(Final update at 4:55 ET)
Welcome to the Selection Sunday edition of The Comeback Bracketology. The last six automatic bids will be handed out Sunday afternoon and then at 5:30 p.m. ET, we’ll find out the entire field.
The bracket holds 32 automatic bids for conference champions (noted below with italics), and the remaining 36 are at-large selections.
Here’s the full field of 68 through results of March 11 with some notes and analysis on the bracket below.
EAST |
MIDWEST |
|||||
Buffalo |
1 | Villanova | 1 | Kansas |
Tulsa |
|
| 16 | South Dakota State/Mount St. Mary’s | 16 | New Orleans/UC Davis | |||
| 8 | Northwestern | 8 | Virginia Tech | |||
| 9 | VCU | 9 | Seton Hall | |||
Orlando |
5 | Virginia | 5 | Purdue |
Milwaukee |
|
| 12 | UNC Wilmington | 12 | Vermont | |||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | Notre Dame | |||
| 13 | Winthrop | 13 | Bucknell | |||
Tulsa |
6 | Cincinnati | 6 | Saint Mary’s |
Sacramento |
|
| 11 | Wake Forest/Providence | 11 | Xavier | |||
| 3 | Baylor | 3 | Oregon | |||
| 14 | Iona | 14 | Northern Kentucky | |||
Greenville |
7 | Minnesota | 7 | Wisconsin |
Indianapolis |
|
| 10 | Vanderbilt | 10 | Wichita State | |||
| 2 | Duke | 2 | Kentucky | |||
| 15 | Jacksonville State | 15 | Kent State | |||
SOUTH |
WEST |
|||||
Salt Lake City |
1 | Arizona | 1 | Gonzaga |
Salt Lake City |
|
| 16 | Texas Southern | 16 | NC Central | |||
| 8 | Dayton | 8 | South Carolina | |||
| 9 | Arkansas | 9 | Oklahoma State | |||
Milwaukee |
5 | Iowa State | 5 | SMU |
Buffalo |
|
| 12 | Nevada | 12 | Rhode Island | |||
| 4 | Butler | 4 | West Virginia | |||
| 13 | New Mexico State | 13 | Princeton | |||
Indianapolis |
6 | Michigan | 6 | Creighton |
Orlando |
|
| 11 | Middle Tennessee | 11 | Kansas State/USC | |||
| 3 | Louisville | 3 | Florida State | |||
| 14 | East Tennessee State | 14 | Florida Gulf Coast | |||
Greenville |
7 | Maryland | 7 | Miami |
Sacramento |
|
| 10 | Marquette | 10 | Michigan State | |||
| 2 | North Carolina | 2 | UCLA | |||
| 15 | Troy | 15 | North Dakota |
Last four in: USC, Kansas State, Wake Forest, Providence
In whispering distance: Syracuse, Illinois State
In talking distance: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana
In shouting distance: TCU, Cal, Georgia
Bracket notes:
**(2:49 ET) Rhode Island is our championship week bid stealer after knocking off VCU in the Atlantic 10 title game. With the Rams earning an auto bid, one of the earlier at-larges has to go. And I think the team that gets bounced will be Syracuse.
** The final No. 1 seed in the South Region is still up in the air going into Sunday. I think Arizona (1 seed, South) will get the final spot over Duke (2 seed, East), thanks to a better overall record, road/neutral record and non-conference strength of schedule. But I would not be surprised to see the Blue Devils sneak onto the top line, either.
We’ll see how much the committee values quality road/neutral wins as Duke has five against the RPI Top 25. Kentucky (2 seed, Midwest) will also have an argument for a No. 1 seed if it beats Arkansas in the SEC finals.
**Going into Selection Sunday, there is still one bid stealer on the menu: Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10. If Rhode Island (first team out) can beat VCU in the A10 championship game, the Rams will eat up a spot and knock Syracuse (last team in) out of the field.
**The loser of the Big Ten championship game between Michigan and Wisconsin should remain a No. 7 seed, but the winner could jump to a No. 6 seed if SMU loses in the American finals.
**We’ll see a handful of new faces in this year’s tournament, whether through automatic bids or at-larges. North Dakota (15 seed, West) won the Big Sky title and UC Davis (16 seed, East) won the Big West on Saturday, joining Northern Kentucky (14 seed, Midwest) and Northwestern (8 seed, East) as first-time dancers.
Bids by conference:
ACC — 9
Big East — 7
Big Ten — 7
Big 12 — 6
SEC — 5
Pac-12 — 4
A10 — 3
AAC — 2
WCC — 2
