March Madness 2016: Bracket Release Dates for Men's, Women's Tournament

Selection Sunday is right up there with the NFL and NBA drafts as the most hopeful days in all of sports. 

After last year's broken office pool, you get a whole new set of matchups to analyze, numbers to crunch and underdogs to deem as the next Cinderella. 

That No. 5 seed you picked to make it to the Final Four hasn't fallen victim to that pesky No. 12 seed. The No. 1 seed you loved to win it all hasn't caught the turnover bug in Round 2 and lost to a No. 8 seed. 

Everything is right with the world.

Still, the day of the perfect bracket is a few days away. Teams on the bubble still have an opportunity to punch their tickets to the tourney. Teams looking to be in good shape for a championship run still have conference tournaments to prove their worth as a contender to win it all. 

Here's a look at when both the men's and women's bracket will be released along with some teams on the bubble who could be dangerous if they get in or get the right matchups. 

Men's
Women's
Date	Time	TV
Sunday, March 13	5:30 p.m. ET	CBS
Date	Time	TV
Monday, March 14	7 p.m. ET	ESPN

Men's Bubble Teams

With conference championships being decided this week, there's still plenty of intrigue on the periphery of the tournament field. Several teams still have a shot at being included in the field of 68, and that picture will become more clear as the week progresses. 

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports lists the following teams as "on the fence" heading into the week's big games:

Team	Record
Cincinnati	22-9
VCU	22-9
Vanderbilt	19-12
Tulsa	20-10
South Carolina	24-7
Temple	20-10
Connecticut	21-10
Syracuse	19-12

VCU

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

VCU players will tell you that head coach Will Wade definitely does things differently than former Rams coach Shaka Smart.

“Everything they do is completely different, and the way they come across is way different,” Rams redshirt junior Mo Alie-Cox said, per Josh Hyber of the Sporting News. “We don’t do any of the same drills at all. … We run some of the same plays, but that’s about it.”

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is that the Rams still cause some havoc on the defensive side of the floor. Wade's team is 13th in the nation in turnovers forced per game. Their opponents give up possession an average of 15.7 times per contest. 

A one-point overtime loss to Dayton its last time out certainly didn't help its profile, but a good run as the No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament could be enough to send the Rams dancing for the first time under Wade.

If they do, their ability to cause opposing offenses stress will make them a tough out. 

Vanderbilt

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

When talking about teams that can make a splash in March there are few things more scary than a team who can get hot from three-point range. 

The Commodores don't necessarily chuck it up from three-point range like some teams, but they are ranked 19th in the nation shooting 39 percent as a team. No one player on the roster will take over a game with his shooting, but the trio of Wade Baldwin (43.6), Matthew Fisher-Davis (45.5) and Jeff Roberson (47.6) all shoot over 40 percent. 

The 'Dores just lost to Texas A&M by nine to close out the regular season, but a solid showing in the SEC tournament could cement their spot in the field. Odds Shark has Vandy (7-2) listed as the team with the second-best odds to win the SEC, well behind favorite Kentucky (1-1). Paul Bessire of PredictionMachine.com has Vanderbilt as the SEC bubble team with the best chance to make it as well:

Roberson has especially elevated his game in recent outings. He put up a disappointing game against the Aggies (5 points, 7 rebounds) but was on a tear prior to that, as noted by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports:

Vanderbilt has to show that the Texas A&M game was just a hiccup, but it looks poised to cause some teams trouble after beating Kentucky to close out February. 

Women's Bubble Teams

Switching over to the women's side, there are several teams vying for the final spots before Selection Monday. Here's the latest last four in and first four out from Charlie Creme of ESPN:

Last Four In
First Four Out
Team	Record
Purdue	20-11
Auburn	19-12
Princeton	23-4
Temple	20-11
Team	Record
Iowa	19-13
Villanova	19-11
Saint Louis	24-7
St. Bonaventure	23-7

Princeton

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Creme currently has the Princeton Tigers penciled in as the No. 11 seed in Ohio State's region. That specific pairing would likely put a cap on just how far the Ivy League team could go. But if Princeton were fortunate enough to avoid the team it lost to 90-70 back in January, there would be hope for them to make a run. 

The Tigers do two things exceptionally well that you wouldn't expect from the same team: They own the boards, and they can shoot well from distance. 

Princeton is second in the nation in rebound margin per game. Led by Annie Tarakchian's 9.4 boards per game, the Tigers get 15.1 more rebounds than their opponent per game. 

When on offense, the Tigers are able to spread the floor by shooting 37.5 percent from deep. The result is a team that hasn't lost since January 9. 

That's not a team you want to see as a double-digit seed with a chip on its shoulder. 

All men's statistics via TeamRankings.com unless otherwise noted. All women's statistics via NCAA.com unless otherwise noted.