As is almost always the case, the middle of a projected NCAA tournament field is starting to take shape by the end of January. The No. 9 and No. 10 seeds now have increasingly tourney-like profiles, while the final half-dozen or slots remain a fluid situation and subject to erratic changes.
For example, Notre Dame —- a team with basically no nonconference profile to speak of —- beat Seton Hall and Connecticut this week to vault into the field. The Irish were a complete afterthought a week ago.
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Those sorts of leaps will be harder to come by deep into February, let alone in early March. But for the moment, it’s more than plausible.
Here’s the full 68-team projection for the week:
EAST REGION
Pittsburgh
(1) BIG EAST/Syracuse vs. (16) BIG SOUTH/UNC Asheville-AMERICA EAST/Stony Brook
(8) Temple vs. (9) Memphis
Portland
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) SUN BELT/Middle Tennessee
(5) WEST COAST/Saint Mary’s vs. (12) Iowa State
Nashville
(3) Florida vs. (14) SOUTHERN/Davidson
(6) San Diego State vs. (11) BIG WEST/Long Beach State
Omaha
(2) Missouri vs. (15) PATRIOT/Bucknell
(7) Virginia vs. (10) Purdue
SOUTH REGION
Louisville
(1) SOUTHEASTERN/Kentucky vs. (16) NORTHEAST/Long Island
(8) Wichita State vs. (9) PAC-12/California
Nashville
(4) Michigan vs. (13) SUMMIT/Oral Roberts
(5) Louisville vs. (12) Mississippi/Saint Louis
Omaha
(3) BIG 12/Kansas vs. (14) MID-AMERICAN/Akron
(6) Gonzaga vs. (11) Colorado State
Greensboro
(2) ATLANTIC COAST/Duke vs. (15) COLONIAL/George Mason
(7) Illinois vs. Seton Hall
MIDWEST REGION
Pittsburgh
(1) Ohio State vs. (16) BIG SKY/Weber State
(8) Connecticut vs. (9) New Mexico
Portland
(4) MISSOURI VALLEY/Creighton vs. (13) ATLANTIC 10/Massachusetts
(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Notre Dame/Washington
Louisville
(3) Georgetown vs. (14) METRO ATLANTIC/Iona
(6) Florida State vs. (11) Dayton
Albuquerque
(2) Baylor vs. (15) ATLANTIC SUN/Belmont
(7) Mississippi State vs. (10) Minnesota
WEST REGION
Greensboro
(1) North Carolina vs. (16) SWAC/Mississippi Valley State-SOUTHLAND/Texas-Arlington
(8) Kansas State vs. (9) CONFERENCE USA/Southern Mississippi
Columbus
(4) Marquette vs. (13) WESTERN ATHLETIC/Nevada
(5) Indiana vs. (12) IVY/Harvard
Albuquerque
(3) MOUNTAIN WEST/UNLV vs. (14) HORIZON/Cleveland State
(6) OHIO VALLEY/Murray State vs. (11) Xavier
Columbus
(2) BIG TEN/Michigan State vs. (15) MID-EASTERN/Norfolk State
(7) West Virginia vs. (10) Alabama
Last four in: Washington, Saint Louis, Mississippi, Notre Dame
First four out: Arkansas, Oregon, Northwestern, N.C. State
Next four out: Cincinnati, Miami, Texas, Brigham Young
Conference call: Big East (8), Big Ten (8), SEC (6), Atlantic 10 (5), Big 12 (5), ACC (4), Mountain West (4), Conference USA (2), Missouri Valley (2), Pac-12 (2), West Coast (2)
—- Patrick Stevens
