February 26th Bracket Breakdown

Bracket Breakdown VI

Mitch Light's February 26th Bracket
Jason King's February 26th National Notebook

Past Brackets:
Feb. 19th Bracket
Feb. 12th Bracket
Feb. 5th Bracket
Jan. 3rd Bracket
Preseason Bracket

ACC (7)
In: Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Worth a mention: Clemson, Florida State

Notes: Clemson’s free-fall continues. The Tigers have lost four in a row, seven of eight and nine of 11. A win at home over Miami and a loss at Virginia Tech would give them a 6–10 mark in the ACC. That might have been good enough for Florida State in 1998, but that record in 2007 will send the Tigers back to the NIT. Speaking of Florida State, the Seminoles finally stopped the bleeding with a 26-point win over NC State. A win at Miami next weekend will put the Noles at 7–9 and give them some hope heading into the ACC Tournament.

America East (1)
In: Vermont

Atlantic 10 (1)
In: Xavier

Worth a mention: UMass

Notes: UMass needs to sweep its final two games (La Salle, at Saint Joe’s) and reach the A-10 finals to keep hope alive.

Atlantic Sun (1)
In: ETSU

Big 12 (5)
In: Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech

Worth a mention: Missouri, Oklahoma State

Notes: Kansas State’s resume has some holes — whose doesn’t? — but the Wildcats’ 9–5 record in the Big 12 is good enough to overcome their warts. A win at Oklahoma State Tuesday night would likely punch their ticket. With a date at Texas A&M next weekend, Missouri (17–10, 6–8) will have a tough time getting to .500 in league play.

Big East (6)
In: Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Villanova

Worth a mention: Providence, Syracuse, West Virginia

Notes: Syracuse was the final team left out of the field. The Orange have won four in a row to get to 9–5 in the league, but those four wins came against St. John’s (RPI 129), South Florida (175), UConn (100) and Providence (70). Two of the wins were on the road, which will help, but this team simply doesn’t have enough quality wins at this point. The Orange end the season with games against Georgetown and at Villanova, giving them two opportunities to state their case. West Virginia was also among the final teams omitted. Other than the big win over UCLA, the Mountaineers don’t have much working in their favor; they have a poor RPI (57), very poor strength of schedule (108) and just two wins against Top 50 RPI teams.

Big Sky (1)
In: Weber State

Big South (1)
In: Winthrop

Big Ten (6)
In: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Worth a mention: Michigan, Iowa

Notes: Michigan State played its way off the bubble with wins over Wisconsin and Indiana, while Purdue and Illinois held onto their tenuous spots. Michigan is still lurking with a 7–7 Big Ten record, and the Wolverines close with home games against Michigan State and Ohio State. It’s put up or shut up time for Tommy Amaker & Co. Iowa, at 8–6, is plagued by a poor overall record (16–12), a low RPI (81) and a less-than-desirable road-neutral record (3–10)

Big West (1)
In: Long Beach State

Colonial (3)
In: Drexel, Old Dominion, VCU

Worth a mention: Hofstra

Notes: A couple of CAA teams are making a late push for at-large bids. In fact, both Drexel and ODU have stronger resumes than VCU, which won the league title with a 16–2 record. If VCU does not reach the finals, the Rams will be sweating on Selection Sunday. ODU, which owns a win at Georgetown, has won 11 straight games, while Drexel boasts a gaudy 13–4 record away from home.

Conference USA (1)
In: Memphis

Horizon (1)
In: Butler

Ivy (1)
In: Penn

MAAC (1)
In: Marist

MAC (1)
In: Toledo

Mid-Continent (1)
In: Oral Roberts

MEAC (1)
In: Delaware State

MVC (3)
In: Creighton, Missouri State, Southern Illinois

Worth a mention: Bradley

Notes: Creighton, which lost three of its last five regular season games, might not be able to afford an early exit in the Valley Tournament this week. Missouri State bounced back from a damaging loss at home to Winthrop to beat Drake and Wichita State to end the regular season. The Bears could use a win or two in St. Louis.

MWC (3)
In: Air Force, BYU, UNLV

Worth a mention: San Diego State

Notes: Surging San Diego State was one of the final teams left out. The Aztecs topped BYU over the weekend to improve to 9–5 in the league. They are 3–3 vs. BYU, UNLV and Air Force, but none of the wins came on the road. 

Northeast (1)
In: Central Conn.

OVC (1)
In: Austin Peay

Pac-10 (6)
In: Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington State 

Notes: No multi-bid league is as cut and dry as the Pac-10. This league has no bubble.

Patriot (1)
In: Holy Cross

SEC: (4)
In: Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Worth a mention: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss

Notes: It was a damaging weekend for some of the SEC’s bubble teams. Alabama’s puzzling loss at home to Auburn could be the game that keeps Mark Gottfried’s club out of the Tournament. The Tide are 6–8 in the league and have just two wins over RPI top 50 teams. Ole Miss and Mississippi State both suffered damaging losses on the road. Georgia is still in the picture at 8–6, but the Dawgs are just 2–7 vs. RPI top 50 clubs. They close with Kentucky on the road and Tennessee at home. Meanwhile, Tennessee and Vanderbilt removed any doubt about their respective resumes — the Vols by beating Arkansas in Fayetteville and the Dores by picking up another quality RPI win against Kentucky.

Southern (1)
In: Davidson

Worth a mention: Appalachian State

Notes: App State will give the Selection Committee something to think about if it advances to the SoCon Tournament championship game.

Southland (1)
In: Sam Houston

Sun Belt (1)
In: South Alabama

SWAC (1)
In: Jackson State

WAC (1)
In: Nevada

WCC (1)
In: Gonzaga

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