Majorly Early 2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket Brief

Seed	West (1) LA (Th/Sa)	South (4) Houston (Fr/Su)	Midwest (2) Cleveland (Th/Sa)	East (3) Syracuse (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Portland (Th/Sa) Arizona High Pt./Ala. St. Iowa Clemson	Omaha (Fr/Su) Kansas St. Fran./NAU Nebraska George Wash.	Charlotte (Fr/Su) Duke Fla. GC Minnesota UNLV	Omaha (Fr/Su) Wisconsin Stony Brook Colorado Baylor
Site 5 12 4 13	Seattle (Fr/Su) Oklahoma New Mexico State Gonzaga Cleveland State	Seattle (Fr/Su) San Diego State UTEP Michigan Iona	Portland (Th/Sa) VCU San Francisco Iowa State NC Central	Columbus (Fr/Su) Louisville Missouri Connecticut Murray State
Site 3 14 6 11	J'ville (Th/Sa) Texas SF Austin Syracuse Utah/Illinois	Louisville (Th/Sa) Wichita State IPFW UCLA Memphis	Columbus (Fr/Su) SMU American Michigan State Dayton	Pittsburgh (Th/Sa) Villanova Toledo Oregon Maryland/W. Vir.
Site 7 10 2 15	J'ville (Th/Sa) BYU St. John's Florida Louisiana Laf.	Pittsburgh (Th/Sa) Ohio State Kansas State Virginia Wofford	Louisville (Th/Sa) Stanford Pittsburgh Kentucky UC Irvine	Charlotte (Fr/Su) Harvard Xavier North Carolina William & Mary

Note: Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Bracket Brief for March 16, 2014 (FINAL)

Seed	South (1) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Mount St. Mary's Massachusetts Harvard	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Wofford George Washington Colorado	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Cst. Car./TX So. Texas Providence	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Albany/Cal Poly Pittsburgh Saint Joseph's
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA Stephen F. Austin VCU New Mexico State	Orlando (Th/Sa) New Mexico Dayton/Neb. Michigan State Delaware	Spokane (Th/Sa) Gonzaga Arizona State San Diego State Tulsa	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Connecticut Kan. St./Iowa Syracuse Manhattan
Site 3 14 6 11	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Western Michigan Cincinnati Southern Miss	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State NC Central Ohio State Xavier	Spokane (Th/Sa) Creighton Eastern Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Kansas Mercer Kentucky North Dakota State
Site 7 10 2 15	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Stanford Louisville Milwaukee	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Oregon Oklahoma State Villanova LA-Lafayette	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Baylor BYU Wisconsin Weber State	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Memphis Michigan American

Note: Through games of 2013-2014. Teams in bold below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

The Day of Champions

Welcome to the Saturday before Selection Sunday, aka the Day of Champions. Fourteen tournament champions were crowned today. For teams on the bubble, things went...well, not bad...as only one bid was stolen. Stephen F. Austin, a possible at large, won the Southland. Providence was already likely in, but it solidified its position. But...

Bracket Brief for March 15, 2014

Seed	South (1) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Mount St. Mary's G. Washington BYU	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Albany/Coast. Car. Massachusetts Memphis	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber State Texas Harvard	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State CS Northr./TX So. Oregon Oklahoma State
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) New Mexico Ariz. St./Neb. Syracuse Stephen F. Austin	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA Kan. St./Dayton VCU Georgia State	Spokane (Th/Sa) Gonzaga Toledo Connecticut Delaware	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Tennessee Iowa State Manhattan
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville NC Central Ohio State Southern Miss	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Tulsa Michigan State Louisiana Tech	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State New Mexico State Saint Louis North Dakota State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Michigan Mercer North Carolina Providence
Site 7 10 2 15	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kentucky Xavier Kansas Milwaukee	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Stanford Villanova American	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Colorado Creighton Wofford	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Baylor Saint Joseph's Virginia Eastern Kentucky

Note: Through games of March 14, 2014, including America East and Conference USA championship games. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

More Top Teams Fall as Conference Tournaments Roll Through Friday

Another full day of major conference tournament hoops, and another day of upsets. We start out in the ACC, where most-of-the-season favorite Syracuse fell to upstart North Carolina State, who needs to win the whole tournament to make the field. And Pittsburgh took out North Carolina after giving up a 20-point lead late.

Several Major-Conference, At-Large Teams Are Upset in Their First Games

As conference tournaments narrow, upsets will happen, and the major one happened at Madison Square Garden. In the Mecca, Seton Hall took out former-potential-#1-seed Villanova. It is highly unlikely with this loss that Villanova can hold its #1 seed, especially if Kansas wins the Big 12 tournament or one of the ACC's favorites keeps hold of the conference.

Bracket Brief for March 13, 2014

Seed	South (1) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Wofford Texas Harvard	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Stony Brook Pittsburgh SMU	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./TX So. Memphis Baylor	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State M. St. M's/Cst. Car. George Washington Iowa
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Saint Louis Stan./St. John's Cincinnati Manhattan	San Diego (Fr/Su) Michigan State Toledo VCU Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) Gonzaga St. Joe's/Tenn. San Diego State Delaware	San Antonio (Fr/Su) North Carolina North Dakota State Iowa State Louisiana Tech
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton UC Irvine New Mexico Colorado	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville NC Central Ohio State Xavier	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Mercer Oregon Southern Miss	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Georgia State Oklahoma Dayton
Site 7 10 2 15	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kentucky Nebraska Kansas Eastern Kentucky	Buffalo (Th/Sa) UCLA Oklahoma State Syracuse Milwaukee	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Massachusetts BYU Michigan Utah Valley	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Connecticut Arizona State Wisconsin American

Note: Through games of March 12, 2014. Teams in italics in multi-bid conferences below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Day of Preliminaries, and American Enters the 2014 NCAA Bracket

Most of Wednesday's action consisted of the first round of many tournaments. So, essentially, most games involved teams far off the bracket bubble. A few involved bubble teams, but only one such team lost: Georgetown. Georgetown was pretty far off the edge of the bracket anyway, so it is not Earth shaking.

Bracketologist Yahoo! Group

I set up a bracket pick-em group for my fellow bracketologists and me on Yahoo! I figure after we seed them all, we might as well pick them all too. And you could win a billion dollars. The Yahoo bracket group is here, feel free to message me on Twitter at @BracketBriefer for the password.

Happy picking everyone, and good luck on Selection Sunday with your bracket projections!

Upset Directional State: Conference Tourneys Go To The Spoilers

The big story this year is how many #1 seeds are falling in their conference tournaments. So far, no bubble spots have been stolen, but at this rate, bubble teams should be terrified. Two upsetters, Milwaukee and Mount St. Mary's, got their automatic bids Tuesday night, on the home court of their opponents no less. But a couple of favorites, North Dakota State and Gonzaga, got their bids too. The important thing to note from tonight's losing teams is that BYU is still safe for an at-large bid.

Bracket for March 11, 2014

Seed	South (1) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (2) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (3) Anaheim (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Wofford/Coast. Car. George Washington Arizona State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Stony Brook Massachusetts Iowa	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Wright State Baylor Memphis	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./TX So. Texas Harvard
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) North Carolina St. Joe's/Neb. Iowa State Louisiana Tech	Spokane (Th/Sa) VCU North Dakota State Cincinnati Manhattan	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Ohio State Tenn./So. Miss Saint Louis Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) Michigan State Toledo San Diego State Georgia State
Site 3 14 6 11	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan Boston U Oklahoma Stanford	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Delaware Gonzaga St. John's	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton Mercer New Mexico Xavier	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville NC Central Oregon Dayton
Site 7 10 2 15	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Connecticut BYU Syracuse Robert Morris	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Oklahoma State Wisconsin Utah Valley	St. Louis (Fr/Su) UCLA SMU Kansas UC Irvine	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Kentucky Colorado Virginia Eastern Kentucky

Note: Through games of March 10, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Nothin' But Postseason

The regular season is now closed, and the major conferences have a few days off before their tournaments start. That left Monday to the little guys, who crowned three more champions, all who will receive automatic NCAA bids. Only one of those teams, however, won its conference's regular season championship, so clearly the NIT is filling up with mid-majors.

Bracket Brief for March 10, 2014

Seed	South (1) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (2) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (3) Anaheim (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Wofford/Co. Car. Geo. Wash. Arizona State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Stony Brook Pittsburgh Harvard	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Weber St./TX So. Baylor Memphis	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Utah Valley Texas Iowa
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) North Carolina Stephen F. Austin Saint Louis Iona	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State Louisiana Tech Iowa State North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Michigan State Tenn./St. Joe's Creighton Toledo	San Antonio (Fr/Su) VCU So. Miss/Neb. Cincinnati Georgia State
Site 3 14 6 11	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Delaware Oklahoma Xavier	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville NC Central Oregon Dayton	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State Mercer Gonzaga St. John's	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Boston U New Mexico Stanford
Site 7 10 2 15	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Connecticut BYU Wisconsin Eastern Kentucky	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Kentucky Colorado Syracuse Robert Morris	St. Louis (Fr/Su) UCLA SMU Kansas UC Irvine	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Massachusetts Oklahoma State Michigan Wright State

Note: Through games of March 9, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Conference Tournaments: Hurting Mid-Major Conferences Since Forever

Today, we saw the stupidity behind conference tournaments. This season, the America East decided to host its conference tournament in Albany. #1 seed Vermont, who lost only one game in the conference all year, was stuck playing #4 Albany, who lost seven conference games. Not entirely surprisingly, behind its home crowd, Albany knocked off Vermont, eliminating who is clearly the America East's best team from tournament consideration.

Mid-Major Conference Tournaments Might Have Eliminated One Of The Best Mid Majors

The big upset of the day was Green Bay's loss in the Horizon League tourney to Milwaukee. Not only did Green Bay lose to someone other than Cleveland State, they lost at home. Green Bay's at-large chances are shaky, at best. Some things are going to need to break Green Bay's way for them to squeeze in, but my instant reaction was out.

The Friday Appraisal: Welcome Back, Harvard! And Locked, Mixable, Prayer, or Gone?

Another Friday down and another look at the Bracket Briefer's renamed feature: Locked, Mixable, Prayer, or Gone? Teams are moving out of the middle and either up into Locked status or down to Gone status. See where your team is as well as Friday's massive action within the conference tournaments. That, and we have our first tournament automatic bid!

Bracket Brief for March 7, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (2) Indy (Fr/Su)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Utah Valley Geo. Wash. Oklahoma State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Robert Morris Arizona State Baylor	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Weber St./TX So. Oregon SMU	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Fla. GC/Coast. Car. Texas Pittsburgh
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) UCLA BYU San Diego State Georgia State	San Diego (Fr/Su) New Mexico Stephen F. Austin North Carolina Louisiana Tech	Spokane (Th/Sa) Iowa State Prov./Stanford Michigan State North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) VCU Fla. St./So. Miss Cincinnati Toledo
Site 3 14 6 11	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Iona Gonzaga Xavier	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville NC Central Iowa Green Bay	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton Belmont Saint Louis Kansas State	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Duke Delaware Oklahoma Tennessee
Site 7 10 2 15	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Connecticut Harvard Michigan Vermont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Colorado Kansas Davidson	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Ohio State Memphis Virginia Boston U	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kentucky Saint Joseph's Wisconsin UC Irvine

Note: Through games of March 6, 2014 (High Point's loss on March 7 is included). Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Thursday Night Didn't Have Bracket Movement But It Had Conference Tournament Drama

Thursday night was pretty quiet in terms of bracket movement. There were no real upsets, though several teams, like Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss, kept their bracket hopes alive. A couple of games involved safe tourney squads, and those games were won expectedly by the home teams. But there was great drama in the conference tournaments, with Mercer needing double overtime at home just to advance to the Atlantic Sun final. The MAAC has an #11 seed alive, and the Missouri Valley and WCC have #10 seeds still going.

Another ACC Shocker and the A-10 Could Still Get 6 Bids

Duke watched its bracket seeding take a major hit when it lost at Wake Forest. But Duke can still get to a #2 seed by Selection Sunday. We also watched Dayton take control of its at-large profile, and a number of Pac-12 games had a big impact.

Bracket Brief for March 5, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./UT Val. Texas Memphis	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Robert Morris Arizona State Geo. Wash.	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida High Pt./TX So. Oklahoma Pittsburgh	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Davidson Oregon Oklahoma State
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) New Mexico Stephen F. Austin Saint Louis Toledo	Spokane (Th/Sa) Iowa State Fla. St./Tenn. Cincinnati North Dakota State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Michigan State Green Bay Louisville Louisiana Tech	San Diego (Fr/Su) VCU Prov./So. Miss North Carolina Iona
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) San Diego State Georgia State UCLA Xavier	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan NC Central Gonzaga Colorado	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Delaware Connecticut BYU	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton Belmont Massachusetts Stanford
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Ohio State Baylor Duke Mercer	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Kentucky Harvard Virginia Boston U	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Iowa Saint Joseph's Kansas UC Irvine	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) SMU Kansas State Wisconsin Vermont

Note: Through games of March 4, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Panic in Central New York

No, that is not a typo. Syracuse lost. To Georgia Tech. At home. Once a mortal lock for a #1 seed, Syracuse's season has taken a turn. That and more in Tuesday's recap, as teams prepare for the conference tournament (and in some cases, play in them).

March Madness Is in Full Swing!

Conference tournament week is open, tonight starting with the Patriot League. We even had our first upset of the post-season! We also saw a Big East team fall closer to the bubble. Welcome to March Madness!

Bracket Brief for March 3, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Indy (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./UT Val. Pittsburgh Oklahoma State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Robert Morris SMU Geo. Wash.	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson Oregon Texas	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State High Pt./TX So. Arizona State Harvard
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Saint Louis Green Bay San Diego State Toledo	San Diego (Fr/Su) North Carolina Louisiana Tech UCLA Iona	Spokane (Th/Sa) Michigan State Ark./So. Miss Cincinnati North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) VCU Tenn./Fla. St. Iowa State Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Louisville NC Central Iowa Saint Joseph's	Orlando (Th/Sa) Michigan Georgia State Connecticut Colorado	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Vermont Kentucky BYU	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Delaware Gonzaga Baylor
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Oklahoma Xavier Duke Boston U	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Kansas State Virginia Mercer	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Ohio State Stanford Kansas Belmont	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) New Mexico Memphis Wisconsin UC Irvine

Note: Through games of March 2, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic berths. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Time Is Running Out and Teams Are Falling to the NIT

Sunday was the last day before conference tournaments begin, and with it, a number of teams kept their tourney hopes alive or watched them go up in smokes. See who is still alive inside.

Upset Saturday Follows Upset Thursday

On the last full Saturday of the college basketball season, a huge number of teams saw their tournament hopes bolstered or fall apart. And a big number of the nation's top teams fell in a big fashion. Let's get into it.

Bracket Brief for March 1, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./UT Val. Gonzaga Kansas State	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kansas Robert Morris Arizona State Geo. Wash.	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson Texas Oregon	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State High Pt./Ala. St. Oklahoma Harvard
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) North Carolina Memphis Saint Louis Iona	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State Louisiana Tech Michigan State Toledo	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Fla. St./So. Miss Michigan Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) UCLA Green Bay Kentucky North Dakota State
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Belmont Iowa St. Joseph's	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Georgia State Massachusetts Tenn./Minn.	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville Vermont Ohio State Xavier	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Delaware New Mexico Baylor
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) SMU Colorado Duke Mercer	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Connecticut Oklahoma State Villanova Boston U	Buffalo (Th/Sa) VCU BYU Syracuse NC Central	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Stanford Creighton UC Irvine

Note: Through games of February 28, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Locks and Outs are Filling Up

Welcome back to the Bracket Briefer's regular Friday feature: Lock, Probably, Prayer, and Out. We increased in quite a few locks this week, and quite a few more teams move to the out lines.

Upset Thursday: Now That's What I Call College Basketball

Whoa, what a day for college basketball. Overtimes, upsets, buzzer beaters, court stormings, Bill Freaking Walton, bracket locks, bubbles burst, and more gave college basketball an amazing 7 hours on Thursday night.

Bracket Brief for February 27, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./High Pt. Oklahoma Geo. Wash.	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kansas Davidson/Southern Arizona State Memphis	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Boston U SMU Stanford	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Robert Morris Pittsburgh Oklahoma State
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Fla. St./So. Miss. Kentucky Toledo	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State Green Bay Michigan Iona	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State BYU Iowa State North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA Stephen F. Austin Michigan State Louisiana Tech
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville Mercer New Mexico Baylor	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Saint Louis New Mexico State Iowa Xavier	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin UC Santa Barbara North Carolina Saint Joseph's	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Delaware Massachusetts Tenn./Minn.
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) VCU Harvard Duke Belmont	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Connecticut Kansas State Syracuse NC Central	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Gonzaga Oregon Creighton Georgia State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Texas Colorado Villanova Vermont

Note: Through games of February 26, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

An "As Expected" Wednesday Night

Nothing Earth shattering happened on Wednesday night despite a high number of games involving bubble and bracket teams. The biggest surprise might have been the bubble teams that lost. Richmond, Toledo, and Indiana State all saw their chances of making the tournament dwindle down to their conference tournament championships. West Virginia may not be dead but it is awful close after losing at Iowa State. And Baylor's resume took another hit with another loss, though like WVU, they lost on the road against a good team, Texas.

The Bracket Is Starting to Close...Bubble Teams, Watch Out!

Teams like Missouri, Dayton, and St. John's who are sitting on the bubble can't afford losses this close to Selection Sunday. But there they were on Tuesday night, losing games they could have won to help solidify a bracket spot.

Bracket Brief for February 25, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Rob. Mor./Weber St. Gonzaga Memphis	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Boston U Geo. Wash. Arizona State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson Texas BYU	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/High Pt. SMU Stanford
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State Mizzou/St. Joe's Iowa State New Mexico State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Kansas State Michigan Toledo	Spokane (Th/Sa) UCLA Green Bay Michigan State North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Iowa Stephen F. Austin Kentucky Louisiana Tech
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia Delaware Massachusetts Tennessee	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Louisville UC Santa Barbara San Diego State Colorado	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Mercer North Carolina Cal/Xavier	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Iona New Mexico St. John's
Site 7 10 2 15	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Oregon Creighton NC Central	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Oklahoma State Villanova Vermont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Connecticut Harvard Kansas Georgia State	Raleigh (Fr/Su) VCU Baylor Duke Belmont

Note: Through games of February 24, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Syracuse and Kansas Survive a Slow Monday Night

Needed a break after all that great weekend college basketball action? Then Monday was the night for you, which had a couple of close calls but nothing that would actually change the bracket happened.

An Important College Basketball Sunday For Major Conferences

Sunday's college basketball slate included only a handful of games, but several, at least four, had a major impact on the bracket and bubble landscape. From the East Coast to the West Coast, it was a Sunday worth mentioning, especially since Selection Sunday is now a mere 3 weeks away.

Twenty-Two Days from Selection Sunday, College Basketball Heats Up

What a day! We knew that there were a lot of terrific matches coming on Saturday, but the action exceeded expectations. Many games had a major effect on the bracket from top to bottom.

The Friday Appraisal: Does Your Team Have a Prayer?

Another Friday down and another look at who is a Lock, who is Probable for an at-large berth (or very close to one), who needs a Prayer, and who is Out no matter what.

Bracket Brief for February 21, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Web. St./High Pt. New Mexico Memphis	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Rob. Mo./So. U. Geo. Wash. Stanford	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson Oklahoma Oregon	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Belmont Arizona State SMU
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Michigan St. Joe's/Baylor San Diego State New Mexico State	Spokane (Th/Sa) Cincinnati Green Bay Kentucky North Dakota State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville BYU Michigan State Toledo	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Stephen F. Austin Saint Louis Louisiana Tech
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa Iona Connecticut Harvard	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA Georgia State North Carolina Oklahoma State	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Mercer Ohio State St. John's	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Delaware Pittsburgh Tenn./Cal
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Texas Xavier Duke Vermont	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Massachusetts Missouri Villanova Boston U	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Colorado Kansas NC Central	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Gonzaga Kansas State Creighton UC Irvine

Note: Through games of February 20, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Duke Goes Down, and Conference USA Is a One-Bid League

Conference USA is shaken up again, North Carolina fans storm the court, and BYU is closer to locking in its spot in the Big Dance. Such is the State of college basketball in 2014, when there is a new headline every night. Last night we were focused on Syracuse's upset and the near upsets of a number of other top teams. Tonight, we drifted further down the bracket to see if teams could improve their seeding and whether conferences could sneak more bids into the tournament. The fact is this: you can't turn away from college basketball for any night this year, because every night has been important.

Bracket Brief for February 20, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	East (4) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Web. St./Coast. Car. North Carolina Memphis	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Davidson Geo. Wash. Kansas State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Belmont Arizona State SMU	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/Rob. Mor. Oklahoma Oregon
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Michigan Baylor/BYU San Diego State New Mexico State	Spokane (Th/Sa) Cincinnati Toledo Michigan State North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Louisiana Tech Iowa Green Bay	Orlando (Th/Sa) Louisville St. John's/St. Joe's Kentucky Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Iona Gonzaga California	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA Georgia State VCU Harvard	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Mercer Ohio State Tennessee	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Delaware Connecticut Missouri
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Texas Xavier Duke Vermont	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Oklahoma State Villanova NC Central	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Stanford Kansas UC Irvine	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) New Mexico Colorado Creighton Boston U

Note: Through games of February 20, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Syracuse Suffers Major Upset While Other Major Teams Pull Out Close Games

Tons of games on Wednesday night were close, resulting in many near upsets, but only one really stood out: Syracuse's shocking loss to Boston College.

A Just About Upset-Free Night of College Basketball

Believe it or not, there were no major upsets on Wednesday night, though I suppose George Washington winning at Richmond was a minor upset. Then again, GW has been solidly in the bracket thanks to good RPI numbers, the major question mark being GW's efficiency numbers. GW proved itself a bit tonight, heading on the road to take out Spiders squad that still has bracket aspirations (that did take a hit tonight). Otherwise, except for some close calls, things went exactly as planned on Tuesday night. Let's take a look at the scores and a preview for Wednesday's action.

Oklahoma State and Florida State Playing Themselves Out of the Tournament

Most teams took the Day for Presidents off, but we still saw some great action on Monday night in a couple of big conferences.

Bracket Brief for February 17, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	West (4) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse So. U/Coastal Car. SMU George Washington	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Rob. Mor./Weber St. New Mexico Oklahoma State	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Davidson Oklahoma Xavier	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Boston U North Carolina Memphis
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) Iowa State Tenn./BYU UCLA Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) Louisville Toledo Michigan North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Kentucky LA Tech Michigan State Delaware	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State Colorado San Diego State Green Bay
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa New Mexico State Gonzaga Mizzou/Fla. St.	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia UC Irvine Connecticut Harvard	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Mercer Pittsburgh St. John's	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Iona Cincinnati California
Site 7 10 2 15	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Massachusetts Oregon Villanova Belmont	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Texas Stanford Creighton Vermont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Arizona State Minnesota Kansas NC Central	Raleigh (Fr/Su) VCU Kansas State Duke Georgia State

Note: Through games of February 16, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Upset Sunday? Five Games Will Have a Great Effect on the Bracket

Sunday came with a short calendar but still managed to give us five bracket-shuffling upsets.

Bracket Brief for February 16, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	West (4) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Boston U SMU Kansas State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Rob. Mor./Weber St. New Mexico Oklahoma State	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/Coastal Car. Oklahoma Xavier	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson North Carolina Memphis
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State Colo./St. John's San Diego State Delaware	Orlando (Th/Sa) Kentucky Fla. St./BYU Michigan Louisiana Tech	San Diego (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Green Bay UCLA Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) Iowa State California Saint Louis North Dakota State
Site 3 14 6 11	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin NC Central Connecticut Harvard	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Virginia Mercer Louisville Minnesota	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa New Mexico State Pittsburgh Tennessee	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton Iona Gonzaga Toledo
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) VCU Oregon Duke Georgia State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Missouri Arizona UC Irvine	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Arizona State Geo. Wash. Kansas Belmont	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Texas Stanford Michigan State Vermont

Note: Through games of February 15, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

A College Basketball Saturday with a Little of Everything

Saturday saw a little of everything. Big favorites (Duke, Syracuse) with nailbiters at home, big upsets in the scope of the conference, major schools taking hold of bracket positioning, and bubble edge battles. Let's get into the Saturday Recap.

The Friday Appraisal: Valentine's Day's Lock, Probable, Prayer, or Out?

Thank goodness that it is Friday and I can do Lock, Probable, Prayer, or Out? rather than spending another thirty minutes ranting about how terrible the ending to that Arizona/ASU game was. Feel free to look at Twitter if you want to find out just how bad everything was.

Bracket Brief for February 14, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse American Arizona State Oklahoma State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Southern/Coast. Car. Geo. Wash. Memphis	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Rob. Mor./Weber St. North Carolina Oklahoma	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Davidson Kansas State New Mexico
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Louisville Minnesota Saint Louis North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State St. Mary's/Cal Kentucky UC Santa Barbara	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State LA Tech San Diego State Green Bay	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA So. Miss/G'Town Virginia Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Mercer Cincinnati Colorado	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Michigan Delaware Pittsburgh Missouri	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Iona Gonzaga Toledo	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa New Mexico State VCU Harvard
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Texas Tennessee Duke Belmont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Xavier Kansas NC Central	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Connecticut Oregon Michigan State Vermont	Orlando (Th/Sa) SMU Stanford Florida Georgia State

Note: Through games of February 13, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

The World Is Closer to Having St. John's in the Tournament

No Earth shaking games happened on Thursday, but that doesn't mean there weren't games of interest. We pinpoint games in Conference USA, the Big Ten, the Big East, and the West Coast in tonight's recap.

Bracket Brief for February 13, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Davidson Massachusetts Oklahoma	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Robert Morris North Carolina Memphis	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona UT Val./Weber St. Oklahoma State Geo. Wash.	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/Coast. Car. Arizona State New Mexico
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) Louisville Cal/St. Mary's Virginia Stephen F. Austin	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Harvard Wisconsin Delaware	Spokane (Th/Sa) Cincinnati BYU/Mizzou San Diego State UC Santa Barbara	Spokane (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Minnesota Saint Louis North Dakota State
Site 3 14 6 11	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Michigan Green Bay Connecticut Colorado	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Iona Ohio State Oregon	Orlando (Th/Sa) Kentucky Georgia State Gonzaga Louisiana Tech	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa Mercer UCLA Toledo
Site 7 10 2 15	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Kansas State Tennessee Villanova Vermont	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Texas Southern Miss Duke Belmont	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) SMU Stanford Michigan State American	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Xavier Kansas NC Central

Note: Through games of February 12, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

On Syracuse's Big Night, Upsets Are the Rule, Not the Exception

The talk of Wednesday night was Syracuse at Pitt and Tyler Ennis's buzzer beater to keep the Orange's undefeated season alive. But behind the ACC's two powers (with Duke), a number of teams were upset unexpectedly. These upsets could all drastically alter the bubble and the bracket.

San Diego State's Amazing Run Near the Top of the NCAA Ends

As the last game of the night started, I began writing my blog thinking that there would be no extremely notable wins tonight. Boy, I was wrong.

Bracket Brief for February 11, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Robert Morris Kansas State New Mexico	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Davidson Memphis North Carolina	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona UT Val./Weber St. Texas SMU	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/VMI Geo. Wash. Arizona State
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) UCLA G'Town/LA Tech Saint Louis Delaware	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State Colorado Kentucky North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Harvard Michigan Green Bay	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Toledo Iowa Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Wisconsin Mercer Massachusetts Missouri	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Iona Cincinnati Oregon	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia UC Santa Barbara Gonzaga Minnesota	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Georgia State Louisville BYU/Cal
Site 7 10 2 15	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Connecticut Xavier Duke Belmont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Tennessee Kansas Vermont	Spokane (Th/Sa) Oklahoma State Stanford San Diego State American	Orlando (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Southern Miss Florida NC Central

Note: Through games of February 10, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Bad Night for Big Monday in the Big 12

Big Monday saw two Big 12 powers, Kansas and Iowa State, falling rather dramatically, though each in different ways. West Virginia may have played itself onto the bubble. And in the ACC, Florida State may have played itself off.

Smart Shove Still Carries College Basketball's News Cycle

The talk on Sunday still seemed to revolve around Marcus Smart and last night's shove. We have to assume at this point that there's a good chance that Oklahoma State will lose its next two games at Texas and home against Oklahoma, and possibly the third, last game of his suspension at Baylor. Lose all three, and the Cowboys would be on a 7-game losing streak. With OSU's remaining schedule, it could be nearly impossible to come back from that, and we might be looking at an NIT team. But OK State has been a mess since before the Smart shove, and we don't know if they would have won these games even without his suspension.

But Smart wasn't the only thing that happened on Sunday. Let's look at the day's important games.

Bracket Brief for February 9, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Robert Morris Xavier G. Washington	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Davidson Oklahoma State North Carolina	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona UTV/Weber St. Texas New Mexico	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/VMI SMU Arizona State
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) UCLA North Dakota State Michigan Green Bay	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Cal/LA Tech Kentucky Minnesota	Orlando (Th/Sa) Ohio State Harvard Virginia Delaware	San Diego (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Toledo Wisconsin Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Mercer Massachusetts Oregon	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Iona Cincinnati Missouri	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa UC Santa Barbara Oklahoma Florida State	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Georgia State Louisville BYU/Colorado
Site 7 10 2 15	Orlando (Th/Sa) Memphis Southern Miss Florida Vermont	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Gonzaga Kansas State Duke Belmont	Spokane (Th/Sa) Connecticut Stanford San Diego State American	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Tennessee Kansas NC Central

Note: Through games of February 8, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Marcus Smart Loses His Mind: A Crazy Saturday for Teams on the Lower Rungs

I had tonight's post just about done and then I realized that some time would have to be spent on Marcus Smart. It, frankly, was a fitting end to an absolutely crazy Saturday that saw a number of teams fall unexpectedly. The oddest might be just how badly Cincinnati was beaten by SMU, but I personally am more shocked that Harvard could fall to another bad team. Let's get into in in today's recap.

The Friday Appraisal: Lock, Probable, Prayer, or Out?

We are now only 37 days from Selection Sunday, when bracketology becomes moot and we all focus on the tournament games. But there's still a lot to be decided. So 37 days out, the Bracket Briefer looks at who will be in and who will be out.

A Night to Focus on College Basketball's Little Guys

Only one major upset in the big conferences occurred Thursday night as LSU fell out of the bracket following a loss to Georgia. So tonight, we'll look at two issues involving mid and low majors. First, we'll see just what is going on in the WAC as the seeming favorite lost. And we'll see why the Bracket Brief gives automatic bids to certain teams who may not be in first-place in their league.

Bracket Brief for February 6, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	South (2) Memphis (Th/Sa)	West (3) Anaheim (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Davidson Memphis Tennessee	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida NC Central Geo. Wash. Stanford	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/VMI Oklahoma Arizona State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona R. Mor./Weber St. New Mexico Harvard
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Oregon Ohio State New Mexico State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia Xavier Michigan Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Th/Sa) Pittsburgh Toledo Wisconsin North Dakota State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa Kansas State Kentucky Green Bay
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State Mercer UCLA Missouri	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton Georgia State Oklahoma State Colorado/LSU	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Delaware VCU Florida State	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State UC Santa Barbara Louisville BYU/California
Site 7 10 2 15	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Massachusetts SMU Villanova Iona	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Connecticut Southern Miss Duke Belmont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Gonzaga Minnesota Kansas Vermont	Spokane (Th/Sa) Texas North Carolina San Diego State American

Note: Through games of February 6, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Lots of Bubble Teams Are Losing; Bad Nights for Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota, and California

Wednesday night was the night for bubble teams to start losing games, giving hope to squads all over the country. Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota, and California, all on the lower half of teams making it as at-larges in the last Bracket Brief, inching them closer to the "out" spots to make room for "ins". A bracketology look at those games and more ahead.

Ohio State Climbing Back Up the Bracket, While Providence Falls Out

Nothing on Tuesday night lived up to Monday's thriller between Iowa State and Oklahoma State, but there was still a lot of important action. The two biggest games affecting the bracket occurred in the Big conferences, as Ohio State showed for the second game in a row that it is not yet dead, winning at Iowa. And Providence, a bubble team if ever there was one, dropped a very important home game to St. John's. Let's look at all of Tuesday's action from a bracketology perspective.

Iowa State and Oklahoma State Jockey for Big 12 and Bracket Positions

With a small slate of games and no major upsets, Monday ended up being very quiet. But we still had one very good game out of the Big 12.

Bracket Brief for February 3, 2014

Seed	East (1) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	West (2) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Southern/VMI Connecticut Geo. Wash.	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State North Carolina Central Arizona State Tennessee	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona R. Morris/Weber St. Memphis New Mexico	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Davidson Harvard Southern Miss
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) UCLA Toledo Kentucky Green Bay	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Kansas State Michigan North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Mizzou/Prov. Virginia Mercer	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Wisconsin Stanford Iowa State Stephen F. Austin
Site 3 14 6 11	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Georgia State Louisville North Carolina	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton UC Santa Barbara Ohio State Oregon	Orlando (Th/Sa) Cincinnati New Mexico State Texas Minnesota	Raleigh (Th/Sa) Iowa Delaware Oklahoma State Colorado/LSU
Site 7 10 2 15	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Oklahoma California Villanova Iona	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Florida State Kansas Belmont	Spokane (Fr/Su) Gonzaga Xavier San Diego State Vermont	Raleigh (Th/Sa) Massachusetts SMU Duke American

Note: Through games of February 2, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

College Basketball Doesn't Stop on Super Sunday

Sure, Sunday was Super Sunday, but college basketball did not take the day off, filling up the time in between. Three games from Sunday might have a major effect on the bracket.

And Then There Were Two: Arizona Falls to California

Holy cow. Now that's a college basketball Saturday. We began with a crazy game between slumping Big Ten powers Ohio State and Wisconsin and ended up with the #1 team in the nation, Arizona, finally dropping a game, this one at Cal. We'll look at those games and everything in between, from a bracketology angle.

Bracket Brief for February 1, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Weber St./Davidson Connecticut Minnesota	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Robert Morris George Washington Florida State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Vermont Texas New Mexico	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/VMI Arizona State Xavier
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) Saint Louis North Carolina Oklahoma State New Mexico State	San Antonio (Fr/Su) UCLA SMU Iowa State Green Bay	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Kentucky Cal/LA Tech Iowa North Dakota State	Spokane (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Toledo Pittsburgh Mercer
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Cincinnati Stephen F. Austin Gonzaga Southern Miss	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Creighton UC Santa Barbara Louisville Stanford	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Belmont Massachusetts Oregon	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Michigan Delaware Virginia Colo./Prov.
Site 7 10 2 15	Spokane (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Tennessee San Diego State NC Central	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Ohio State Kansas State Duke Iona	Orlando (Th/Sa) Memphis Harvard Florida Georgia State	St. Louis (Fr/Su) VCU Missouri Kansas American

Note: Through games of January 31, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

The Friday Appraisal: The First Four

In this week's Friday Appraisal, a look at interesting bracketology questions, we look at what would happen if three teams from the same conference, say Stanford, California, and Colorado, all ended up in the last four at-large spots, presumably heading towards Dayton for the First Four games. We also preview a huge Saturday in college basketball, the first February Saturday, where everything heats up.

Louisville Falls in the Yum! Center, in the AAC, and in the Bracket

The champs lose again, a once 13-0 team falls to 14-6 following another loss, and a last four in team loses to a team without a chance of climbing into the bracket.

The Top 2 Teams Survive, and Two Big Ten Powers Are Dying

What the heck happened tonight? The Big Ten is falling apart, and Arizona and Syracuse came close to dropping their first games. Other teams all over are losing unexpectedly by massive margins: Green Bay, Indiana State, Stony Brook, Florida State...just a crazy night. Let's look at all the games from tonight that might affect the bracket.

Bracket Brief for January 29, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Rob. Mor./VMI Connecticut Harvard	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Northern Colorado Memphis Geo. Wash.	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Stony Brook Texas Minnesota	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Southern/Chatt. VCU Kansas State
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Oklahoma State Green Bay Iowa Mercer	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia Louisiana Tech Iowa State Toledo	San Diego (Fr/Su) Massachusetts Provid./Stanford Cincinnati Stephen F. Austin	Spokane (Fr/Su) Louisville California/Colorado Pittsburgh North Dakota St.
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton New Mexico State UCLA Tennessee	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Manhattan Ohio State Saint Mary's	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan Belmont Saint Louis Missouri	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Wisconsin Delaware Kentucky SMU
Site 7 10 2 15	Spokane (Th/Sa) Florida State Southern Miss San Diego State UC Irvine	Orlando (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Arizona State Florida NC Central	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Gonzaga Oregon Duke Georgia State	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Xavier New Mexico Kansas American

Note: Through games of January 28, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Michigan State Could Win the Big Ten at 80% Strength

Ooh, fun night. A Doug McDermott buzzer beater. Upsets galore. Bracket teams falling off the bubble. Teams proving their worth. And a major league contest in the Big Ten.

Short Calendar? No Matter---Monday Provides Huge Excitement

A trio of games on Tuesday night did not fail to impress. Duke finally got a much needed road win, found out the latest winner in Bedlam, and watched to see if a struggling Big East team could pull off a much needed upset.

Bracket Brief for January 27, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	Midwest (4) Indy (Fr/Su)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	South (3) Memphis (Th/Sa)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona N. Colorado Ohio State George Washington	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State Southern/UNC Ashe. Connecticut Kansas State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse NC Central Saint Louis Providence	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State R. Morris/Chatt. SMU California
Site 5 12 4 13	San Diego (Fr/Su) Memphis Louisiana Tech Duke Stephen F. Austin	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Kentucky UNC/Richmond Creighton Mercer	Orlando (Th/Sa) Cincinnati Arizona State Iowa State Toledo	Spokane (Th/Sa) Texas Harvard Wisconsin North Dakota State
Site 3 14 6 11	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Oklahoma State New Mexico State Florida State New Mexico	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Delaware Xavier Southern Miss	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Iowa Manhattan Virginia Baylor/Colorado	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kansas Belmont Louisville Oregon
Site 7 10 2 15	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) UCLA Gonzaga Michigan State UC Irvine	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Stanford Michigan Stony Brook	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Massachusetts Green Bay Villanova American	Orlando (Th/Sa) Minnesota VCU Florida Georgia State

Note: Through games of January 26, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Lincoln Can Be a Scary Place for an Upper-Tier Big Ten Team

Sunday came with a number of bubble teams jockeying for position within their conferences and for bracket spots. Some shone brightly, and some folded yet again, as so many bubble teams do around this time of the year. And the upset of the night came out of the Big Ten.

Michigan Taking Control of Big Ten

College basketball fans were treated to a terrific match between Michigan State and Michigan on Saturday. The two teams waged a shifting war, but in the end, Michigan left East Lansing with a big-time win, a signature victory, one that we'll look at on Selection Sunday and point to if UM wins the Big Ten season championship. We will look at that game and all of Saturday's major action.

The Friday Appraisal: Mid Majors and the #1 Seed

Welcome to the Friday Appraisal, where the Bracket Briefer covers several important college basketball questions. We'll also preview Saturday's most important games. First up, who do you got? Wichita State or San Diego State?

Lots of Extra Basketball in Portland, and Bad Losses for Pac-12 Bubble Teams

Despite a huge number of games on Thursday night, not many of them did much to change the landscape. For the vast majority of the games, heavily favored teams won as expected. A couple games were worth noting, however.

Bracket Brief for January 23, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (4) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona N. Colorado Texas Gonzaga	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Wichita State Elon/UNC Ashe. Providence Colorado	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse NC Central George Washington SMU	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State R. Morris/Southern Oklahoma UCLA
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Florida State Green Bay Wisconsin North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Oklahoma State Harvard Pittsburgh Delaware	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Minnesota Louisiana Tech Iowa State Manhattan	Orlando (Th/Sa) Virginia Richmond/Arkansas Xavier Toledo
Site 3 14 6 11	Spokane (Th/Sa) Creighton New Mexico State Louisville New Mexico	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Iowa Mercer Kentucky Clemson/Oregon	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Michigan Stephen F. Austin Memphis Tennessee	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Cincinnati UC Irvine Massachusetts Baylor
Site 7 10 2 15	Spokane (Th/Sa) Ohio State California San Diego State American	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Connecticut VCU Kansas Georgia State	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Saint Louis Kansas State Villanova Vermont	Orlando (Th/Sa) Duke Stanford Florida Belmont

Note: Through games of January 22, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

The Big Ten Is Becoming Easier to Figure Out

The Big Ten found itself sorted out a bit more after Wednesday night's game as Michigan began flexing its muscles and Wisconsin worked on its Ohio State impression. That and more in Tuesday night's recap.

Harvard Drops Shockingly; Home Teams Rule

I would lead with the ending to Texas/Kansas State if I were a highlight show, but this is a bracketology blog, where we're looking for the most drastic changes to the bracket each night. And tonight, you have to look towards Boston.

How to Destroy a #1 Seed, Creighton's Destruction of Villanova in Philly

Two major upsets occurred on Monday night, but the upsets couldn't have been more different. In the first game, we were shocked not by the upset but by the way it happened. In the second, we were shocked by the sheer downfall of a once solid team. That and more in Monday night's recap.

Conference USA's Marquee In-Season Game, and the Oregon Ducks Slide

Tonight, we got a little bit of clarity into the Conference USA race, and we found out that the Oregon Ducks are simply not the same team that started out winning its first 15 games this season. We'll look at those games and preview Monday's games.

Bracket Brief for January 19, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (4) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (3) Indianapolis (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Northern Colorado Kansas State SMU	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Michigan State Rob. Mor./Southern California Baylor	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse NC Central UCLA Harvard	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Elon/UNC Asheville Louisville George Washington
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Creighton Clemson/VCU Iowa UC Santa Barbara	Spokane (Th/Sa) Cincinnati Providence Pittsburgh North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Memphis New Mexico Oklahoma State Manhattan	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Virginia Tennessee/Stanford Minnesota Toledo
Site 3 14 6 11	Orlando (Th/Sa) Massachusetts New Mexico State Duke Colorado	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Iowa State Mercer Michigan North Carolina	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Stephen F. Austin Florida State Louisiana Tech	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Wisconsin Delaware Xavier Arkansas
Site 7 10 2 15	Spokane (Th/Sa) Texas Gonzaga San Diego State Vermont	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kentucky Oregon Wichita State Georgia State	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Oklahoma Connecticut Ohio State Boston U	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Saint Louis Green Bay Kansas Belmont

Note: Through games of January 18, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

The Day of Big 12 Drama

Saturday opened up with a lot of great action in the Big 12 and a bunch of movement throughout the conference's standings. We sorted out a little bit between the top two teams, but everything from 3 down changed. We also had upsets all over the country, and a number of teams fortified their positions. Let's take a look at Saturday's action.

The Friday Appraisal for January 17, 2014, and a Saturday Preview

It is time for our second edition of the Friday Appraisal, a look at some interesting questions after the last week of college basketball. Friday is the perfect night for it because only one game, Green Bay at Wright State, really mattered to the most recent Bracket Brief (Green Bay won 79-69). We'll also preview Saturday's most important games.

Ohio State Loses Third Straight; Memphis Goes Down at Home

The big news came from the midwest, where Ohio State followed up its 15-0 start with a 0-3 losing streak, falling tonight at Minnesota. Once an easy pick for a #1 seed, Ohio State will struggle to climb back to that loft position. Elsewhere, UConn and Memphis battled, Colorado began the post-Dinwiddie part of the season, and a bubble team out of the SEC lost.

Numerous Teams Fail To Prove Their March Madness Worth on Wednesday Night

This was the night for teams in the lower half of the at-large rankings to prove---or disprove---their worth. Baylor, on the higher end thanks to not losing to teams like Texas Tech, lost to Texas Tech. Illinois lose a home game...to Purdue. New Mexico fell at home to UNLV. Georgetown couldn't get itself together long enough to grab a nice road win at Xavier. And Notre Dame lost again.

So Long Wisconsin, Hoosiers Hand Badgers First Loss

And then there were 3. Indiana's defeat of Wisconsin left college basketball with only three unbeaten teams: Arizona, Syracuse, and Wichita State. Arizona and Syracuse still have tough schedules coming, and WSU has looked a bit shaky at times, but it really could run the MVC table. We'll look at Wisconsin and the ramifications of the amazing finish in the Arkansas/Kentucky game.

Duke Escapes Virginia's Comeback at Home; Kansas Looks Good on the Road

The two big stories coming into tonight were how Duke would fare against Virginia following the terrible loss at Clemson and how Iowa State would rebound after losing its first game of the season on Saturday at Oklahoma. We look at those games and more.

Ohio State Goes Down At Home; Two Pac-12 Powers Upset

Ohio State, who was looking at a solid #1 seed earlier, lost at Michigan State, which was not too damaging, but today's home loss to Iowa, who was in control most of the day, hurts quite a bit. Ohio State fell a bit further back in line for a #1 seed, and without more wins, OSU will be in trouble. On the West Coast, the Pac-12 went all topsy-turvy, as Colorado, Oregon, and Utah were all upset.

Bracket Brief for January 12, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (4) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (2) NYC (Fr/Su)	Midwest (3) Indy (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona R. Morris/Char. So. Oklahoma New Mexico	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Villanova Georgia State Michigan Louisville	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse N. Carolina Central Duke Minnesota	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Elon/Southern Gonzaga UCLA
Site 5 12 4 13	Spokane (Th/Sa) Creighton N. Car./UConn Iowa Toledo	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Colorado Missouri Kansas New Mexico State	Orlando (Th/Sa) Oklahoma State Stanford/Marquette Massachusetts Belmont	San Diego (Fr/Su) Memphis Green Bay Baylor UC Santa Barbara
Site 3 14 6 11	Raleigh (Th/Sa) Virginia Delaware Oregon SMU	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Mercer Florida State George Washington	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Iowa State North Dakota State Kentucky VCU	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Cincinnati Manhattan Xavier Arkansas
Site 7 10 2 15	Spokane (Th/Sa) Saint Louis Tennessee San Diego State Northern Colorado	Saint Louis (Fr/Su) California Kansas State Ohio State Stephen F. Austin	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Harvard Georgetown Michigan State Boston U	Saint Louis (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Louisiana Tech Wichita State Vermont

Note: Through games of January 11, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

There's Something Wrong With Duke, Though Not Iowa State, Despite Losses By Both

And then there were four. We lost one more unbeaten team on Saturday afternoon when Iowa State lost on the road at Oklahoma. We also saw Duke lose yet again on the road, falling to 0-2 on the road and 3-4 away from Cameron. A busy basketball Saturday had surprises throughout the entire day, so let's take a look at the action.

The Friday Appraisal

Before I get to a preview of tomorrow's games, I figure Friday would be a good time for a new Q&A feature, the Friday Appraisal. Friday is the slowest day of the college basketball (in the only game worth watching, Mercer beat Kennesaw State 83-46 at home), usually populated by just a few low- to mid-major conference games. So here are some burning college basketball questions. At the end of this post is a preview of Saturday's major match ups.

Arizona Escapes, Keeps #1 Overall Seed; Louisville Falls Again

So, another Thursday night, another magical night of college hoops. Arizona/UCLA provided all the magic we expect out of this rivalry, with UCLA nearly pulling out a win at the end of the game, succumbing to Arizona's toughness. In other places, Louisville, Gonzaga, and Butler all suffered fairly noteworthy upsets. The Bracket Briefer takes a look at all of these games and more.

Major Conference Minor Upsets Galore

There weren't any Earth-changing games on Wednesday night, but nearly every game involving a bracket or bubble team ended up having some impact on the landscape. Coming into the night, we didn't really know which games would be the most impactful, save for Harvard at UConn. A trio of Big East, SEC, and ACC upsets lead the way.

Michigan State and Ohio State Go to Overtime, and Other Tuesday Night Action

With Michigan State up 17, it looked like the Spartans had taken care of the four-game stretch when Gary Harris was out and MSU looked quite beatable. But Ohio State's offense took over the came and went on a 20-3 win to get the game into overtime. The fight on the road proved one thing, no matter who won or lost the game: the Buckeyes are well on their way to earning a #1 seed. Michigan State still has plenty to prove, however.

BCS, SchmeeCS, College Basketball Kept Going on Football's National Championship Night

As college basketball took one final backseat to college football for this year (which turned out to be one of the better championship games, especially with ESPN's Megacast), some games raged on, including a very interesting matchup between Maryland, perennial underachievers, and Pittsburgh, who as typical put up a gaudy record and good numbers against a terrifically terrible schedule. We recap that and several games that you might not usually pay attention to from conferences at the bottom of the S-curve.

Oregon Finally Losses, Wisconsin Rallies, and Kansas Goes Down at Home

The conference season shows you just how difficult it is to remain undefeated in college basketball. Sure, a team can keep from losing a game when it plays almost every game at home or on a neutral court. With a little luck, a talented-but-not-elite team can get to the conference season undefeated. But that's when the season changes, because then you have to play all (or nearly all) of your conference mates on their home floor. It is therefore unsurprising that we are now down to six undefeated teams.

Bracket Brief for January 5, 2014

Seed	West (1) Anaheim (Th/Sa)	South (4) Memphis (Th/Sa)	East (2) New York City (Fr/Su)	Midwest (3) Indianapolis (Fr/Su)
Site 1 16 8 9	San Diego (Fr/Su) Arizona Bryant/Char. So. New Mexico Michigan	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Ohio State No. Colo./TX So. SMU Saint Louis	Buffalo (Th/Sa) Syracuse Elon Harvard Gonzaga	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) Wisconsin Stony Brook Duke Creighton
Site 5 12 4 13	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Cincinnati New Mexico State Baylor North Dakota State	San Diego (Fr/Su) Pittsburgh Southern Miss Colorado Manhattan	Orlando (Th/Sa) Xavier VCU Iowa UC Santa Barbara	Raleigh (Fr/Su) Memphis Tennessee Massachusetts Toledo
Site 3 14 6 11	Spokane (Th/Sa) San Diego State Stephen F. Austin Oklahoma State Notre Dame	San Antonio (Fr/Su) Wichita State Mercer Arkansas California/UConn	Orlando (Th/Sa) Florida Delaware Louisville Illinois/Oklahoma	Spokane (Th/Sa) Oregon Green Bay Missouri Dayton
Site 7 10 2 15	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Kentucky George Washington Michigan State North Carolina Central	St. Louis (Fr/Su) Florida State Marquette Kansas Belmont	Raleigh (Fr/Su) UCLA Virginia Vilanova Louisiana Lafayette	Milwaukee (Th/Sa) North Carolina Minnesota Iowa State Boston U

Note: Through games of January 4, 2014. Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

Duke, Oklahoma State, Memphis, and UConn Are All Upset

A packed Saturday did not disappoint as the vast majority of the tournament locks and bubble teams were in action. It is hard to pick exactly which was the best game of the day. Cinci won a major game at Memphis to open the day, but little did we know the upsets to come. SMU proved it may be a major force in the American conference, defeating UConn. Virginia got a huge win at Florida State. LSU somehow lost at home to Rhode Island. In what most people may consider the upset of the day, Duke lost at Notre Dame, but Duke has had warning signs all day. As far as a most surprising upset, I'd go with Kansas State over Oklahoma State. KSU isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but I penciled in OK State as #1 in the Big 12. Now we'll wait to see if the Kansas Jayhawks are still the top dog in Sunday's game against San Diego State.

Preview of Huge Saturday for a Slow Friday

Like most Friday nights, we'll spend most of the recap previewing Saturday.

The Pac-12's Opening Night Provides Major Bracket Drama

January 2nd carried the best action of 2014 thus far, as the Pac-12 opened its season. Three games proved to have bracket implications, including a major road win, a major upset, and two bubble teams who happen to be rivals duking it out. The Pac-12 still is not getting much love from computer numbers, but Arizona's resurgence and Oregon's hot start seem to have helped public perception of the recently maligned conference.

College Basketball Opens 2014 in Boring Fashion

I tried, I really tried. I wanted to find a game to go into an in-depth recap on for the January 1 action. But there simply was not a game worthy of an entire paragraph.

Villanova Bounces Back with Major Road Win; UConn Suffers Terrible Loss

Happy New Year everybody! And a happy second half of the college basketball season to you as well. Nearly every game played on New Year's Eve had major bracket implications, so it was hard to narrow down the most important games. We saw two Big Ten bubble teams duking it out, a couple of Big East powers throwing down, and a major upset of one of the American Athletic Conference teams.