New Bracketology - 2/21/17

Remember a couple of weeks ago when people were in awe of the size and scope of the bubble? Well, as is normally the case, the bubble is deflating as we get closer to March. In fact, this season’s bubble looks as lean as it’s been in a long time.

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, North Carolina.

2 SEEDS: Baylor; Louisville, Oregon; Duke.

3 SEEDS: Florida State; Arizona; Florida; Kentucky.

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

5 SEEDS: Wisconsin; Creighton; Cincinnati; Virginia.

6 SEEDS: Maryland; Notre Dame; SMU; St. Mary’s.

7 SEEDS: South Carolina; Xavier; Minnesota; Northwestern.

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

9 SEEDS: Dayton; VCU; Michigan; USC.

10 SEEDS: Michigan State; Wichita State; Arkansas; California.

11 SEEDS: Kansas State; Marquette vs. Wake Forest; Tennessee vs. Seton Hall; Middle Tennessee State.

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

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

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

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

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

LAST FOUR IN: Marquette; Tennessee; Seton Hall; Wake Forest.

FIRST SIX OUT: TCU; Syracuse; Georgetown; Vanderbilt; Rhode Island; Georgia.

NEXT SIX OUT: Georgia Tech; Indiana; Providence; Clemson; Houston; Alabama.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: ACC (9); Big Ten (7); Big East (6); Big 12 (6); Pac 12 (5); SEC (5); Atlantic 10 (2); AAC (2); Missouri Valley (2); West Coast (2).

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