |
| 7 | Colorado State | New Mexico | Oklahoma | Boise State |
| 8 | Saint Mary’s | Texas | Clemson | Utah |
| 9 | Indiana State | Northwestern | Butler | TCU |
| 10 | Nebraska | St. John’s | Ole Miss | Michigan State |
| 11 | Texas A&M | CIN/HALL | Florida | Washington State |
| 12 | COLO/MISS ST | Grand Canyon | McNeese | Princeton |
| 13 | Samford | UC Irvine | Louisiana Tech | James Madison |
| 14 | Akron | Drexel | Vermont | High Point |
| 15 | Colgate | Youngstown State | Eastern Washington | Morehead State |
| 16 | St. Thomas | Lipscomb | QUIN/MERR | NORF/SU |
LAST FOUR IN: Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, Colorado
FIRST FOUR OUT: Villanova, Virginia, Grand Canyon, Providence
NEXT FOUR OUT: Wake Forest, Oregon, Nevada, 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
Indiana State Is Playing Its Way Towards an At-Large Bid
There are few teams as red-hot as Indiana has been over the past month. Since dropping their first matchup to Drake on January 10th, the Sycamores have ripped off seven straight victories, including Saturday’s win over Drake, to take sole control in the Missouri Valley. It also helps that Indiana State has become metric darlings, ranking 36th in KenPom and 23rd in the NET, making them quite hard to ignore in the at-large conversation. They don’t have many valuable opportunities left in conference play, having already played both Bradley and Drake twice, so any slip-up ahead of Arch Madness would be costly.
Butler Pushes Past Bubble… For Now
In a weekend where it felt like very few bubble teams were able to make a statement, Butler took advantage and soared into the #9 seed line with their road win over Creighton on Friday night. It’s their fourth win this season over a team we have projected to make the field, and it’s now four in a row for the Bulldogs. The next litmus test is as big as it gets in the Big East, and perhaps the entire country: A trip out east to take on UConn at the XL Center.
Clemson, St. John’s Continue Complete Freefall
It has been a brutal past few weeks for Clemson and St. John’s, who have fallen multiple seed lines in a week. The Red Storm have dropped five of their previous six, while the Tigers have only won three of their last nine. Both teams are still projected to make the field, but things will start to get dicey if they can’t turn things around. Staying afloat by beating the bad teams remaining on their schedules should be enough for both here, but the margin for error is getting thin for both teams.
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