March 6th Seed List + NIT Bracketology (Men's)
The last major Saturday in college hoops shifted the landscape considerably. Bubbles were burst, Quad 1 wins were had, and the first tickets were punched (including into the NIT!) Let’s dive straight into things
NCAA Tournament Seed List
Gonzaga, Baylor, Arizona, Kansas
Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin
Purdue, Duke, Villanova, Houston
Texas Tech, UCLA, Providence, Illinois
Arkansas, Texas, Murray State, St. Mary’s
Iowa, Connecticut, Ohio State, LSU
Colorado State, North Carolina, Southern California, Alabama
Boise State, Seton Hall, San Diego State, Michigan State
Iowa State, San Francisco, Davidson, Loyola Chicago
Wake Forest, TCU, Marquette, Notre Dame
Miami FL, SMU, Wyoming, North Texas
VCU*, Michigan*, Oklahoma*, Memphis*, South Dakota State, Chattanooga
Iona, Toledo, Vermont, Towson
New Mexico State, Drake, Princeton, Longwood
Montana State, Norfolk State, Long Beach State, Jacksonville
Colgate, Cleveland State, Appalachian State, Bryant, Nicholls State, Alcorn State
*Last 4 In
The biggest winners of the day include:
Loyola Chicago who move from Last 4 In all the way up to a 9 seed (and can clinch the AQ spot today)
Miami, who likewise slides up from Last 4 In to a relatively safe 11 seed
Oklahoma, who moves from Next 4 Out all the way into the field with a win against Kansas State on the road
The biggest losers are:
Creighton, who slide from Last 4 In to the second team out of the field
North Texas, whose stumble to UTEP costs them a 9 seed and likely ends hopes of an at-large bid and giving Conference USA two teams in the field
VCU, whose missed Quad 1 opportunity against Saint Louis moves them down into the Last 4 In
NIT Seed List
Xavier, Creighton, Florida, BYU
Indiana, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Dayton
Belmont, Rutgers, St. Bonaventure, UAB
South Carolina, Colorado, Saint Louis, Virginia
Mississippi State, Santa Clara, UCF, Oregon
Florida State, Missouri State, Vanderbilt, St. John’s
Maryland, Wichita State, Temple, Richmond
Wagner, Northern Iowa, Texas State, Jacksonville State
First Four Out: Grand Canyon, Washington State, Ohio, Fresno State
EDIT: On first skim, I had previously overlooked Kansas State and West Virginia’s sub-.500 record, making them ineligible for the NIT. They’ve been replaced with Vanderbilt and Maryland. My apologies
The first “upsets” in conference tournaments happened yesterday with top seeds Northern Iowa, Texas State and Jacksonville State all losing. This pushed them from a possible NCAA Tournament berth to an assured NIT showing, which had the ripple effect of knocking Grand Canyon, Washington State and Ohio from spots in the field.