Final 2019 Bracketology: Bid Thieves Everywhere

The first four out can all blame bid thieves this year.  Saint Louis, Saint Mary's, Oregon, and Murray State all unexpectedly won conference tournaments.  All four of those conferences have projected at-large bids or teams within the First Four Out.  Texas, Arizona State, Indiana, and Alabama have these teams to blame.  It is extremely close between Belmont and Texas for the final spot.  Recent history would suggest they would go with Texas, but I think the 16-16 record is going to be a little too much for the committee to overcome.  I'm timidly putting Belmont in the final spot, but prepared for the possibility of them being just like MTSU last year or Monmouth in 2016.


1 Seeds: Duke, Virginia, Gonzaga, North Carolina
2 Seeds: Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan
3 Seeds: Florida State, LSU, Texas Tech, Houston
4 Seeds: Virginia Tech, Auburn, Wisconsin, Kansas
5 Seeds: Iowa State, Purdue, Kansas State, Villanova
6 Seeds: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wofford, Mississippi State
7 Seeds: Louisville, UCF, Marquette, Maryland
8 Seeds: Nevada, Seton Hall, Utah State, Ole Miss
9 Seeds: Baylor, Washington, Florida, Syracuse
10 Seeds: Minnesota, VCU, Iowa, Oklahoma
11 Seeds: NC State, Saint Mary's, Oregon, Clemson/TCU
12 Seeds: Ohio State/Belmont, Murray State, Liberty, New Mexico State
13 Seeds: Yale, Northeastern, Vermont, UC-Irvine
14 Seeds: Saint Louis, Old Dominion, Georgia State, Northern Kentucky
15 Seeds: Montana, Colgate, Bradley, Abilene Christian
16 Seeds: Gardner-Webb, Prairie View A&M, Iona/North Dakota State, Fairliegh Dickinson/NC Central

Last Four Byes:
VCU
Iowa
Oklahoma
NC State

Last Four In:
Clemson
TCU
Ohio State
Belmont

First Four Out:
Texas
Arizona State
Indiana
Alabama

Next Four Out:
Saint John's
Temple
Lipscomb
Furman


Bids by Conference:
ACC: 9
Big Ten: 8
Big 12: 7
SEC: 7
Big East: 3
American: 3
Mountain West: 2
West Coast: 2
Pac-12: 2
Atlantic 10: 2
Ohio Valley: 2

Bracketology March 13, 2019

Note: Minor conference auto-bids (witn no chance of at-large berths) will be updated Saturday.  This will be updated as games go final during Wednesday evening.

1 Seeds: Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Gonzaga
2 Seeds: Tennessee, Duke, Texas Tech, LSU
3 Seeds: Michigan State, Houston, Michigan, Florida State
4 Seeds: Purdue, Virginia Tech, Kansas State, Wisconsin
5 Seeds: Kansas, Buffalo, Auburn, Wofford
6 Seeds: Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Marquette, Iowa State
7 Seeds: Villanova, Maryland, Louisville, UCF
8 Seeds: Nevada, Texas, Baylor, Ole Miss
9 Seeds: Washington, VCU, Utah State, Syracuse
10 Seeds: Florida, Iowa, Seton Hall, Oklahoma
11 Seeds: NC State, Minnesota, TCU, Saint Mary's
12 Seeds: Ohio State/Clemson, Georgetown/Indiana, Murray State, Liberty
13 Seeds: New Mexico State, Yale, Hofstra, Vermont
14 Seeds: UC-Irvine, Old Dominion, Loyola-Chicago, South Dakota State
15 Seeds: Texas State,  Northern Kentucky, Montana, Colgate
16 Seeds: Radford, Sam Houston State, Iona/Prairie View A&M, Saint Francis (PA)/Norfolk State

Last Four Byes:
Oklahoma
NC State
Minnesota
TCU

Last Four In:
Ohio State
Clemson
Georgetown
Indiana

First Four Out:
Arizona State
Creighton
Temple
Belmont

Next Four Out:
Saint John's
Alabama
Furman
Lipscomb

Third Four Out:
Oregon
Arkansas
Xavier
Providence

Bids by Conference:
ACC: 9
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 8
SEC: 7
Big East: 4
American: 3
Mountain West: 2
West Coast: 2

2019 Bracketology

It's March...y'all know it's time for Bracketology.  Of course, it's worth noting that the NCAA retired the RPI over the offseason (RIP RPI) and introduced a new system called the NET, which includes computer metrics and margin of victory, capped at 10 points.  The formula isn't public, so we can only get the rankings from the NCAA itself.

Onto the projected seeds (projected auto-bids in bold):

1 Seeds: Virginia, Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky
2 Seeds: Tennessee, North Carolina, Houston, Michigan State
3 Seeds: Texas Tech, LSU, Michigan, Purdue
4 Seeds: Kansas, Marquette, Virginia Tech, Iowa State
5 Seeds: Kansas State, Wisconsin, Buffalo, Florida State
6 Seeds: Wofford, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Maryland
7 Seeds: Villanova, Nevada, Auburn, Louisville
8 Seeds: Baylor, Iowa, Washington, Texas
9 Seeds: Ole Miss, UCF, Florida, NC State
10 Seeds: Syracuse, VCU, Ohio State, Oklahoma
11 Seeds: Utah State, TCU, Alabama, Belmont
12 Seeds: Clemson, Saint John's/Seton Hall, Lipscomb, Minnesota/Furman
13 Seeds: New Mexico State, Yale, Hofstra, Vermont
14 Seeds: UC-Irvine, Old Dominion, Loyola-Chicago, South Dakota State
15 Seeds: Texas State,  Northern Kentucky, Montana, Colgate
16 Seeds: Radford, Sam Houston State, Iona/Prairie View A&M, Saint Francis (PA)/Norfolk State

Last Four Byes:
Utah State
TCU
Alabama
Clemson

Last Four In:
Saint John's
Seton Hall
Minnesota
Furman

First Four Out:
Arizona State
Temple
Saint Mary's
Butler

Next Four Out:
Murray State
Indiana
Creighton
Georgetown

Third Four Out:
Xavier
Liberty
South Carolina
Oregon