Projecting the Seeds
(Updated morning of Jan. 30)
I stuck North Carolina State in at the last minute.
Why?
Because I had to have 65 schools to complete this NCAA Tournament bracket, and it came down to N.C. State and a bunch of other questionable teams for the final spot. Simply put, the Wolfpack are (in my eyes) the best of an average bunch -- slightly ahead of Seton Hall based somewhat on their victory at Seton Hall. Congratulations, Wolfpack. But I'm not writing this to clown N.C. State. That's not my point. My point is though Jim Boeheim is a fabulous coach and a man who deserves respect in this sport, I could not disagree more with his theory that the NCAA Tournament should be expanded.
Read my lips (and by lips, I mean words): The NCAA Tournament SHOULD NOT be expanded.
If N.C. State and Seton Hall are battling for the last spot it's plenty big enough.
Anyway, here's the latest Projecting the Field.
Top four seeds by region
| Seed | South | Midwest | East | West |
| 1 |  |  |  |  |
| 2 |  |  |  |  |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |
Bubble teams
Last four in: Saint Joseph's, Arizona State, UMass, N.C. StateLast four out: Seton Hall, Oregon, Providence, BYU
Bids by conference
| ACC (5) | |
 | Automatic bid: Duke |
| At-large: North Carolina, Miami, Clemson, North Carolina State | |
| Bubble: Boston College, Florida State, Virginia, Maryland | |
| Comment: Next week's game between North Carolina and Duke is shaping up to be a dandy. | |
| AMERICA EAST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Maryland-Baltimore County |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Brian Hodges is averaging 16.9 points and 3.7 rebounds for UMBC. | |
| ATLANTIC 10 (5) | |
 | Automatic bid: Xavier |
| At-large: Dayton, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's, UMass | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Yes, I really do have the A-10 getting as many bids as the ACC. Crazy, isn't it? | |
| ATLANTIC SUN (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Jacksonville |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Jacksonville is the only one-loss team in A-Sun play, though Belmont, East Tennessee State and Stetson are just behind the Dolphins. | |
| BIG 12 (6) | |
 | Automatic bid: Kansas |
| At-large: Texas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas A&M | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: The loss of Stefhon Hannah to a broken jaw effectively ended Missouri's hopes of an at-large bid. | |
| BIG EAST (8) | |
 | Automatic bid: Georgetown |
| At-large: Notre Dame, West Virginia, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Louisville, Syracuse | |
| Bubble: Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall | |
| Comment: The Hoyas are sitting alone atop the Big East standings. | |
| BIG SKY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Northern Arizona |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Northern Arizona's Kyle Landry, averaging 17.0 points and 8.4 rebounds, is going to be a load for somebody in the NCAA Tournament. | |
| BIG SOUTH (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Winthrop |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Winthrop remains the smart pick here despite trailing North Carolina-Asheville in the standings. | |
| BIG TEN (5) | |
 | Automatic bid: Michigan State |
| At-large: Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: No league is more clearly divided between the top and bottom than the Big Ten (fifth-place Ohio State to sixth-place Iowa is a huge drop). | |
| BIG WEST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Cal State Northridge |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Cal State Northridge, led by junior Deon Trezvant, has a two-game lead in the Big West standings. | |
| COLONIAL (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Virginia Commonwealth |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: George Mason | |
| Comment: George Mason got a win over VCU, but the Patriots are still behind in the league standings. | |
| CONFERENCE USA (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Memphis |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Memphis is 6-0 against the Top 50 at CollegeRPI.com. | |
| HORIZON (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Butler |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: Cleveland State | |
| Comment: Butler is atop the Horizon standings heading into a three-game road trip that starts at Valparaiso. | |
| IVY LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Cornell |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Cornell is the only Ivy League school with at least 10 victories. | |
| MAAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Rider |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: It would be nice to see Jason Thompson lead Rider to the NCAA Tournament, then go for 25 and 12 against a high-major opponent. | |
| MAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Kent State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: Ohio | |
| Comment: Kent State's win over Akron propelled the Golden Flashes to the top of the MAC standings. | |
| MEAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Morgan State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Three Morgan State players, including Jamar Smith, are averaging at least 12 points per contest. | |
| MISSOURI VALLEY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Drake |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: Illinois State | |
| Comment: Everybody keeps waiting for Drake to collapse, but it doesn't seem likely to happen. | |
| MOUNTAIN WEST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: UNLV |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: BYU, San Diego State | |
| Comment: UNLV looks ready to make the NCAA Tournament again despite losing all those players from last season. | |
| NORTHEAST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Wagner |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Wagner is the only Northeast Conference school with a Top 150 ranking at CollegeRPI.com. | |
| OHIO VALLEY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Austin Peay |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Austin Peay is still the pick here despite a recent loss to Samford. | |
| PAC-10 (6) | |
 | Automatic bid: UCLA |
| At-large: Washington State, Stanford, Arizona, Southern California, Arizona State | |
| Bubble: Oregon | |
| Comment: That impressive swing through the state of Oregon solidified the Bruins as the class of the Pac-10. | |
| PATRIOT LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Lafayette |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Lafayette is the only Patriot League team more than two games over .500. | |
| SEC (5) | |
 | Automatic bid: Tennessee |
| At-large: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida, Vanderbilt | |
| Bubble: Arkansas | |
| Comment: Kentucky is playing better, but it's still hard to imagine the Wildcats earning an at-large bid. | |
| SOUTHERN (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Davidson |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Davidson is 11-0 in league play and the Wildcats haven't lost since Dec. 21. | |
| SOUTHLAND (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Sam Houston State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: The Southland Tournament will be one of the more interesting events this March, far as one-bid leagues are concerned. | |
| SUMMIT LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Oral Roberts |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: ORU is the only team in this league with a Top 100 RPI. | |
| SUN BELT (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: South Alabama |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Ronnie Arrow is proving to be the perfect replacement for John Pelphrey at South Alabama. | |
| SWAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Alabama State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: The SWAC is rated as the worst league in the country at CollegeRPI.com. | |
| WAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Utah State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: The sooner those four suspended Utah State players are reinstated the better for Stew Morrill. | |
| WEST COAST (2) | |
 | Automatic bid: Gonzaga |
| At-large: Saint Mary's | |
| Bubble: None | |
| Comment: Saint Mary's finally took a league loss, which should give Gonzaga a little room to breathe. | |
