Welcome to college basketball’s Championship Week! With Selection Sunday officially days, and not weeks, away, Sports Illustrated is bringing you daily (and sometimes hourly) updates to the projected field as conference tournament results come in. From automatic bids being locked up in smaller conferences to key bubble battles in the power leagues, we’re keeping you updated with all the news and notes to get you prepared for the bracket reveal Sunday evening.
Here’s a look at the latest projected men’s field.
On the Bubble
Last Four Byes:
Vanderbilt Commodores
Baylor Bears
West Virginia Mountaineers
Arkansas Razorbacks
Last Four In:
Indiana Hoosiers
San Diego State Aztecs
Texas Longhorns
Boise State Broncos
First Four Out:
Xavier Musketeers
North Carolina Tar Heels
Colorado State Rams
UC Irvine Anteaters
Next Four Out:
Ohio State Buckeyes
Dayton Flyers
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
North Texas Mean Green
Notes from Thursday:
The margins are increasingly tight between the seven teams in clearest contention for the final four spots in the field. Three of Thursday’s Last Four In lost Thursday, while the first three teams out of the projected field won (all Quad 1 or Quad 2 games). The biggest loser of Thursday: Xavier, which missed a golden chance to add a second Quad 1 win and instead will watch from home as several of the teams around it are getting extra chances at big wins. Indiana and San Diego State also are stuck watching from the sidelines, and each have flaws that could eventually get them left out: Indiana with just two wins vs. the field, SDSU with weak quality metrics and a Quad 3 loss to UNLV.
It’s wise not to overreact too much to conference tournament results based on previous committee history, but there’s no question Texas has helped itself a ton this week with Quad 1 victories over Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. For reference, that’s more victories against the top quadrant in 36 hours than North Carolina, Xavier or Colorado State have all season. Boise State also moved the needle with a win over fellow bubble team San Diego State, but that might not be enough to keep them in the field if they lose to New Mexico on Friday. Entering the week, it felt like Colorado State winning its first two Mountain West tournament games might be enough regardless of what happens on Championship Saturday, but with others winning, the safer bet feels like securing the automatic bid.
And then there’s North Carolina, which gets its third crack at Duke on Friday and will get the Blue Devils short-handed with Cooper Flagg almost assuredly sidelined. That should matter little to the selection committee; win and the Tar Heels are in, lose and it will be hard to justify their inclusion into the field.
Bubble games to watch Friday:
VCU vs. St. Bonaventure, 11:30 a.m. ET
Texas vs. Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. ET
North Carolina vs. Duke, 7 p.m. ET
UC San Diego vs. UC Santa Barbara, 9 p.m. ET
Boise State vs. New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. ET
Colorado State vs. Utah State, 12:00 a.m. ET Saturday
Included in this list are a pair of potential bubble teams currently occupying spots in the field as projected automatic qualifiers: VCU in the A-10, UC San Diego in the Big West. As things stand Friday morning, both teams are above the at-large cut line on the seed list, but that could very possibly change with a loss to a subpar opponent like both will face Friday. Bubble teams should be rooting for as little chaos as possible and no other teams to be added to the mix.
Projecting the Field of 68
BOLD indicates clinched automatic bid
* indicates projected automatic bid
South Region:
No. 1 Auburn Tigers* vs. No. 16 SIUE Cougars/Saint Francis Red Flash
No. 8 UConn Huskies vs. No. 9 New Mexico Lobos*
No. 5 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 12 Liberty Flames*
No. 4 Maryland Terrapins vs. No. 13 Yale Bulldogs*
No. 6 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 11 San Diego State Aztecs/Indiana Hoosiers
No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 14 Wofford Terriers
No. 7 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 10 Baylor Bears
No. 2 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 15 Montana Grizzlies
East Region:
No. 1 Duke Blue Devils* vs. No. 16 American Eagles/Jackson State Tigers*
No. 8 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. No. 9 Creighton Bluejays
No. 5 BYU Cougars vs. No. 12 McNeese State Cowboys
No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 13 Akron Zips*
No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini vs. No. 11 Drake Bulldogs
No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones vs. No. 14 Utah Valley Wolverines
No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs* vs. No. 10 Utah State Aggies
No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 15 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks
Midwest Region:
No. 1 Houston Cougars* vs. No. 16 Quinnipiac Bobcats*
No. 8 Memphis Tigers* vs. No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs
No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 12 Texas Longhorns/Boise State Broncos
No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 13 Lipscomb Bisons
No. 6 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks
No. 3 St. John's Red Storm* vs. No. 14 Troy Trojans
No. 7 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers
No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 15 Bryant Bulldogs*
West Region:
No. 1 Florida Gators vs. No. 16 Norfolk State Spartans*
No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners
No. 5 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 12 VCU Rams*
No. 4 Clemson Tigers vs. No. 13 High Point Panthers
No. 6 Saint Mary's Gaels vs. No. 11 UC San Diego Tritons*
No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington Seahawks
No. 7 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores
No. 2 Michigan State Spartans* vs. No. 15 Robert Morris Colonials
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Men’s Bracket Watch: Seven Teams Vying for Last Four Spots.
