Bracketology - 3/12/13

BRACKETOLOGY - 3/12/13

Another couple of days, another bracket with more changes. Indiana and Duke look like stable number 1 seeds (for now) and a closer look at Gonzaga drops the Zags down a line as their competitors take advantage of opportunities that the West Coast Conference does not present.

Kentucky, Tennessee, Temple and Boise State picked up key wins over the weekend that may cost teams such as La Salle and Virginia. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee will be the talk of the bubble.

Let’s take a look at my latest (as of games through Monday, March 11, 2013) prediction of the 2013 NCAA Tournament field and seeding, if the season were to end today (WARNING: The predicted field/seeding is highly likely to change from day to day or minute to minute).

*Automatic bids in italics

1 SEEDS: Indiana; Duke; Louisville; Kansas.

2 SEEDS: Michigan State; Gonzaga; Georgetown; Miami, Fl.

3 SEEDS: Michigan; Ohio State; Florida; New Mexico.

4 SEEDS: Marquette; Oklahoma State; Wisconsin; Syracuse.

5 SEEDS: Arizona; Kansas State; Pittsburgh; Saint Louis.

6 SEEDS: VCU; Butler; UNLV; San Diego State.

7 SEEDS: Missouri; Notre Dame; Colorado State; Memphis.

8 SEEDS: North Carolina; Illinois; NC State; Minnesota.

9 SEEDS: UCLA; Creighton; Oklahoma; Villanova.

10 SEEDS: Cincinnati; Boise State; St. Mary’s; Wichita State.

11 SEEDS: California; Colorado; Iowa State; Kentucky.

12 SEEDS: Tennessee vs. Temple; Oregon vs. Middle Tennessee; Belmont; Akron.

13 SEEDS: Bucknell; Louisiana Tech; Stephen F. Austin; Davidson.

14 SEEDS: Valparaiso; South Dakota State; Montana; Harvard.

15 SEEDS: Florida GC; Iona; Vermont; Long Beach State.

16 SEEDS: Western Kentucky; Long Island U.; James Madison vs. Liberty; Norfolk State vs. Southern U.

LAST FOUR IN: Tennessee; Oregon; Middle Tennessee; Temple.

LAST FOUR OUT: Baylor; La Salle; Mississippi; Virginia.

AT-LARGES DROPPED OUT: Virginia; La Salle.

AT-LARGE NEW ENTRIES: Kentucky; Middle Tennessee.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: Big East (8); Big Ten (7); ACC (4); Big 12 (5); MWC (5); Pac-12 (5); A-10 (4); SEC (4); MVC (2); WCC (2); Sun Belt (2).

Jamal Murphy has been making tournament predictions since 2010. He will be updating his predictions frequently until the Committee’s selection on Sunday, March 17th.

Note: Conference leaders are determined by the team with the fewest conference losses, with ties broken by the higher RPI ranking. Or the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament.

Please feel free to contact Jamal via Twitter: @Blacketologist