Projecting the Field of 65: Feb. 11

There was a lot of movement around the bubble this week, as streaking off the radar teams (Kansas State and Cincinnati) began to pass previously solid schools that are now mired in losing streaks (Georgetown and Baylor).

Don't forget to check out the Schwach Indicator to see how this new evaluation tool is affecting my projections.

Remember, I am not trying to guess how teams will end up come Selection Sunday. I am simply seeding them based on their current résumé. To that end, teams currently leading their conference receive automatic bids, and everyone else is judged on their at-large profile.

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: No. Carolina (1 seed), Duke (2), Wake Forest (3), Clemson (3)

Dancing with their sister: Florida State (5)

Wallflowers: Virginia Tech (9), Boston College (10), Miami (12)

Miami had a great week to vault itself back into the field. The Hurricanes destroyed Wake Forest by 27 before taking Duke to overtime at Cameron Indoor. The U lost the game by three, but Miami’s victory over Wake was its third against a top 52 opponent. The ‘Canes now have eight days to prepare for Sunday’s South Florida showdown against UNC.

Big East

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

Dancing with their sister: Syracuse (6), West Virginia (8)

Wallflowers: Cincinnati (10), Georgetown (out), Providence (out)

Cincinnati is in and Georgetown is out following the Bearcats' second victory over the Hoyas in two weeks. Cincy is now above .500 in the Big East, while G’town is three games under in 11th place after suffering its sixth loss in seven games.

Big Ten

Dancing with a hottie: Michigan State (2)

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

Wallflowers: Wisconsin (12), Michigan (out), Penn State (out), Northwestern (out)

Penn State and Northwestern both played themselves out of at-large spots after a brief stay in the field last week. The Nittany Lions dropped back-to-back games to Michigan and Wisconsin, while the Wildcats fell at Iowa.

The Badgers, meanwhile, played their way back in with victories over Penn State and Iowa, which gets the team to 5-6 in conference. Wisconsin’s computer numbers are already great (RPI 28, SOS 3), so all the school needs to do is stay around .500 in league play.

Big XII

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

Dancing with their sister: Kansas (5), Texas (7)

Wallflowers: Kansas State (12), Texas A&M (out), Baylor (out), Oklahoma State (out)

Missouri and Texas are headed in opposite directions. The Tigers have reeled off four in a row, including a win in Austin, to get to third place in the Big XII. The Longhorns, on the other hand, dropped to fourth following back-to-back home losses to Kansas State and Mizzou, followed by an L at Nebraska.

Texas A&M and Baylor are also headed south and right out of the field following the Aggies’ consecutive losses to Oklahoma and K State and the Bears’ fifth straight defeat at conference bottom-dweller Texas Tech.

Kansas State, meanwhile, has come out of nowhere to claim a spot after running off five straight wins over the likes of Missouri, Texas, and A&M. The Wildcats started conference play 0-4 but are now 5-4. They better continue that upward trend, however, because the best thing on their non-conference slate is a victory at Cleveland State.

Pac-10

Dancing with a hottie: UCLA (2)

Dancing with their sister: Washington (5), Arizona State (6), California (7), USC (9)

Wallflowers: Arizona (11)

Arizona is one of my last teams in now that the Wildcats have won five in a row to get above .500 in conference. They’re 4-6 versus the top 50, including victories over San Diego State, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Washington, and don’t have any terrible losses on their résumé.

SEC

Dancing with their sister: Florida (7)

Wallflowers: LSU (9), South Carolina (9), Tennessee (10), Kentucky (10), Mississippi State (out)

Kentucky saved its chances for the moment with a 68-65 home win over Florida on Tuesday night. The Wildcats are 6-3 in league play, but that’s not as impressive in the SEC. UK was coming off of a three-game losing streak, and their computer numbers (RPI 66, SOS 76) are mediocre at best.

Mid-Majors

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

Dancing with their sister: Dayton (8), Gonzaga (8), Utah (8)

Wallflowers: San Diego State (11), Davidson (11), Utah State (11), Siena (12), UNLV (out), Saint Mary’s (out), BYU (out), Temple (out), Saint Joseph's (out), UAB (out)

It was a bad week for UNLV, which dropped back-to-back conference games to San Diego State and New Mexico. The Rebels went from leading the league and a nine seed to fourth place and out of the field.

SD State, meanwhile, had a great week, beating UNLV and Air Force to run its win streak to four and tie Utah at 7-2 for the lead in the Mountain West. For their efforts, the Utes are in the field, but they better stay towards the top of the MWC because they don’t have a single non-conference victory over a top 100 opponent.

Automatic Bids

13 seeds: Northern Iowa, Northeastern, Western Kentucky, Buffalo

14 seeds: American, North Dakota State, Weber State, Cornell

15 seeds: Robert Morris, VMI, Sam Houston State, East Tennessee State

16 seeds: Boston University, Morehead State, Long Beach State, Morgan St., Alabama St.

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 [e-mail]