New Bracketology - 2/14/17

On Saturday, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee gave us a sneak peek at their thinking as far as the top four seeding lines are concerned. It gave us a clue as to how they may be slightly overvaluing the Pac 12 conference, slightly undervaluing the Big East conference and, some would say, completely disrespecting the Big Ten conference.

That being said, the committee’s current rankings gave us lots to talk about and gives us the groundwork for this week’s look at the possible tournament field.

In this latest edition of bracketology, here’s a look at the field if the season were to end today.

Caution: The predicted field/seeding is highly likely to change from day to day or minute to minute.

*Automatic bids in italics.

1 SEEDS: Villanova; Kansas; Gonzaga, Baylor.

2 SEEDS: North Carolina; Florida State; Louisville, Oregon.

3 SEEDS: Arizona; Virginia; Florida; Kentucky.

4 SEEDS: West Virginia; Butler; UCLA; Duke.

5 SEEDS: Creighton; Wisconsin; Purdue; Cincinnati.

6 SEEDS: Notre Dame; South Carolina; Maryland; Xavier.

7 SEEDS: SMU; St. Mary’s; Minnesota; Northwestern.

8 SEEDS: Iowa State; USC; Oklahoma State; Virginia Tech.

9 SEEDS: Dayton; VCU; Michigan State; Kansas State.

10 SEEDS: Michigan; TCU; Tennessee; Miami.

11 SEEDS: Wake Forest; Wichita State vs. Seton Hall; California vs. Syracuse; Middle Tennessee State.

12 SEEDS: Illinois State; North Carolina Wilmington; Nevada; Texas Arlington.

13 SEEDS: Akron; Vermont; Monmouth; New Mexico State.

14 SEEDS: Belmont; UNC Asheville; Princeton; Valparaiso.

15 SEEDS: Chattanooga; Bucknell; North Dakota State; Florida Gulf Coast.

16 SEEDS: Texas Southern; Eastern Washington; UC Irvine vs. NC Central; New Orleans vs. Mount St. Mary’s.

LAST FOUR IN: Wichita State; California; Syracuse; Seton Hall.

FIRST SIX OUT: Rhode Island; Arkansas; Marquette; Georgetown; Indiana; Clemson.

NEXT SIX OUT: Vanderbilt; Georgia; Georgia Tech; Ohio State; Houston; Mississippi.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: ACC (10); Big 12 (7); Big Ten (7); Big East (5); Pac 12 (5); SEC (4); Atlantic 10 (2); AAC (2); Missouri Valley (2); West Coast (2).

Note: Automatic bids are determined by the highest RPI team in each conference.