Bracketology 2/28/2022

Lots of teams played their way off the bubble this weekend. Most notable was Dayton, who took their 4th Q4 loss of the year against La Salle. Rutgers dropped their 3rd straight in a loss to Wisconsin, falling out of the field. Loyola Chicago lost on the road to Northern Iowa as well and might need to win Arch Madness to make the tournament.

The pool of potential bubble teams is getting smaller. I would define the real bubble as 17 teams for 8 spots- my last 8 in and my first 9 out. However, we’re likely to have some bid stealers (my guess is two) contracting that bubble.

1: Gonzaga, Baylor, Kansas, Arizona

2: Auburn, Kentucky, Purdue, Duke

3: Wisconsin, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Villanova

4: Providence, Illinois, Houston, Arkansas

5: Texas, UCLA, St. Mary’s, Connecticut

6: Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Colorado State

7: LSU, Murray State, Iowa State, Michigan State

8: Boise State, Iowa, Marquette, Seton Hall

9: TCU, Wyoming, Davidson, San Francisco

10: Notre Dame, Miami (FL), Creighton, Xavier

11: Wake Forest, North Texas, San Diego State, Memphis

12: (SMU/Michigan), (North Carolina/Indiana), Iona, Chattanooga

13: South Dakota State, Towson, Vermont, Toledo

14: Northern Iowa, New Mexico State, Montana State, Princeton

15: Texas State, Colgate, Jacksonville State, Long Beach State

16: Longwood, Bryant, (Norfolk State/Cleveland State), (Texas Southern/Nicholls State)

First Four Out: Loyola Chicago, BYU, Rutgers, Virginia Tech

Next Four Out: VCU, Florida, Oklahoma, Dayton

Also Considered: Oregon, Belmont, Kansas State, Colorado

Bids by Conference:

Big Ten: 8

Big East: 7

Big 12: 6

SEC: 6

ACC: 5

Mountain West: 4

American: 3

Pac-12: 3

West Coast: 3