Aidan Joly’s Bracketology: February 21
The regular season for some conferences are coming to a close. In fact, this is the final bracketology before conference tournaments start up as we sit just 19 days away from Selection Sunday. Here is my final bracket before conference tournaments.
Biggest Winner: Miami has been on the bubble all season, but I now think that they have placed themselves in the tournament as they have won five of their last six and three in a row. A win that helped them out was a huge overtime win over Virginia on Monday night. They still need to win a game or two to be a lock, but they should be able to do it. They play on Saturday against Duke followed by a tilt with Virginia Tech on Monday night.
Biggest Loser: Virginia is in a funk at the absolute worst time. They have lost six of their last eight games, and four in a row, capping it off last night with their loss to Miami as mentioned earlier. They have not scored over 55 points in three games, so that questions their offense heading into the tournament. However, they’ll be in the tournament either way, even if they lose out; although their seeding may be impacted. They take on NC State on Saturday and then North Carolina on Monday.
West Region:
1: Gonzaga vs 16: UNC Central/Mount St. Mary’s
8: USC vs 9: Michigan State
5: Florida State vs 12: Georgia Tech/Seton Hall
4: Cincinnati vs 13: UNC Wilmington
6: Virginia vs 11: California
3: Purdue vs 14: Florida Gulf Coast
7: South Carolina vs 10: Oklahoma State
2: North Carolina vs 15: Bucknell
South Region:
1: Arizona vs 16: North Dakota State
8: Miami vs 9: Illinois State
5: Butler vs 12: Monmouth
4: West Virginia vs 13: Belmont
6: Maryland vs 11: Nevada
3: Kentucky vs 14: Valparaiso
7: Iowa State vs 10: Xavier
2: Louisville vs 15: Texas Southern
East Region:
1: Villanova vs 16: Weber State/UC Davis
8: Arkansas vs 9: Minnesota
5: SMU vs 12: Akron
4: Wisconsin vs 13: UT Arlington
6: Notre Dame vs 11: Marquette/Alabama
3: Baylor vs 14: Princeton
7: VCU vs 10: TCU
2: Oregon vs 15: Middle Tennessee State
Midwest Region:
1: Kansas vs 16: New Orleans
8: Northwestern vs 9: Dayton
5: St. Mary’s vs 12: Vermont
4: Florida vs 13: East Tennessee State
6: Creighton vs 11: Wichita State
3: Duke vs 14: UNC Asheville
7: Virginia Tech vs 10: Michigan
2: UCLA vs 15: CSU Bakersfield
Conferences with multiple bids:
1. ACC, 9
2. Big 10, 7
3. Big 12, Big East, 6
4. Pac 12, 5
5. SEC, 4
6. AAC, WCC, Missouri Valley, Atlantic 10, 2
-Aidan Joly –@AJolysidelines – [email protected]–