Arizona beat UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament, and while that game might not have much of an impact on the Wildcats, it figures to knock the Bruins down a bit.
Last month, the selection committee revealed a provisional top 16, and a point of emphasis was strength of schedule. In particular, the Bruins were affected. UCLA was given a 4 seed (15th overall), well behind Oregon -- which it had recently beaten -- and Arizona. You might be surprised to learn that UCLA’s schedule has not improved much since that time.
UCLA’s schedule ranks 79th after the loss to Arizona on Friday night. By comparison, Gonzaga’s schedule comes in at 77th. If the committee is still down on the Bruins schedule, do not be surprised if you see them no higher than the 3 seed they have in today’s projected bracket.
California dropped out of the bracket after losing to Oregon in the other Pac-12 semifinal. The Bears were in desperate need of a quality victory and came up just short again.
Cal loses its spot in the bracket to Vanderbilt.
Meanwhile, it was a mixed bag for the SEC during its conference quarterfinals. Vanderbilt jumped into the bottom of the bracket as one of the last four in after the Commodores’ third victory against Florida. However, the Gators’ seed fell because of that game. Also, South Carolina dropped down a spot after the Gamecocks’ loss to Alabama.
There might only be two days to go, but nothing is final yet. With conference finals coming up, there is still a chance some bids will be stolen. The teams at the bottom of the bracket are rooting hard for some chalk in the bigger conferences and for Middle Tennessee to win Conference USA.
Last four in: Kansas State, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Rhode Island.
Last four out: California, Illinois State, Georgia, Iowa.
