Saturday was a landmark day in the college basketball season, as the selection committee revealed its first look at the current top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament picture. Unsurprisingly, Michigan came in as the No. 1 seed, but Duke took the second spot while Arizona filed in behind in third and Iowa State took the final spot on the one line.
Hours after the reveal, Duke made a statement that it should be the team on the top of the overall seed list. The Blue Devils went into Washington D.C. and played an excellent game to beat Michigan 70-63 in one of the biggest games of the season.
Both Duke and Michigan remained on the one line in this week's edition of Bracketology and are still the top two teams. Hours before Duke got that victory, Arizona went into the Fertitta Center and got a big win over Houston, just the Cougars' second home loss since joining the Big 12.
Who else moved up and who moved down after an action-packed week in college basketball?
Bold = Automatic Qualifier
Note – Now that conference play is in full swing, the AQ for each conference is given to the team in first place in the conference standings as of the morning of Monday, Feb. 23.
East Region
1. Duke
16. UMBC/Bethune-Cookman
8. Iowa
9. Clemson
5. Arkansas
12. Utah Valley
4. Texas Tech
13. Stephen F. Austin
6. North Carolina
11. Texas A&M
3. Kansas
14. East Tennessee State
7. Utah State
10. Auburn
2. Purdue
15. Appalachian State
Midwest Region
1. Michigan
16. Long Island
8. NC State
9. UCF
5. St. John's
12. Yale
4. Virginia
13. High Point
6. Tennessee
11. Ohio State/Santa Clara
3. Gonzaga
14. Austin Peay
7. Wisconsin
10. Georgia
2. Houston
15. Portland State
West Region
1. Arizona
16. Merrimack
8. SMU
9. Texas
5. Alabama
12. South Florida
4. Michigan State
13. UNC Wilmington
6. BYU
11. Missouri/USC
3. Nebraska
14. North Dakota State
7. Villanova
10. UCLA
2. Florida
15. Navy
South Region
1. Iowa State
16. Howard/Tennessee State
8. Miami (FL)
9. St. Mary's
5. Louisville
12. Belmont
4. Vanderbilt
13. Liberty
6. Saint Louis
11. Miami (OH)
3. Illinois
14. Hawai'i
7. Kentucky
10. Indiana
2. UConn
15. Wright State
Bubble Watch
Last Four Byes: UCLA, Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M
Last Four In: Ohio State, Missouri, Santa Clara, USC
First Four Out: New Mexico, TCU, Virginia Tech, San Diego State
Next Four Out: VCU, California, Seton Hall, West Virginia
Multi-bid leagues
SEC – 11
Big Ten – 11
ACC – 8
Big 12 – 7
Big East – 3
WCC – 3
Games of the Week
Monday, Feb. 23 – Louisville at North Carolina
Monday, Feb. 23 – Houston at Kansas
Tuesday, Feb. 24 – Tennessee at Missouri
Wednesday, Feb. 25 – St. John's at UConn
Thursday, Feb. 26 – Michigan State at Purdue
Friday, Feb. 27 – Michigan at Illinois
Saturday, Feb. 28 – Virginia at Duke
Saturday, Feb. 28 – Kansas at Arizona
Saturday, Feb. 28 – Alabama at Tennessee
Saturday, Feb. 28 – Arkansas at Florida
Saturday, Feb. 28 – Gonzaga at St. Mary's
Biggest storylines to watch
One of the bigger stories in recent weeks has been Miami (OH)'s placement in the bracket. The undefeated RedHawks are still holding onto the MAC automatic bid for the moment, but most advanced metrics would favor Akron in a conference tournament game. Miami is 48th in the current NET rankings, but has played just one game against the top two quadrants. Currently, Miami would be the final team in our “Last Four Byes” section if it didn't have an automatic bid, so it's still on the right side of the bubble for now.
The committee reveal had Illinois as a No. 2 seed (No. 7 overall), but the Illini were bumped down to the three line after Saturday's loss to UCLA. Florida slides up into the final No. 2 seed, and the Gators are only gaining ground.
On the other side of Donovan Dent's game-winner in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Mick Cronin's Bruins moved up out of the projected First Four and onto the 10 line. Their crosstown rivals, USC, suffered a pretty terrible loss to Oregon over the weekend and are now the last team in the projected field.
The middle of the SEC continues to shift dramatically as conference play goes on in what has been an interesting subplot in the deepest conference in America. Missouri has moved up into the field and Texas has moved above the bubble for now, while Georgia, Auburn and Texas A&M all are falling closer to the cut line. The opening few days of the conference tournament in a few weeks will be a battleground for what is a large group of teams on the chopping block.
Arguably the most competitive section of the bracket at the moment is the battle of the teams seeded Nos. 4 and 5. Michigan State, as the highest No. 4 seed currently, is fighting with the teams above it for the moment, but the current group of No. 5 seeds (Louisville, Alabama, St. John's and Arkansas) all will have chances to move up into the top four. St. John's in particular gets a big chance on Wednesday night against UConn, and Louisville is in Chapel Hill for a tilt with North Carolina on Monday.
