W-1.5 BP68

With conference tournaments underway, it's worth remembering just how much the conference tournaments impact the Selection Committee. As we have seen in the past, they will be very harsh with teams that go one-and-done in their conference tournament, while teams which win their conference tournaments can easily slide up a few seed lines. So there is still a lot to be done before teams settle into their final seeds.

For now, there is one change to the projected Field of 68: Butler moves in while Florida drops out.

In addition, here were 3 more teams eliminated from at-large contention since Saturday: Arizona State, Penn State, and UCLA. That leaves just 27 teams currently out of the projected bracket that still have a chance for an at-large bid, and we will eliminate approximately a dozen more over the next week and a half.

Remember, this is a projection of what the bracket will look like on Selection Sunday, and not a measure of where teams would be if the season ended now. Teams capitalized are the projected auto-bid winners for their respective conferences.

For now, here's where I see things ending up on Selection Sunday:

1. KANSAS (BIG 12)
1. VILLANOVA (BIG EAST)
1. NORTH CAROLINA (ACC)
1. Oklahoma

2. Xavier
2. Virginia
2. MICHIGAN STATE (BIG TEN)
2. Miami-Florida

3. West Virginia
3. Duke
3. KENTUCKY (SEC)
3. Oregon

4. ARIZONA (PAC-12)
4. Utah
4. Indiana
4. Iowa State

5. Maryland
5. Purdue
5. Baylor
5. California

6. DAYTON (ATLANTIC TEN)
6. Iowa
6. Texas
6. Texas A&M

7. Wisconsin
7. Colorado
7. UCONN (AAC)
7. Texas Tech

8. Notre Dame
8. Saint Joseph's
8. WICHITA STATE (MVC)
8. Providence

9. USC
9. Seton Hall
9. St. Bonaventure
9. Cincinnati

10. VCU
10. Pittsburgh
10. Vanderbilt
10. Saint Mary's

11. ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK (SUN BELT)
11. GONZAGA (WCC)
11. Michigan
11. Butler
11. Syracuse

12. MONMOUTH (MAAC)
12. Tulsa
12. South Carolina
12. VALPARAISO (HORIZON)
12. SAN DIEGO STATE (MOUNTAIN WEST)

13. STONY BROOK (AMERICA EAST)
13. AKRON (MAC)
13. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (SUMMIT)
13. CHATTANOOGA (SOUTHERN)

14. YALE (IVY LEAGUE)
14. HAWAII (BIG WEST)
14. UNC-WILMINGTON (COLONIAL)
14. UAB (CONFERENCE USA)

15. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (SOUTHLAND)
15. BELMONT (OVC)
15. NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC)
15. COASTAL CAROLINA (BIG SOUTH)

16. MONTANA (BIG SKY)
16. NORTH FLORIDA (ATLANTIC SUN)
16. BUCKNELL (PATRIOT)
16. TEXAS SOUTHERN (SWAC)
16. WAGNER (NEC)
16. NORFOLK STATE (MEAC)

Teams seriously considered that just missed the cut:
George Washington, Oregon State, Florida, LSU

Decent resumes, but not good enough:
Temple, Florida State, Ohio State, Alabama

Long shots, but still in the at-large discussion:
Creighton, Princeton, Stanford, Washington

Still alive, but pretty much need a miracle:
Houston, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Davidson, Georgetown, Marquette, Northwestern, UC-Irvine, Hofstra, Boise State, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, BYU