Bracket Watch: Who's on, off and near the bubble?

Published Feb. 17, 2017 9:07 a.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

Can you believe Selection Sunday is just three weeks away? Here is a quick snapshot of the bubble picture heading into this weekend’s action.

Trending upward: Michigan, Arkansas, Miami, Seton Hall.

All four notched big wins this past week, but still have work to do to feel safe. The 17-9 Wolverines are closest to graduating from bubble to lock while Seton Hall barely made it back into my field by beating Creighton on Wednesday.

Hanging around: Clemson, Syracuse, Kansas State, Cal.

All have done just enough to merit inclusion as of today but have serious flaws in their resumes that put them at risk of exclusion. Clemson is just 4-9 in the ACC. Syracuse is mired in the 70s in the RPI rating. Cal has just one Top 50 win.

On life support: Wake Forest, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio State.

Both the RPI and KenPom have Wake comfortably in the Top 40, but the Deacons remain winless against RPI Top 50 foes. The Vols have lost three of four to drop to just 14-12 overall. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes are likely done.

A reminder: Selection Sunday is March 12, and the tourney begins March 14. The Final Four is April 1-3 in Phoenix.

* -- Denotes projected conference champion, automatic berth

This edition's bracket is East vs. South and Midwest vs. West in the national semifinals, based on the order of my No. 1 seeds.

BRACKET WATCH

EAST REGION (NEW YORK)
Seed	Team	Location
1	Villanova*	at Buffalo
16	Mount St. Mary’s/UC Davis
8	Virginia Tech
9	Iowa State
4	Duke	at Buffalo
13	Monmouth*
5	Maryland
12	Vermont*
6	Wisconsin	at Orlando
11	Syracuse/Kansas State
3	Florida*
14	Princeton*
7	Northwestern	at Indianapolis
10	Miami
2	Louisville
15	UNC Asheville*

SOUTH REGION (Memphis)
Seed	Team	Location
1	Baylor	at Tulsa
16	New Orleans/Texas Southern
8	Dayton*
9	Michigan State
4	UCLA	at Sacramento
13	Valparaiso*
5	Cincinnati
12	Middle Tennessee*
6	Creighton	at Indianapolis
11	Wichita State*
3	Kentucky
14	Furman*
7	South Carolina	at Greenville, SC
10	TCU
2	North Carolina*
15	Florida Gulf Coast*

MIDWEST REGION (KANSAS CITY)
Seed	Team	Location
1	Kansas*	at Tulsa
16	NC Central*
8	Minnesota
9	VCU
4	Butler	at Milwaukee
13	Belmont*
5	Purdue*
12	UNC Wilmington*
6	Saint Mary's	at Salt Lake City
11	Marquette
3	Arizona*
14	Bucknell*
7	Oklahoma State	at Orlando
10	Clemson
2	Florida State
15	North Dakota State*

WEST REGION (SAN JOSE)
Seed	Team	Location
1	Gonzaga*	at Salt Lake City
16	Weber State*
8	USC
9	Michigan
4	West Virginia	at Milwaukee
13	Akron*
5	Notre Dame
12	UT Arlington*
6	SMU	at Greenville, SC
11	Seton Hall/Cal
3	Virginia
14	Colorado State*
7	Xavier	at Sacramento
10	Arkansas
2	Oregon
15	Cal State Bakersfield*

LAST FOUR IN: Syracuse, Kansas State, Seton Hall, Cal

FIRST FOUR OUT: Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Providence, Tennessee

NEXT FOUR OUT: Indiana, Georgia, Illinois State, Ohio State

MULTIPLE BID CONFERENCES: ACC (10), Big Ten (7), Big 12 (7), Big East (6), Pac-12 (5), SEC (4), A-10 (2), American (2), WCC (2)