NCAA Tournament 2012: Schmolik 64 Bracket Update (3/5/12)

Hello, college basketball fans!

Welcome to the latest Schmolik 64 update.

There is less than one week until Selection Sunday and several leagues have now have crowned their tournament champions.

This is the first bracket this season where I filled in all of the seeds in the bracket. For small conferences which have yet to crown their champion, I will list the league first, followed by my projected champion.

Here's the bracket update for March 5, 2012.

Dates

Opening Weekend: Thur/Sat March 15-17, Fri/Sun March 16-18
Regionals: Thur/Sat March 22-24, Fri/Sun March 23-25

South Regional (Atlanta, GA: Fri/Sun)

Louisville, KY: Thur/Sat

(1) Kentucky (30-1) vs. (16) SWAC—Mississippi Valley State (18-12)/ Southland-UT-Arlington (23-7)
(8) Purdue (20-11) vs. (9) Kansas State (21-9)

Portland, OR: Thur/Sat

(5) UNLV (25-7) vs. (12) West Virginia (19-12)
(4) Florida State (21-9) vs. (13) Big West-Long Beach State (22-8)

Nashville, TN: Fri/Sun

(6) Creighton (28-5) vs. (11) Mississippi State (21-10)
(3) Georgetown (22-7) vs. (14) Horizon--Valparaiso (22-10)

Columbus, OH: Fri/Sun

(7) Memphis (23-8) vs. (10) St. Louis (24-6)
(2) Michigan State (23-7) vs. (15) Sun Belt--Denver (22-8)

West Regional (Phoenix, AZ: Thur/Sat)

Greensboro, NC: Fri/Sun

(1) North Carolina (27-4) vs. (16) MEAC-Savannah State (19-10)/America East-Stony Brook (21-8)
(8) Iowa State (22-9) vs. (9) Cincinnati (22-9)

Albuquerque, NM: Thur/Sat

(5) Wichita State (26-5) vs. (12) BYU (23-8)
(4) Indiana (24-7) vs. (13) South Florida (18-12)/ Xavier (19-11)

Louisville, KY: Thur/Sat

(6) Vanderbilt (21-10) vs. (11) California (23-8)
(3) Michigan (22-8) vs. (14) Southern-Davidson (23-7)

Omaha, NE: Fri/Sun

(7) Louisville (22-9) vs. (10) Colorado State (18-10)
(2) Missouri (27-4) vs. (15) Big Sky-Montana (21-6)

East Regional (Boston, MA: Thur/Sat)

Pittsburgh, PA: Thur/Sat

(1) Syracuse (30-1) vs. (16) MAAC-Loyola, MD (23-8)
(8) Alabama (20-10) vs. (9) Southern Miss (22-7)

Nashville, TN: Thur/Sat

(5) Murray State (27-1) vs. (12) CAA2-Drexel (27-5)/Texas (19-12)
(4) Wisconsin (23-8) vs. (13) Summit-Oral Roberts (27-5)

Albuquerque, NM: Thur/Sat

(6) WCC1-Gonzaga (25-5) vs. (11) Connecticut (18-12)
(3) Baylor (24-6) vs. (14) WAC-Nevada (23-5)

Greensboro, NC: Fri/Sun

(7) San Diego State (22-6) vs. (10) Northwestern (18-12)
(2) Duke (26-5) vs. (15) Patriot-Bucknell (23-8)

Midwest Regional (St. Louis: Fri/Sun)

Omaha, NE: Fri/Sun

(1) Kansas (26-5) vs. (16) UNC-Asheville (21-9)
(8) New Mexico (23-6) vs. (9) Virginia (22-8)

Portland, OR:Thur/Sat

(5) Notre Dame (21-10) vs. (12) Washington (21-9)
(4) Temple (24-6) vs. (13) Belmont (26-7)

Columbus, OH: Fri/Sun

(6) Florida (22-9) vs. (11) CAA1-Virginia Commonwealth (27-6)
(3) Marquette (25-6) vs. (14) MAC-Akron (20-10)

Pittsburgh, PA: Thur/Sat

(7) WCC2-St. Mary's (24-5) vs. (10) Ivy-Harvard (25-4)
(2) Ohio State (25-6) vs. (15) Northeast-LIU-Brooklyn (24-8)

For the WCC and CAA, the winner of the championship game gets the higher seed.

Bids by Conference
Big East: 9
Big Ten: 7
Big 12: 6
SEC: 5
ACC: 4
MWC: 4
A-10: 3
WCC: 3
MVC, C-USA, Pac-12, CAA: 2 each
One bid: 19

Compare my bracket to CBS Sports Bracketology and many others at Bracket Project's Bracket Matrix.

Remember to comment! If you think a team or teams that are out should be in or teams are in should be out, let me hear from you.

Come back Selection Sunday for my final 2012 Schmolik 64.