Projecting the Field: Preseason edition

It's basketball season again, so let's start out with a projected bracket in the new, not terribly improved, 68-team format.

2010-11 Season Preview

Gary Parrish's tourney projections Conference outlooks & team reports SB Nation: Blogging the Bracket

The new format gives us 37 at-large teams instead of 34, and four play-in games. Two of those games will feature the four lowest-seeded teams in the field, and the other two will have the four lowest-rated at-large teams. The four lowest-rated teams will play to become 16-seeds, as they have in the past. The four at-large teams will play for a seed in the lower part of the bracket, wherever the last seeds would fit. Most of the time, it should be something like a 12 or a 13.

In this bracket, you will see that both of the at-large play-in game winners are slotted as 12-seeds. That may not end up being the case in March. They are not pre-determined to be any particular seed. That is decided by the committee when it puts the bracket together. We do know that each region will be assigned one play-in winner.

So what does this mean in the big picture? Just three more teams in this tournament that should probably be in the other one. Could be worse though. Could have been 31 more.

In this bracket, I like a Final Four of Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State and Kansas, with Duke winning it all. I reserve the right to change my mind between now and March. Maybe even more than once.

Detailed Breakdown

First Four
East			Southeast			Southwest			West
16 16	Boston U. UNC Asheville		12 12	New Mexico Richmond		16 16	Jackson St. Lehigh		12 12	Oklahoma St. St. John's

East 1 16 Duke First Four Charlotte March 18, 20 Newark March 25, 27 8 9 Texas A&M West Virginia 5 12 Florida Murray St. Tucson March 17, 19 4 13 Illinois Wofford 6 11 Washington Georgia Tucson March 17, 19 3 14 Baylor UCSB 7 10 Xavier Maryland Cleveland March 18, 20 2 15 Pittsburgh Lipscomb

Southeast New Orleans March 24, 26 Chicago March 18, 20 Michigan St. Texas St. 1 16 Clemson Mississippi St. 8 9 Denver March 17, 19 Georgetown First Four 5 12 Missouri Central Michigan 4 13 Washington, DC March 17, 19 Wichita St. Dayton 6 11 Kentucky Fairfield 3 14 Charlotte March 18, 20 Texas Marquette 7 10 North Carolina Morgan St. 2 15

Final Four: Houston (April 2, 4)

West 1 16 Syracuse Quinnipiac Washington, DC March 17, 19 Anaheim March 24, 26 8 9 BYU N.C. State 5 12 Purdue First Four Denver March 17, 19 4 13 Gonzaga Utah St. 6 11 Wisconsin Missouri St. Chicago March 18, 20 3 14 Memphis Weber St. 7 10 Temple Arizona Tulsa March 18, 20 2 15 Kansas Oakland

Southwest San Antonio March 25, 27 Tulsa March 18, 20 Kansas St. First Four 1 16 Tennessee Minnesota 8 9 Tampa March 17, 19 Virginia Tech Cincinnati 5 12 Butler VCU 4 13 Tampa March 17, 19 Florida St. UCLA 6 11 Villanova North Texas 3 14 Cleveland March 18, 20 San Diego St. Saint Louis 7 10 Ohio St. Princeton 2 15

Last four in: New Mexico, Oklahoma St., Richmond, St. John's
First four out: Louisville, Northwestern, Notre Dame, St. Mary's

Quick Breakdown
Conference	Bids	Conference	Bids	Conference	Bids	Conference	Bids
ACC	7	Big 12	7	MEAC	1	Southern	1
America East	1	Big West	1	Missouri Valley	2	Southland	1
Atlantic Sun	1	Colonial	1	Mountain West	3	Summit	1
Atlantic 10	5	C-USA	1	Northeast	1	Sun Belt	1
Big East	8	Horizon	1	Ohio Valley	1	SWAC	1
Big Sky	1	Ivy	1	Pac-10	3	WAC	1
Big South	1	MAAC	1	Patriot	1	West Coast	1
Big Ten	6	MAC	1	SEC	5

Detailed Breakdown

ACC (7) Projected champ: Duke At-large: Clemson, Florida St., Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia Tech On the fence: Miami

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

ATLANTIC 10 (5) Projected champ: Xavier At-large: Dayton, Richmond, Saint Louis, Temple On the fence: Rhode Island

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

BIG 12 (7) Projected champ: Kansas St. At-large: Baylor, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma St., Texas, Texas A&M On the fence: None

BIG EAST (8) Projected champ: Syracuse At-large: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Villanova, West Virginia On the fence: Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame

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

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

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

BIG WEST (1) Projected champ: UC Santa Barbara At-large: None On the fence: None

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

CONFERENCE USA (1) Projected champ: Memphis At-large: None On the fence: UTEP

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

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

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

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

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

MISSOURI VALLEY (2) Projected champ: Wichita St. At-large: Missouri St. On the fence: Creighton, Northern Iowa

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

NORTHEAST (1) Projected champ: Quinnipiac At-large: None On the fence: None

OHIO VALLEY (1) Projected champ: Murray St. At-large: None On the fence: None

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

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

SEC (5) Projected champ: Kentucky At-large: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi St., Tennessee On the fence: Alabama, Mississippi, Vanderbilt

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

SOUTHLAND (1) Projected champ: Texas St. 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: North Texas At-large: None On the fence: None

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

WAC (1) Projected champ: Utah St. At-large: None On the fence: New Mexico St.

WEST COAST (1) Projected champ: Gonzaga At-large: None On the fence: St. Mary's