Shamrock Shake… CHECK!

Commercials on CBS for The Masters… CHECK!

That squiggly, fuzzy feeling in your gut when you think about college hoops… CHECK!

Oh yeah. It's officially March.

And I'm pleased to tell you that ClutchPoints will not just be your home for Bracketology projections the next two weeks — it'll be your one-stop-shop for all things Bracketology, Championship Week, and March Madness. I'm gonna be trying out some new things in this column over the next two weeks. Of course, we'll always start with the bracket, the bracket breakdown, and bubble watch. But aside from that, I'm gonna spice things up with some predictions, some insight, and maybe a few rants that are semi-related to the NCAA Tournament as well. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Bracketology Bracket 

NCAA Tournament Bracket

 

Bracketology Breakdown 

Top Seeds: Connecticut Huskies (East Region), Purdue Boilermakers (Midwest Region), Houston Cougars (South Region), Arizona Wildcats (West Region)

Multi-Bid Leagues: AAC (2), ACC (5), Atlantic 10 (2), Big East (5), Big Ten (6), Big 12 (9), Mountain West (6), Pac-12 (2), SEC (7), WCC (2)

Bracketology Bubble Watch

Last Four Byes: Gonzaga, Florida Atlantic, Colorado State, Virginia

Last Four In: Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Villanova, New Mexico

First Four Out: Colorado, St. John’s, Providence, Utah

Next Four Out: Iowa, Pittsburgh, Drake, Texas A&M

Next Five Alive: Ole Miss, Kansas State, Butler, James Madison, Memphis

-With Gonzaga's win at Saint Mary's on Saturday night, not only did the Bulldogs prevent the Gaels from becoming just the third school — along with Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount — in West Coast Conference history to finish a season with an unbeaten record in conference play, but they also may have secured their bid into the NCAA Tournament for the 25th straight season. The Zags are nationally ranked, have won 13 of their last 14 games, and both their NET Rating (17) and their road record (8-2) are good indicators that they'll be in the field on Selection Sunday.

-After spending most of the season in the 4/5 range in the bracket, Florida Atlantic now finds themselves in a spot where they need to avoid any slip-ups against subpar competition the rest of the way in order to breathe easy on Selection Sunday. Another loss to South Florida, or even Memphis wouldn't be too damaging to their resume, but a road loss at North Texas or an early-round defeat in the AAC Conference Tournament could put them in danger. The Owls neutral site win over Arizona earlier in the season could be what ultimately keeps them on the right side of the bubble.

-I wish you the best of luck if you're trying to figure out which Big East schools will make the field, and which ones will be on the wrong side of the bubble. As things stand right now, Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, and potentially even Butler could go either way. Of course, the best way for all five of those teams to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament would be to win the Big East Tournament, but toppling Connecticut, Creighton and Marquette will be a tough task.

-Could the Pac-12, once one of the proudest basketball conferences in the country, really only get two bids in the NCAA Tournament? Arizona will likely be a 1-seed and Washington State's safely in the field. Colorado and Utah are the two teams with the best chance of securing an at-large bid. The Utes and Buffaloes each have two games left on their regular season schedule — road games versus Oregon State and Oregon. Both will need to avoid slip ups. Oregon, who is barely hanging on to hope of an at-large bid, will need to sweep those games and win a couple of games in the Pac-12 Tournament in order to receive serious at-large consideration.

-If there's any team that is in desperate need of a win, it's the New Mexico Lobos, who host Fresno State in their home finale on March 6th before heading up north to Logan to face the Utah State Aggies in their final regular season game of the year. A road loss to Utah State wouldn't be a huge hit, but New Mexico already suffered a resume-damaging loss to Air Force at home on February 24th.

Five Most Intriguing Games (March 4-6) 

Texas at Baylor – Mon. Mar. 4, 9:00 PM ET, ESPN

Purdue at Illinois – Tue. Mar. 5, 7:00 PM ET, Peacock

Alabama at Florida – Tue. Mar. 5, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN

Tennessee at South Carolina – Wed. Mar. 6, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN2

Connecticut at Marquette – Wed. Mar. 6, 8:30 PM ET, FS1

Conference Tournament Tip-Offs (March 4-6) 

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament (March 4-10)
-Top Seed: Eastern Kentucky
-2023 Champion: Kennesaw State

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament (March 6-9)
-Top Seed: Little Rock
-2023 Champion: Southeast Missouri State

Big South Conference Tournament (March 6-10)
-Top Seed: High Point
-2023 Champion: UNC-Asheville 

Championship Week Bracketology Schedule 

Monday March 4th – Championship Week Part 1

Thursday March 7th – Championship Week Part 2

Sunday March 10th – Championship Week Part 3

Monday March 11th – Championship Week Part 4

Thursday March 14th – Championship Week Part 5

Saturday March 16th – Championship Week Part 6

Sunday March 17th (AM) – Selection Sunday Part 1

Sunday March 17th (PM) – Selection Sunday Part 2