- March Madness 2010 - http://www.syracuseselect.com/March_Madness/March_
So, after weeks of drama the climax has finally arrived over the last four days, it is finally here, Selection Sunday. The Conference tournaments have had more than their fair share of upsets shifting the bubble backwards and forwards as the fates of several teams are decided. Today’s four finals could still impact both the final bracket and the seeding, particularly with Mississippi State probably needing to upset Kentucky to earn a tournament berth. Here are projections of the 65-team field and seedings with comments ahead of the bracket being released tonight.
#1 Seeds: 1. Kansas 2. Kentucky 3. Syracuse 4. Duke
Comment: Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse have been the accepted top three for some time now. Duke’s body of work is still questionable, but they have a strong overall record and have dominated the ACC this season. They just edge out other contenders West Virginia and Ohio State.
#2 Seeds: 5. West Virginia 6. Kansas State 7. Ohio State 8. Pittsburgh
Comment: West Virginia barely misses out on a top seed, but will get to play close to home. Kansas State did enough to tie up a second seed after advancing to the Big 12 final. Pittsburgh’s overall body of work finishing second in the Big East is enough to hold off the likes of Georgetown and Baylor for a #2 seed. Ohio State could still improve its seeding with a good win in the Big Ten tournament final today.
#3 Seeds: 9. Baylor 10. Georgetown 11. Villanova 12. New Mexico
Comment: Georgetown improved their seeding dramatically with their Big East tournament run; meanwhile there is never enough love for New Mexico who won a tough Mountain West Conference.
#4 Seeds: 13. Temple 14. Tennessee 15. Texas A&M 16. Purdue
Comment: Temple deserve to be rewarded for an excellent season, they should be a #4 seed regardless of their performance against Richmond today. Purdue is a difficult team to seed, how can you not consider the impact of losing Robbie Hummel, especially after being blown out in the Big Ten semi-finals by Minnesota.
#5 Seeds: 17. Michigan State 18. Wisconsin 19. BYU 20. Butler
Comment: Wisconsin’s road record is a concern and Michigan State just hasn’t quite found consistency this season, still two dangerous Big Ten teams. Butler gets under-rated playing in the Horizon League, but they went unbeaten in Conference play this season, no mean feat.
#6 Seeds: 21. Vanderbilt 22. Maryland 23. Richmond 24. Xavier
Comment: Richmond and Xavier take the Atlantic 10 representation up to three and are both dangerous teams.
#7 Seeds: 25. UTEP 26. Gonzaga 27. Florida State 28. Texas
Comment: UTEP might get under-rated by others and even the committee, but not here, they deserve a good seed. How will Texas perform in the tournament? They’ve still got the talent, but have been sliding since mid-season.
#8 Seeds: 29.Marquette 30. Notre Dame 31. Northern Iowa 32. Louisville
Comment: Marquette and Notre Dame both impressed in the Big East tournament, but have to be manoeuvred around to avoid the other Big East teams. Watch out for Northern Iowa, they are a very good team.
#9 Seeds: 33.UNLV 34. Oklahoma State 35. California 36. Clemson
Comment: UNLV are the third of four Mountain West teams and it will be very interesting to see how they match up after only just losing in the Conference tournament final to San Diego State.
#10 Seeds: 37. Georgia Tech 38. Old Dominion 39. Missouri 40. Cornell
Comment:Georgia Tech has secured their place with a strong ACC run. Old Dominion and Cornell are two non-BCS Conference teams to keep an eye on, #7 seeds will probably want to avid playing against either of them.
#11 Seeds: 41. Saint Marys 42. San Diego State 43. Wake Forest 44. Siena
Comment:Saint Marys, San Diego State and Siena all made sure of NCAA tournament berths by winning their Conference tournaments, while Wake Forest will still be sweating it out a little bit.
#12 Seeds: 45. Utah State 46. Murray State 47. Washington 48. Minnesota
Comment: Utah State only just sneak in after being upset by New Mexico State, they are at serious risk as a result of doing very little outside their Conference. Minnesota should have done just about enough regardless of the whether they win the Big Ten or not, though it would help. Washington has been hot down the stretch, but still needed to win the Pac-10 title to be sure of a tournament place.
#13 Seeds: 49. Illinois 50. Houston 51. Morgan State 52. New Mexico State
Comment:Illinois just about sneak in, the Fighting Illini have wasted plenty of chances to impress the committee, but their resume is just about strong enough to get them in. Houston and New Mexico State were both surprise Conference tournament winners and it’ll be interesting for the regular season versus tournament victory for the automatic bid debate to see how they fair.
#14 Seeds: 53. Oakland 54. Wofford 55. Ohio 56. Montana
Comment: Oakland and Wofford are both teams that could be considered for #12 or #13 seeds too and it’ll be interesting to see who they match up against in the next round.
#15 Seeds: 57. Vermont 58. Sam Houston State 59. North Texas 60. UC Santa Barbara
Comment: Sam Houston State has enjoyed an excellent season and is perhaps a team to keep an eye on here.
#16 Seeds: 61. Robert Morris 62. East Tennessee State 63. Lehigh 64. Winthrop 65. Arkansas Pine-Bluff
Comment:Winthrop and Arkansas Pine-Bluff play for the final place in the field of 64.
Final Four out: Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Florida, Rhode Island
Mississippi State could still earn their way in. Virginia Tech may seem a surprise omission, but they’ve just not been that impressive, 10-6 is not that impressive in the ACC this year.
Next Four out: William & Mary, Mississippi, Dayton, Arizona State
