2012 NCAA Tournament Bracketology

It is that time again! March Madness is approaching very quickly and it is time to predict the field of 68. Here is a little taste of what I think the tournament would look like if it started today.

First, the number one overall seed would be the Kentucky Wildcats, who will be traveling a whopping 75 miles Northwest to Louisville for the second and third round.

Syracuse, Ohio State and North Carolina will be the other three No. 1seeds. UNC is tied with Duke and FSU in the ACC, so I am assuming UNC will be ranked higher than Duke based on Duke's loss to FSU at home compared to UNC's loss at FSU. Either way, the winner of the ACC will be either UNC or Duke and the winner will receive a #1 seed.

Schools in ALL CAPS indicate the 31 conference champions. Schools in normal font are at-large bid winners. The seeding process was done according to the quality of wins, the quality of losses, RPI and recent performance.

I will work to do a weekly "Bracketology" up until Selection Sunday (3/11/2012). I would love to hear your comments and arguments for and against where I have seeded teams.

MIDWEST REGIONAL (St. Louis, MO)

Louisville, KY

#1 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (21-1, 7-0)

#16 UNC-ASHEVILLE BULLDOGS (16-7, 11-1)/LONG ISLAND BLACK BIRDS (15-7, 9-1)

#8 Purdue Boilermakers (15-7, 5-4)

#9 Memphis Tigers (15-6, 6-1)

Portland, OR

#4 Wisconsin Badgers (17-5, 6-3)

#13 DAVIDSON WILDCATS (15-5, 9-1)

#5 West Virginia Mountaineers (15-7, 5-4)

#12 New Mexico Lobos (17-4, 3-2)

Albuquerque, NM

#2 Baylor Bears (19-2, 6-2)

#15 AKRON ZIPS (14-7, 6-1)

#7 MURRAY STATE RACERS (21-0, 9-0)

#10 Xavier Musketeers (14-7, 5-3)

Columbus, OH

#3 Georgetown Hoyas (16-4, 6-3)

#14 NEVADA WOLFPACK (18-3, 7-0)

#6 Virginia Cavaliers (17-3, 4-2)

#11 USM GOLDEN EAGLES (19-3, 6-1)

WEST REGIONAL (Phoenix, AZ)

Greensboro, NC

# 1 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (18-3, 5-1)

#16 TEXAS-ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (15-5, 7-0)

#8 Louisville Cardinals (17-5, 5-4)

#9 Alabama Crimson Tide (14-7, 3-4)

Portland, OR

#4 UNLV RUNNIN' REBELS (20-3, 4-1)

#13 ORU GOLDEN EAGLES (20-4, 12-0)

#5 Michigan Wolverines (16-6, 6-3)

#12 Cincinnati Bearcats (15-7, 5-4)/ Saint Louis Billikens (16-5, 4-3)

Omaha, NE

#2 KANSAS JAYHAWKS (17-4, 7-1)

#15 GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS (18-5, 10-1)

#7 Connecticut Huskies (14-6, 4-4)

#10 Temple Owls (15-5, 4-2)

Nashville, TN

#3 Florida Gators (17-4, 5-1)

#14 MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (16-5, 5-2)

#6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-3, 7-1)

#11 Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-6, 4-5)

EAST REGIONAL (Boston, MA)

Pittsburgh, PA

#1 SYRACUSE ORANGE (22-1, 9-1)

#16 STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (13-7, 8-1)/ MISS. VALLEY STATE DELTA DEVILS (9-11, 8-0)

#8 Illinois Illini (15-6, 4-4)

#9 HARVARD CRIMSON (18-2, 4-0)

Albuquerque, NM

#4 Vanderbilt Commodores (16-5, 5-1)

#13 LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS (16-6, 9-0)

#5 Indiana Hoosiers (17-5, 5-5)

#12 MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE BLUE RAIDERS (20-3, 9-0)

Greensboro, NC

#2 Duke Blue Devils (18-3, 5-1)

#15 WEBER STATE WILDCATS (16-4, 8-1)

#7 Kansas State Wildcats (15-5, 4-4)

#10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-8, 6-3)

Columbus, OH

#3 Michigan State Spartans (17-4, 6-2)

#14 BUCKNELL BISON (17-6, 7-0)

#6 San Diego State Aztecs (18-3, 4-1)

#11 Iowa State Cyclones (15-6, 5-3)

SOUTH REGIONAL (Atlanta, GA)

Pittsburgh, PA

#1 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (19-3, 7-2)

#16 NORFOLK STATE SPARTANS (16-6, 8-0)

#8 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (17-5, 7-2)

#9 Wichita State Shockers (18-4, 9-2)

Omaha, NE

#4 Marquette Golden Eagles (18-4, 7-2)

#13 IONA GAELS (17-5, 9-2)

#5 SAINT MARY'S GAELS (21-2, 10-0)

#12 North Carolina State Wolfpack (15-7, 4-3)/Washington Huskies (14-7, 7-2)

Nashville, TN

#2 Missouri Tigers (19-2, 6-2)

#15 BELMONT BRUINS (15-7, 8-2)

#7 Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-5, 4-3)

#10 Seton Hall Pirates (15-6, 4-5)

Louisville, KY

#3 CREIGHTON BLUE JAYS (20-2, 10-1)

#14 CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (18-4, 8-2)

#6 Florida State Seminoles (14-6, 5-1)

#11 Dayton Flyers (14-7, 4-3)

Last 8 in & First 4 out

LAST EIGHT IN:

1. Dayton Flyers

2. Minnesota Golden Gophers

3. Iowa State Cyclones

4. New Mexico Lobos

5. North Carolina State Wolfpack

6. Cincinnati Bearcats

7. Saint Louis Billikens

8. Washington Huskies

These are in order, with Washington being the very last team I selected to be in the field of 68. These are the teams I feel are on the "bubble" and still need to solidify their position in the NCAA Tournament.

FIRST FOUR OUT:

1. University of Texas Longhorns

2. Mississippi Rebels

3. Central Florida Golden Knights

4. Arkansas Razorbacks

These are the teams that barely missed the cut. They need to step their game up in the last month of the season or they could be heading to the NIT.