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.
@Florida Atlantic 68, Harvard 53: This is the kind of loss that can derail a mid-major hoping for an at-large bid. Harvard has very little breathing room now, considering that it does not have a very good non-conference strength of schedule (best wins: Green Bay, Vermont) and few opportunities remaining to prove itself. That said, Harvard should still win the Ivy League, and the lack of a conference tournament means they won't surprisingly find themselves in the NIT. But this team could have hoped for more. That said, if you're the fan of a #4 or #5 seed, would you want to play Harvard in your first-round game?
@Texas 67, Kansas State 64: Texas pulled out the win late, which makes sense, because I get the feeling that they needed it more. KSU has only lost two games since November, at Kansas (expected) and at Texas (acceptable). Texas, meanwhile, had that bad stretch in the middle of the season that it has been working its way back from. Back-to-back wins over Iowa State and Kansas State are just what the doctor ordered.
Home courts were the flavor on Tuesday night, as every game including a bracket-impacting game was won by the home team.
@Michigan State 71, Indiana 66
@Connecticut 90, Temple 66
@LSU 77, Missouri 71 - road wins are tough, but Mizzou needs them
@Pittsburgh 76, Clemson 43 - big loss for Clemson, who is already on thin ice
@SMU 70, Rutgers 56
@Florida State 76, Notre Dame 74
@Kentucky 68, Texas A&M 51
@Providence 65, Butler 56 - important win for Friars, starting to get over bracket hump
@New Mexico 84, Boise State 75 - UNM is still desperate for win over SDSU later
Wednesday night has a lot of very nice matchup if you're into bracketology. Iowa at Michigan headlines the night, as the two teams jockey for seeding. UM looked for a while like it might hang around the upper-mid Big Ten and find itself somewhere in the middle of the bracket. But its undefeated Big Ten record has carried it up, and a win over Iowa would be extremely useful. Also in the Big Ten, Wisconsin will try to stop its losing streak, but it will have to do so at Minnesota, who already beat Florida State and Ohio State at the Barn.
Arkansas and Tennessee find themselves in a far different position. The SEC is falling back a bit, and these two are right on the edge of the bracket right now. A misstep will certainly move them out and another in. The best thing that can happen for the SEC's chances at getting the maximum amount of teams in is to have Tennessee win a close one at home.
#4 Iowa at #6 Michigan
#8 Louisville at South Florida
#3 Massachusetts at Richmond
#7 Saint Louis at Duquesne
Winthrop at #16 UNC Asheville
(LFI) #12 VCU at (FFO) Dayton
Northern Illinois at #13 Toledo
#6 Duke at Miami (FL)
#15 Boston U at American
NC A&T at #16 NC Central
#11 Arkansas at (LFI) #12 Tennessee
Oakland at #10 Green Bay
#2 Wichita State at Illinois State
#16 Southern at Mississippi Valley State
#3 Wisconsin at #4 Minnesota
TCU at #7 Oklahoma
#2 San Diego State at San Jose State
#8 California at USC
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