Bracket - February 25

The demise of the bubble teams continues. The list is really long with only 3 weeks to go until Selection Sunday. Undeserving any other year, teams like Ohio State, Florida, and Wake Forest hang on to the bracket. New Mexico is building a good resume, but I'm waiting to see how it does against BYU and UNLV before passing judgment.

BracketBuster weekend was really good for the Missouri Valley with its 5 top teams all winning. It's set up a great battle between Southern Illinois, Creighton, and Illinois State which are all hovering around the bubble with the Salukis actually making it in this time.

Oregon and Arizona State switch spots in and out of the bracket with the Sun Devils picking up an important road win over Washington. Oregon has lost 3 straight, albeit to Wazzu, UCLA, and USC.

Maryland's losses to Virginia Tech and Miami really hurt. Their non-conference performance isn't anything to write home about, their RPI is in the iffy range and the goodwill they gained from beating UNC a month ago is pretty much gone. Their game against Wake Forest looms large.

I would write about the resurgence of Villanova but they lost after the bracket was published, so depending on the remaining games until Friday, they might not be in the bracket for long.

Remember when people were predicting the Atlantic 10 would get 5 teams into the NCAA's? Wouldn't it be crazy if they managed to get only one? Xavier's the only sure bet. St. Joseph's and Massachusetts are just inside the bubble and in the bracket while Dayton and Rhode Island are just outside.

And now the rundown...

http://bracketproject.atspace.com/022508.pdf

Multi-bid Conferences:
Big East - 8, Pac-10 - 6, Big 12 - 6, Big 10 - 5, SEC - 5, ACC - 5, Atlantic 10 - 3, Missouri Valley - 2, Mountain West - 2, West Coast - 2

New teams in the bracket:
Arizona State, Morgan State, Southern Illinois, St. Joseph's, Wake Forest, Villanova

Teams out of the bracket:
Maryland, Mississippi, Norfolk State, Oregon, Rhode Island, Syracuse

Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Villanova, Wake Forest, Florida

Last 4 Teams Out:
New Mexico, Illinois State, Oregon, Syracuse