Ten of the top 13 teams in my bracket hail from the ACC (4) and Big East (6) as these two leagues continue to dominate play this season. Make sure to check out the latest Schwach Indicator rankings to see how the newest evaluation tool is affecting my projections.

As always, I like to break teams down into three categories. "Wallflowers" are bubble teams. Everyone wants to get into the Big Dance, but not all have the guts to ask a girl out onto the dance floor. Elite teams are safely in the field, "Dancing with a hottie," and in the middle are the schools that are "Dancing with their sister."


ACC

Dancing with a hottie: Wake Forest (1 seed), Duke (1), No. Carolina (2), Clemson (2)

Dancing with their sister: Florida State (5)

Wallflowers: Miami (10), Virginia Tech (out), Boston College (out), Maryland (out)

The Seminoles continue to climb up the RPI standings to their current spot at 22. Their three losses (@ Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Duke) do little to hurt their resume, while their wins over Cal, Florida, Western Kentucky, Cincinnati and Maryland are pretty solid.

Miami, on the other hand, is headed in the other direction. Following their loss at North Carolina, the Hurricanes are now 0-4 versus the top 50. The ‘Noles and ‘Canes square off Wednesday night.

The top four in the ACC are unmatched, but the league’s depth took a hit of late with Maryland losing three of five and Boston College dropping four of five. Va. Tech has won three in a row, but the Hokies still lack a real quality 'W.'


Big East

Dancing with a hottie: Pittsburgh (1), UConn (2), Marquette (3), Louisville (3), Georgetown (3), Syracuse (4)

Dancing with their sister: Notre Dame (8), Villanova (8)

Wallflowers: West Virginia (9), Providence (out)

I have UConn as a No. 2 seed behind Oklahoma because the Sooners have the better RPI (4 vs. 8), record against the top 50 (5-0 vs. 4-1), and record against the top 100 (10-1 vs. 7-1).

Syracuse is going through a tough stretch right now during which the Orange play four teams ranked in the top 13. They lost at Georgetown and Pitt, but beat Notre Dame at home and need to do the same against Louisville at the Dome on Sunday in order to avoid dropping down into the middle of the pack in the Big East.

The Irish took the biggest hit this week with back-to-back losses at Louisville and Syracuse. Away from home, Notre Dame is a mediocre 4-5 and its overall RPI has slipped to 65.


Big Ten

Dancing with a hottie: Michigan State (2)

Dancing with their sister: Minnesota (5), Ohio State (6), Illinois (6), Purdue (6), Wisconsin (7)

Wallflowers: Michigan (9), Northwestern (out), Penn State (out)

I picked Michigan State to reach the Final Four at the beginning of the year, and so I was a little worried when they lost to Maryland and got blown out by UNC all before the middle of December.

But since then, the Spartans have rattled off 11 straight wins including victories at Texas, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State, as well as home triumphs over Ohio State, Kansas and Illinois. MSU is now an astounding 7-1 versus the to 50 and Sparty is knocking on the door for a No. 1 seed.


Big XII

Dancing with a hottie: Oklahoma (1), Texas (4)

Dancing with their sister: Kansas (7)

Wallflowers: Baylor (9), Oklahoma State (10), Missouri (11), Texas A&M (out)

Since their stunning loss to UMass in Kansas City, the Jayhawks have gone 7-2 and are feeling a little bit more comfortable about their chances of making the Big Dance.

Baylor bounced back after losing at A&M to pick up a nice win over surging Oklahoma State. That snapped the Cowboys’ seven game win streak.

Missouri is my next-to-last team in after going 2-0 this week. Their losses to Xavier and Illinois are okay, while the defeat at Nebraska is a little more suspect. However, that is balanced out for now with the Tigers’ victories over Cal and USC. 

Texas A&M, meanwhile, is my first team out because the Aggies have lost three of four and their biggest win (Baylor) isn’t as impressive as Missouri’s victory over Cal.


Pac-10

Dancing with their sister: Arizona State (6), California (5), UCLA (8)

Wallflowers: Washington (10), Stanford (10), USC (11), Arizona (out)

Team A: 15-1; RPI 9; SOS 61; 3-1 vs. top 50; 6-1 vs. top 100; 8-1 road/neutral
Team B: 14-3; RPI 42; SOS 95; 1-3 vs. top 50; 4-3 vs. top 100; 5-2 road/neutral

Which team should be seeded higher? Team A right? Well, Team A is Butler and Team B is UCLA and Joe Lunardi has them both as No. 6 seeds.

I’m sure a lot of other bracketologists have the Bruins ahead of the Bulldogs in their pecking order. Why?  Because UCLA is UCLA and Butler is Butler. The Bulldogs’ best win? At Xavier.  UCLA’s?  At USC.

Stanford is back in after beating Cal. And USC reenters (barely) after downing both Arizona schools at home.


SEC

Dancing with their sister: Florida (6), Tennessee (7)

Wallflowers: Kentucky (11), Arkansas (out), Ole Miss (out), LSU (out), Miss St (out)

Florida is up three spots after beating Arkansas for the Gators’ 10th straight victory. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, should apply for a league transfer. After upsetting Oklahoma and Texas of the Big XII, Arkansas has started SEC play 0-3 to drop from the field.


Mid-Majors

Dancing with a hottie: Butler (3), Xavier (4), Memphis (4)

Dancing with their sister: Davidson (7), Gonzaga (8)

Wallflowers: Dayton (9), Saint Mary’s (11), UNLV (12), Utah (12) BYU (out), Illinois State (out), Creighton (out), UAB (out), San Diego State (out), Rhode Island (out), Temple (out), Evansville (out), Boise State (out)

Following losses at TCU and Colorado State, UNLV has dropped to my last team in. The Rebels hang on thanks to that Dec. 31 win at Louisville, which is looking even better these days now that the Cardinals have run off five victories in a row since that loss.

Utah gets the automatic bid from the Mountain West, leaving BYU as my second team out behind Texas A&M. The Cougars' loss at New Mexico was damaging because BYU lacks a signature win to hang their hats on. However, they'll get a chance to switch spots with UNLV Wednesday night as BYU hosts the Rebels.

With Northern Iowa leading the Missouri Valley Conference at this time, I have given the Panthers the automatic bid, leaving Illinois State in the at-large pool.

With the Redbirds losing at Bradley and Indiana State, they no longer have the resume to make the tournament. ISU has not beaten a single team in the top 62 of the RPI and the school's strength of schedule is an atrocious 236.

Automatic Bids

12 seeds: Utah, Northern Iowa, Utah State

13 seeds: Siena, Western Kentucky, Miami-Ohio, George Mason

14 seeds: Binghamton, Stephen F. Austin, Long Beach St., VMI

15 seeds: Portland State, Austin Peay, North Dakota State, American

16 seeds: East Tennessee State, Robert Morris, Cornell, Morgan State, Alabama State

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man"is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com