Bracket Watch: Kentucky, Virginia, Duke and Gonzaga clear No. 1s
Following upset losses last weekend by Kansas (to Oklahoma State) and Arizona (to Arizona State), my No. 1 seed line is as clear as it's been since my first bracket several weeks ago.
It's Kentucky, Virginia, Duke and Gonzaga, in that order. No one else -- Villanova, Wisconsin, etc. -- garnered serious consideration.
That might not have been the case, however, if this were actually Selection Sunday, in which case the committee would have to weigh Virginia's loss of star Justin Anderson. The 21-1 Cavs' second-leading scorer (13.4 points per game) and top 3-point shooter (.484) will miss four-to-six weeks after fracturing his finger in last weekend's win over Louisville. It's a potentially crushing blow.
There was no need to overact with my bracket, though, because we have plenty of time to see how Virginia fares without him. Not to mention the Cavaliers might get him back before the tourney.
Later this week, though, I'm heading to Indianapolis for the NCAA's annual media mock selection seminar, where we're supposed to treat the bracket as if the season were over. I'll be curious to see whether our panel keeps Virginia on the top line or drops it a seed, a la Cincinnati without Kenyon Martin in 2000.
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Editor's note: The bracket sets up as East vs. South, Midwest vs. West. It's based on games played through Feb. 9. 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.
| East Region (Syracuse) | ||
| Seed | Team | Location |
| 1 | Virginia* (ACC) | at Charlotte |
| 16 | Texas Southern* (SWAC)/New Mexico State* (WAC) | |
| 8 | LSU (SEC) | |
| 9 | Dayton (A-10)
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| 4 | Wichita State* (MVC) | at Seattle |
| 13 | Harvard* (Ivy)
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| 5 | Oklahoma State (Big 12)
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| 12 | St. John's (Big East)/Miami (ACC)
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| 6 | Maryland (Big Ten)
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at Omaha |
| 11 | Colorado State (MWC) | |
| 3 | Oklahoma (Big 12)
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| 14 | NC Central* (MEAC) | |
| 7 | Cincinnati (AAC) | at Pittsburgh |
| 10 | Old Dominion (C-USA) | |
| 2 | Villanova* (Big East) | |
| 15 | Louisiana-Monroe* (Sun Belt) |
