February 21st Bracket Breakdown

In: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina

Worth a mention: Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Notes: Miami played its way into the field with a big win over Duke Wednesday night. The Hurricanes (5–6 in the ACC) have three home games remaining and should be in good shape if they finish 8–8. The win at Mississippi State early in the year was big. Wake played its way into the discussion with a win over Duke last Sunday. The Deacs, though, still have some work to do, and they have three of their final five on the road, including a date at North Carolina this weekend. Maryland took a step back with a loss at home to Virginia Tech, but the Terps are still in decent shape.

America East (1)

In: UMBC

A-10 (5)

In: Dayton, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph’s, UMass, Xavier

Worth a mention: Temple

Notes: The A-10 is sitting pretty with five teams in the field this week, but three of them — Saint Joe’s, UMass and Dayton — were among the final teams to make it. Saint Joe’s has three of five at home, but one is vs. Xavier and the two road games are tough, at Rhode Island and at Dayton. The Hawks have some good wins (two over UMass, Villanova), but some bad losses (Holy Cross and LaSalle). UMass has a losing record in the league but has a chance to close strong. The Minutemen sneak in by virtue of some quality wins, at Syracuse, at Dayton, Rhode Island, etc. Temple has some work to do, but the Owls are three games over .500 and don’t have many bad losses.

A-Sun (1)

In: Belmont

Big 12 (6)

In: Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

Notes: Baylor had suffered two straight excruciating losses and has now dropped four in a row. The Bears still sneak in thanks to some solid wins — vs. Notre Dame, at Texas A&M — but they could use a strong finish. Three of their final five are at home. Oklahoma is as secure as it’s been all season, thanks to back-to-back thrilling wins at Texas Tech and vs. Baylor. The stretch drive isn’t kind, however, with trips to Texas and Nebraska, a home date with Texas A&M, a road game at Oklahoma State followed by the finale vs. Missouri.

Big East (8)

In: Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, UConn, West Virginia

Worth a mention: Cincinnati, Villanova

Notes: West Virginia could be in a bit of trouble. The Mountaineers, who got pounded at Villanova, have three of their final five on the road. They really could have used that win over Oklahoma back in late December. Syracuse has a chance to bolster its shaky resume by picking up some quality wins down the stretch. The Orange close at Notre Dame, vs. Pitt, at Seton Hall and vs. Marquette. A split would leave them at 9–9, which is probably enough to get them in. Cincinnati gets a mention simply because it’s three games over .500 in a very good league. A poor record (13–12) and some bad non-conference losses will be too much to overcome, however. Also, this team still has to play at Georgetown, at Pitt and at UConn.

Big Sky (1)

In: Portland State

Big South (1)

In: Winthrop

Big Ten (5)

In: Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Notes: Ohio State was one of the final teams in the field. The Buckeyes only have one win vs. a team projected to make the field this week, and that was Syracuse, which barely snuck in. The Buckeyes will have some opportunities to impress down the stretch, with home games vs. Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan State and a trip to Indiana.

Big West (1)

In: Cal State Northridge

Colonial (1)

In: VCU

Conference USA (1)

In: Memphis

Worth a mention: Houston and UAB

Notes: Houston has a gaudy record (19–6) but nothing close to a quality win. The Cougars played Memphis well twice but lost twice. Losing at UAB this week didn’t help. UAB has an 18–8 record and some decent wins, but there’s nothing much on the resume to get too excited about.

Horizon (1)

In: Butler

Ivy (1)

In: Cornell

MAAC (1)

In: Siena

MAC (1)

In: Kent State

MEAC (1)

In: Morgan State

MVC (1)

In: Drake

Mountain West (1)

In: BYU

Worth a mention: UNLV

Notes: UNLV was one of the last teams out. The Rebels have a lot of wins (19), but there aren’t too many impressive ones. Beating BYU by 29 was nice, but there isn’t too much else on the resume.

Northeast (1)

In: Wagner

Ohio Valley (1)

In: Austin Peay

Pac-10 (7)

In: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington State

Worth a mention: Cal

Notes: Oregon’s overall record isn’t great (15–10), and the Ducks lost to Oakland, but there were too many good wins to ignore — at Kansas State, at Arizona, at Cal, Stanford. Three of the final five are on the road, including a trip to Southern California. Arizona State has four of its final six on the road. Winning at Oregon State is a must; the Sun Devils cannot afford a wart like that on their resume. Cal is only one game under .500 in the league but has some serious work to do.

Patriot (1)

In: American

SEC (4)

In: Arkansas, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Worth a mention: Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss

Notes: Florida was one of the final teams out. The loss at home to LSU was a killer. A brutal (as in easy) non-conference schedule and a lack of quality wins hurt the Gators’ profile. A win over Tennessee at home would impress the selection committee. Kentucky has some good wins (Tennessee and Vanderbilt), but the Cats still have plenty of work to do. If they win three of five, that leaves them at 17–12 and 11–5 heading into the SEC Tourney. It could get interesting. Don’t give up on Ole Miss. The Rebels ended their SEC losing streak at four with a win over Mississippi State last night to improve to 4–7 in the league. None of their remaining five games are overly taxing.

Southern (1)

In: Davidson

Southland (1)

In: Lamar

Summit (1)

In: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt (1)

In: South Alabama

Worth a mention: Western Kentucky

Notes: Many people are projecting two teams from the Sun Belt, giving WKU the automatic bid and including South Alabama as an at-large team. But the Sun Belt Tournament is in Mobile, giving the Jags a huge edge.

SWAC (1)

In: Alabama State

WAC (1)

In: Nevada

WCC (2)

In: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s

View the Feb. 21st Bracket