Bracket Watch: Northwestern is poised to make its first tourney ever

Last weekend, Northwestern won at Ohio State for the first time since 1977. With that, the 16-4 Wildcats — now tied for second place in the Big Ten — are serious contenders to earn their first NCAA tournament berth since ... well, ever.

If the season ended today, Northwestern would not even be a bubble team; it’d be squarely in. Chris Collins’ team is currently my first No. 8 seed, or No. 29 overall. While the Wildcats lack a truly high-end win, they’ve beaten two RPI Top 50 foes (Dayton and Wake Forest) and gone a decent 5-4 against RPI Top 100 teams.

The Wildcats need to do some work down the stretch to feel safe. They’re currently 5-2 in the Big Ten; they’ll want to finish at least 10-8. And their resume will look that much better if they win at least two of their four remaining scheduled games against Top 50 foes (two against Purdue, at Wisconsin and vs. Maryland).

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. West champions and Midwest vs. South champions in the national semifinals, based on the order of the No. 1 seeds.

BRACKET WATCH

LAST FOUR IN: Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Kansas State, Georgia

FIRST FOUR OUT: Illinois, Miami, Providence, VCU

NEXT FOUR OUT: Rhode Island, Oklahoma State, NC State, Cal

MULTIPLE BID CONFERENCES: ACC (10), Big Ten (8), Big 12 (7), Big East (6), SEC (5), Pac-12 (4), American (2), WCC (2)