College Basketball: Final 2013 Schmolik 64 Bracketology Prediction

Hello, college basketball fans!

It's finally here! Welcome to the 2013 Schmolik 64, a bracketology prediction for the final seeds!

This is the 20th year I have done the Schmolik 64. My first bracket was back in 1994 on the newsgroup rec.sport.basketball.college (anybody remember that newsgroup?) while I was a student back at the University of Illinois.

For the record, the results of the Big Ten Championship will have no results on their bracket as I have Ohio State's and Wisconsin's seeds and placement determined.

The bracket will be presented in order of No. 1 seeds, starting with the overall No. 1 seed. Therefore, the semifinal matchups will be the first regional presented vs. the fourth. The First Four will be the last teams presented.

Let's get started! * - Automatic Bid

Editor's Note: Originally posted without records to save time. Records added after the actual bracket had been posted.

Midwest Regional Top Half (Indianapolis)

Dayton, Ohio (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(1) Indiana (27-6) vs. (16) Play In Game B Winner

(8) Pittsburgh (24-8) vs. (9) California (20-11)

Kansas City, MO (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(5) St. Louis (27-6)* vs. (12) Akron (25-6)*

(4) Kansas State (26-7) vs. (13) South Dakota State (22-9)*      

Midwest Regional Bottom Half

Austin, TX (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(6) UNLV (24-9) vs. (11) Colorado (21-11)

(3) Florida (26-7) vs. (14) Northwestern State (19-8)*

Philadelphia, PA (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(7) Illinois (21-12) vs. (10) Iowa State (22-11)

(2) Georgetown (25-6) vs. (15) Iona (20-13)*   

East Regional Top Half (Washington, DC)

Lexington, KY (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(1) Louisville (29-5) * vs. (16) Play In Game A winner

(8) NC State (24-10) vs. (9) San Diego State (20-10)

Austin, TX (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(5) Virginia Commonwealth (26-8) vs. (12) Play In Game D winner

(4) Wisconsin (23-11) vs. (13) Valparaiso (25-7)*

East Regional Bottom Half

Auburn Hills, MI (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(6) Oklahoma State (24-8) vs. (11) Cincinnati (22-11)

(3) Michigan State (24-8) vs. (14) Florida Gulf Coast (22-10)*

Lexington, KY (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(7) Oregon (26-8)* vs. (10) Belmont (24-6)*

(2) Miami (27-6)* vs. (15) Western Kentucky (19-15)*

West Regional Top Half (Los Angeles)

Salt Lake City, UT (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(1) Gonzaga (30-2)* vs. (16) LIU-Brooklyn (20-13)*

(8) Colorado State (23-8) vs. (9) Minnesota (20-12)

San Jose, CA (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(5) Arizona (25-7) vs. (12) Play In Game C Winner

(4) Syracuse (26-9) v. (13) New Mexico State (23-10)*

West Regional Bottom Half

Auburn Hills, MI (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(6) Butler (25-8) vs. (11) Mississippi (26-8)*

(3) Michigan (25-7) vs. (14) Davidson (25-7)*

Philadelphia, PA (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(7) Notre Dame (25-9) vs. (10) Oklahoma (20-11)

(2) Duke (27-5)* vs. (15) Harvard (18-9)*

South Regional Top Half (North Texas, TX)

Kansas City, MO (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(1) Kansas (29-5)* vs. (16) Albany (24-10)*

(8) Memphis (30-4)* vs. (9) Missouri (23-10)

San Jose, CA (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(5) North Carolina (23-10) vs. (12) Middle Tennesee State (28-5)

(4) Marquette (23-8) vs. (13) Bucknell (27-5)*

South Regional Bottom Half

Salt Lake City, UT (Thur/Sat March 21-23)

(6) UCLA (25-9) vs. (11) Temple (23-9)

(3) New Mexico (29-5)* vs. (14) Montana (23-6)*         

Dayton, OH (Fri/Sun March 22-24)

(7) Creighton (27-7)* vs. (10) Villanova (19-13)

(2) Ohio State (25-7)* vs. (15) Pacific (20-12)*

First Four (Dayton, Ohio)

Automatic Bid Games

Play In Game A: Tue. March 19 (East No. 16 seed): James Madison (20-14)* vs. Liberty (12-20)*   

Play In Game B: Wed. March 20 (Midwest No. 16 seed): Southern (20-9)* vs. North Carolina A&T (18-16)* 
                                                                                         
Last Four Teams In:

Play In Game C:  Tue. March 19 (West No. 12 seed): Boise State (26-8) vs. La Salle (21-9)

Play In Game D: Wed. March 20 (East No. 12 seed): St. Mary's (26-6) vs. Middle Tennessee State  (28-5)

Conference Breakdown

Big East: 8

Big Ten: 7

A-10: 5

Big 12: 5

MWC: 5

Pac-12: 5

ACC: 4

SEC: 3

MVC: 2

WCC: 2

Sun Belt: 2

One Bid: 18

Bubble Burst:

Southern Miss (RPI No. 31)

Kentucky (RPI No. 57)

Tennessee (RPI No. 59)

Alabama (RPI No. 60)

Final Analysis

I felt that Indiana is still the No. 1 overall seed over Louisville. I liked their regular season Big Ten title and wins at Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State. They also gained the advantage of playing the regional in Indianapolis.

I have Kansas as the final No. 1 seed. They have six wins over teams in the RPI Top 25 and thirteen wins over the RPI Top 50. They get the nod over Miami, the ACC regular season title, and Duke, who was ranked No. 1 in the RPI.

At the end of the bracket, Southern Mississippi was the last team left out. I usually like to include teams with high RPI's (Southern Miss was RPI No. 31). But their best win was over Denver (RPI No. 65). I don't believe any at large bid has zero wins vs. the RPI Top 50. Middle Tennessee State probably earned a Top 50 win when Mississippi won the SEC Tournament, beating Florida.

In my 20 years doing the Schmolik 64, I have never picked all NCAA teams. I think I have a good chance at doing so this year. I can't see any of the SEC teams stealing a bid. Kentucky and Tennessee lost in the quarterfinals and Alabama lost in the semifinals.

So, thanks for following the Schmolik 64! Later on today or tomorrow, I will discuss the actual bracket, who should have been in or out, and who was seeded too high or too low. Later next week, I will present my annual "Schmolik Bracket Analysis".

Follow me on Twitter: @Schmolik64

Compare my bracket to the Bracket Matrix.