Bracket Watch: The NCAA Tournament bubble is changing by the day

By Stewart Mandel
Published

The mix of bubble teams in play for the last few spots in my field has actually changed quite a bit — on both sides of the cut line — over the past week or so. Here, now, a little update on the contenders.

Trending up: Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Illinois.

The 18-11 Spartans are close to a lock at this point after beating Wisconsin over the weekend. The 16-13 Commodores have surged from below .500 a few weeks ago to one of my last four in. And the 17-12 Illini, largely forgotten all season, have moved into my first four out after improving to 7-9 in conference.

Trending down: USC, TCU, Kansas State.

The Trojans, once 21-4, are suddenly on shaky ground after four straight losses, most recently to 14-16 Arizona State. The 17-12 Horned Frogs and Wildcats had been in my field all the way up until this edition. Both are now 6-10 in the Big 12.

Wild card: Illinois State.

While Wichita State is likely in regardless of whether it wins this week’s Missouri Valley tournament, 25-5 Illinois State is harder to predict. A Jan. 14 win over the Shockers is essentially its entire resume. The Redbirds got my last at-large.

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


















BRACKET WATCH


































































































































































MIDWEST REGION (KANSAS CITY)
Seed Team Location
1 Kansas* at Tulsa
16 UC Irvine*/New Orleans*
8 South Carolina
9 Marquette
4 Purdue* at Milwaukee
13 Princeton*
5 Notre Dame
12 Vermont*
6 Wisconsin at Indianapolis
11 Vanderbilt/Syracuse
3 Butler
14 Akron*
7 Iowa State at Indianapolis
10 Arkansas
2 Louisville
15 North Dakota*




































































































































































WEST REGION (San Jose)
Seed Team Location
1 Gonzaga* at Salt Lake City
16 Texas Southern*/Mount St. Mary's*
8 Michigan
9 Xavier
4 Duke at Greenville, SC
13 Nevada*
5 SMU*
12 UT Arlington*
6 Creighton at Milwaukee
11 USC
3 Kentucky*
14 Florida Gulf Coast*
7 Virginia Tech at Sacramento
10 Wichita State*
2 Oregon*
15 Cal State Bakersfield*




































































































































































EAST REGION (NEW YORK)
Seed Team Location
1 Villanova* at Buffalo
16 NC Central*
8 Dayton*
9 Northwestern
4 West Virginia at Buffalo
13 Monmouth*
5 Virginia
12 UNC Wilmington*
6 Maryland at Orlando
11 Providence
3 Florida State
14 Bucknell*
7 Miami at Sacramento
10 VCU
2 UCLA
15 UNC Greensboro*




































































































































































SOUTH REGION (MEMPHIS)
Seed Team Location
1 North Carolina* at Greenville, SC
16 South Dakota*
8 Oklahoma State
9 Michigan State
4 Florida at Orlando
13 Belmont*
5 Cincinnati
12 Middle Tennessee*
6 Saint Mary's at Salt Lake City
11 Wake Forest/Illinois State
3 Arizona
14 Oakland*
7 Minnesota at Tulsa
10 Seton Hall
2 Baylor
15 Winthrop*



LAST FOUR BYES: Arkansas, Seton Hall, Providence, USC

LAST FOUR IN: Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Illinois State

FIRST FOUR OUT: Cal, Illinois, TCU, Kansas State

NEXT FOUR OUT: Ohio State, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Georgia

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