The Bracket Gurus are doing double duty this week having to keep up with the conference tournaments every day as well as the bracketology.
The Gurus are starting to come to a consensus, as there were only 72 teams that received votes this week, meaning we only have a Top 4 out and not Next 4, since our geniuses feel there are no other teams that as of now have any shot at receiving an at-large invitation.
Consider this: as of today, there have been no teams that have gone from out to in based on their showing in their conference tournaments. Nebraska failed to show up in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, while Penn State fell one round short of mattering.
Of course, except for the Big Ten Conference, all the power leagues that could possibly produce a team that might win enough to move into consideration have yet to begin conference tournament play. There are a few teams remaining that still have remote at-large life. These are:
ACC: Syracuse and Louisville
Big East: Marquette
Big 12: Oklahoma St.
Mountain West: Boise St.
Pac-12: Utah and Washington
SEC: LSU, Georgia, and Mississippi St.
There is the opposite to this discussion. There are a host of teams that if they lose on the first day or even second day of their tournament, they could fall from in to out. Another factor that could push these teams out is if upset winners claim automatic bids. These are the teams that are hanging on by a thread at the current time.
Big 12: Baylor, Kansas St., and Texas
Big East: Providence
Pac-12: USC, Arizona St., and UCLA
SEC: Alabama
West Coast: Saint Mary’s
Which dark horse teams could make a run to an upset championship in each power conference? (Does not include teams currently on the Bubble)
American: Tulsa
Atlantic 10: Davidson
ACC: Notre Dame
Big 12: None, because all that’s left is Iowa St. and we do not see the Cyclones winning.
Big East: St. John’s
Pac-12: Stanford
SEC: South Carolina
West Coast: BYU
Here are the seeds as our Bracket Gurus predict. Teams in RED have clinched an automatic bid.
| Seed | Team | Conference |
| 1 | Virginia | ACC |
| 1 | Villanova | B-EAST |
| 1 | Xavier | B-EAST |
| 1 | Kansas | B12 |
| 2 | Duke | ACC |
| 2 | Purdue | B-TEN |
| 2 | Michigan St. | B-TEN |
| 2 | Auburn | SEC |
| 3 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 3 | Cincinnati | AAC |
| 3 | Tennessee | SEC |
| 3 | Texas Tech | B12 |
| 4 | Wichita St. | AAC |
| 4 | Michigan | B-TEN |
| 4 | West Virginia | B12 |
| 4 | Arizona | PAC-12 |
| 5 | Clemson | ACC |
| 5 | Gonzaga | WCC |
| 5 | Ohio St. | B-TEN |
| 5 | Kentucky | SEC |
| 6 | Florida | SEC |
| 6 | Houston | AAC |
| 6 | Texas A&M | SEC |
| 6 | TCU | B12 |
| 7 | Miami (Fla.) | ACC |
| 7 | Arkansas | SEC |
| 7 | Seton Hall | B-EAST |
| 7 | Nevada | MWC |
| 8 | Rhode Island | A-10 |
| 8 | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 8 | Missouri | SEC |
| 8 | Oklahoma | B12 |
| 9 | Creighton | B-EAST |
| 9 | Florida St. | ACC |
| 9 | North Carolina St. | ACC |
| 9 | Butler | B-EAST |
| 10 | St. Bonaventure | A-10 |
| 10 | UCLA | PAC-12 |
| 10 | Middle Tennessee | CUSA |
| 10 | Texas | B12 |
| 11 | Arizona St. | PAC-12 |
| 11 | Saint Mary’s | WCC |
| 11 | Providence | B-EAST |
| 11 | USC | PAC-12 |
| 11 | Alabama | SEC |
| 12 | New Mexico St. | WAC |
| 12 | Buffalo | MAC |
| 12 | Murray St. | OVC |
| 12 | Kansas St. | B12 |
| 12 | Baylor | B12 |
| 13 | UL-Lafayette | SBC |
| 13 | South Dakota St. | SUMMIT |
| 13 | Vermont | A-EAST |
| 13 | Charleston | CAA |
| 14 | UNC-Greensboro | SOCON |
| 14 | Bucknell | PATRIOT |
| 14 | Loyola (Chi.) | MVC |
| 14 | Montana | B-SKY |
| 15 | UC Davis | B-WEST |
| 15 | Wright St. | HORIZON |
| 15 | Wagner | NEC |
| 15 | Lipscomb | A-SUN |
| 16 | Penn | IVY |
| 16 | Iona | MAAC |
| 16 | Radford | B-SOUTH |
| 16 | Hampton | MEAC |
| 16 | Nicholls St. | SLC |
| 16 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC |
The First Four in Dayton
USC vs. Baylor
Alabama vs. Kansas St.
Radford vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
Hampton vs. Nicholls St.
Top 4 Out
| Marquette | B-EAST |
| Syracuse | ACC |
| Louisville | ACC |
| Utah | PAC-12 |
Multiple Bid Leagues
| Conference | # |
| ACC | 8 |
| Big 12 | 8 |
| SEC | 8 |
| Big East | 6 |
| Big Ten | 4 |
| Pac-12 | 4 |
| American | 3 |
| Atlantic 10 | 2 |
| West Coast | 2 |
There are currently 23, one-bid leagues.
The Pi-Rate Ratings 