Nov. 9, 2009

Projecting the Field

By Gary Parrish | CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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Palm's projections: Fun with fliers

Updated Nov. 9

It was this time last year that I projected a North Carolina vs. Louisville title game.

Is that what materialized?

No.

But both schools did earn No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament -- point being that I was solid with that projection, and there's reason to believe I'll be solid again this season because I value talent over pretty much everything else. The most talented teams are typically safe bets to play on the first Monday in April.

So put me down for Kansas (lots of future pros) vs. Kentucky (lots of future pros) in the title game, for a rematch of that Bill Self/John Calipari showdown from two years ago. And though I can't guarantee Calipari will again be ahead nine points with two minutes left, what I can guarantee is that he'll win if he is because it's impossible to blow two leads like that in one lifetime.

Anyway, the field ...

The Seeds

Midwest 1 16 Kansas Jackson State/ Weber State St. Louis March 26, 28 8 9 UCLA Cincinnati 5 12 Illinois Nevada 4 13 Clemson UNLV 6 11 Siena Texas A&M 3 14 West Virginia Holy Cross 7 10 Mississippi State Wake Forest 2 15 Purdue Radford		East Syracuse March 25, 27 Kentucky Boston U. 1 16 Gonzaga Notre Dame 8 9 Michigan Utah State 5 12 Oklahoma Old Dominion 4 13 Minnesota South Carolina 6 11 Duke Oakland 3 14 Kansas State Northern Iowa 7 10 Connecticut Morehead State 2 15
West 1 16 Texas Morgan State Salt Lake City March 25, 27 8 9 Syracuse Maryland 5 12 Ohio State UTEP 4 13 Dayton Akron 6 11 Louisville Creighton 3 14 Washington Sam Houston State 7 10 Mississippi BYU 2 15 North Carolina Long Beach State		South Houston March 26, 28 Michigan State Jacksonville 1 16 Oklahoma State Xavier 8 9 Georgetown San Diego State 5 12 Tennessee Charleston 4 13 California Tulsa 6 11 Butler Cornell 3 14 Geogia Tech Western Kentucky 7 10 Villanova Mt. St. Mary's 2 15

Quick Breakdown

Detailed Breakdown

ACC (6) Projected champ: North Carolina At-large: Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest On the fence: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Boston College

AMERICA EAST (1) Projected champ: Boston University At-large: None On the fence: None

ATLANTIC 10 (2) Projected champ: Dayton At-large: Xavier On the fence: Richmond, La Salle

ATLANTIC SUN (1) Projected champ: Jacksonville At-large: None On the fence: None

BIG 12 (6) Projected champ: Kansas At-large: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State On the fence: Missouri

BIG EAST (8) Projected champ: Villanova At-large: Connecticut, West Virginia, Louisville, Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Cincinnati On the fence: Pittsburgh, Seton Hall

BIG SKY (1) Projected champ: Weber State At-large: None On the fence: None

BIG SOUTH (1) Projected champ: Radford At-large: None On the fence: None

BIG TEN (6) Projected champ: Michigan State At-large: Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota On the fence: Wisconsin

BIG WEST (1) Projected champ: Long Beach State At-large: None On the fence: None

COLONIAL (1) Projected champ: Old Dominion At-large: None On the fence: VCU

CONFERENCE USA (2) Projected champ: Tulsa At-large: UTEP On the fence: Memphis

HORIZON (1) Projected champ: Butler At-large: None On the fence: None

IVY LEAGUE (1) Projected champ: Cornell At-large: None On the fence: None

MAAC (1) Projected champ: Siena At-large: None On the fence: None

MAC (1) Projected champ: Akron At-large: None On the fence: None

MEAC (1) Projected champ: Morgan State At-large: None On the fence: None

MISSOURI VALLEY (2) Projected champ: Northern Iowa At-large: Creighton On the fence: Illinois State

MOUNTAIN WEST (3) Projected champ: BYU At-large: San Diego State, UNLV On the fence: Utah, New Mexico

NORTHEAST (1) Projected champ: Mt. St. Mary's At-large: None On the fence: None

OHIO VALLEY (1) Projected champ: Morehead State At-large: None On the fence: None

PAC-10 (3) Projected champ: Washington At-large: California, UCLA On the fence: Arizona

PATRIOT LEAGUE (1) Projected champ: Holy Cross At-large: None On the fence: None

SEC (5) Projected champ: Kentucky At-large: Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina On the fence: Florida, Vanderbilt

SOUTHERN (1) Projected champ: Charleston At-large: None On the fence: None

SOUTHLAND (1) Projected champ: Sam Houston State At-large: None On the fence: None

SUMMIT LEAGUE (1) Projected champ: Oakland At-large: None On the fence: None

SUN BELT (1) Projected champ: Western Kentucky At-large: None On the fence: None

SWAC (1) Projected champ: Jackson State At-large: None On the fence: None

WAC (2) Projected champ: Nevada At-large: Utah State On the fence: None

WEST COAST (1) Projected champ: Gonzaga At-large: None On the fence: Portland