Bracket Watch: Heat is back on Crean as Indiana slips on the bubble
We're down to the final weekend of the regular season, and it's imperative that the nation's assorted bubble teams finish strong. That's particularly true for a few teams that seemed like mortal locks just a couple of weeks ago but have suddenly entered dangerous territory.
Indiana (19-11) has struggled enough recently to merit a fresh round of Tom Crean hot-seat talk. The Hoosiers, 9-8 in the Big Ten, still have a decent resume that includes four top-35 wins, but they themselves have fallen out of the RPI top 50. Saturday's home finale against Michigan State could be huge.
While VCU (21-9) remains a top-25 team according to the RPI ratings, the Rams have gone in the tank without injured star Briante Weber, dropping three straight and falling from first to fourth place in the Atlantic 10. VCU should still be safely in the field, but an early conference tourney exit could alarm the committee.
And LSU (21-9) did itself no favors this week with an ugly 78-63 home loss to mediocre Tennessee. The Tigers have been a mixed bag, beating four top-50 foes but also losing to five ranked 90th or lower. A couple of wins in the SEC tournament might make for a suspense-free Selection Sunday.
Of course, all three are sitting more comfortably than the many teams seeded lower than them in my latest bracket (or not in it at all), but much will change with inevitable conference tourney upsets. It's best to make the committee's decisions easier, not harder.
Editor's note: The bracket sets up as East vs. South, Midwest vs. West. It's based on games played through March 2. Projected automatic berths (*) go to the current first-place team in each conference (in cases of first-place ties, the higher-rated RPI team gets the nod).
Selection Sunday is March 15.
Last four in: BYU, Boise State, Texas, Davidson
| East Region (Syracuse) | ||
| Seed | Team | Location |
| 1 | Virginia* (ACC) | at Charlotte |
| 16 | North Florida* (Atlantic Sun) | |
| 8 | Dayton* (A-10)
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| 9 | Indiana (Big Ten)
|
|
| 4 | Utah (Pac-12) | at Portland |
| 13 | Valparaiso* (Horizon) | |
| 5 | Georgetown (Big East)
|
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| 12 | Louisiana Tech* (C-USA) | |
| 6 | West Virginia (Big 12) | at Pittsburgh |
| 11 | BYU (WCC)/Boise State (MWC) | |
| 3 | Maryland (Big Ten) | |
| 14 | Wofford* (Southern) | |
| 7 | SMU* (AAC)
|
at Omaha |
| 10 | Ole Miss (SEC)
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| 2 | Kansas* (Big 12) | |
| 15 | NC Central* (MEAC) |
