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THE BRACKET
Bracket 021518
PROJECTED SEEDING
The 1 Seeds
Virginia, Xavier, Villanova, Purdue
The 2 Seeds
Auburn, Kansas, Duke, Cincinnati
The 3 Seeds
Texas Tech, Michigan State, North Carolina, Clemson
The 4 Seeds
Tennessee, Ohio State, Arizona, West Virginia
The 5 Seeds
Gonzaga, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
The 6 Seeds
Wichita State, St. Mary’s (CA), Arizona State, Miami (FL)
The 7 Seeds
Florida State, Florida, Creighton, Seton Hall
The 8 Seeds
Nevada, Kentucky, Missouri, Alabama
The 9 Seeds
Michigan, TCU, Butler, Providence
The 10 Seeds
Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Washington, Louisville
The 11 Seeds
Houston, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, UCLA
The 12 Seeds
Kansas State, NC State, Texas, USC, Loyola-Chicago, Buffalo
The 13 Seeds
South Dakota State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Vermont, East Tennessee State
The 14 Seeds
Belmont, College of Charleston, Rider, UC Santa Barbara
The 15 Seeds
Montana, Northern Kentucky, Bucknell, Florida Gulf Coast
The 16 Seeds
Wagner, NC-Asheville, Nicholls State, Harvard, Savannah State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
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BUBBLE ACTION
Last Four In
Kansas State, NC State, Texas, USC
First Four Out
St. Bonaventure, Temple, Syracuse, Baylor
Next Four Out
Western Kentucky, Nebraska, Boise State, Mississippi State
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CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
ACC (9), SEC (8), Big 12 (7), Big East (6), Pac-12 (5), Big Ten (4), American (3), West Coast (2)
ACC – Virginia, Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, Miami (FL), Florida State, Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State
America East – Vermont
American – Cincinnati, Wichita State, Houston
Atlantic 10 – Rhode Island
Atlantic Sun – Florida Gulf Coast
Big 12 – Texas Tech, Kansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, TCU, Kansas State, Texas
Big East – Villanova, Xavier, Seton Hall, Creighton, Butler, Providence
Big Sky – Montana
Big South – NC-Asheville
Big Ten – Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan
Big West – UC Santa Barbara
Colonial – College of Charleston
Conference USA – Middle Tennessee
Horizon – Northern Kentucky
Ivy – Harvard
MAAC – Rider
MAC – Buffalo
MEAC – Savannah State
Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago
Mountain West – Nevada
Northeast – Wagner
Ohio Valley – Belmont
Pac-12 – Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, USC, UCLA
Patriot – Bucknell
SEC – Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas
Southern – East Tennessee State
Southland – Nicholls State
Summit – South Dakota State
Sun Belt – Louisiana-Lafayette
SWAC – Arkansas-Pine Bluff
WAC – New Mexico State
WCC – Gonzaga, St. Mary’s (CA)
1-3-1 Sports 
Can you explain how you have Western Kentucky ahead of Nebraska? On the team sheet, WKU’s six metrics average #67. And four losses to tier 3 teams: Belmont, Missouri State, UTSA, Ohio. Nebraska is better in every single measure other than having one less tier 1 win.
I want to be clear – I believe Nebraska is a better basketball team than Western Kentucky. However, I believe the committee would currently have Western Kentucky ahead of Nebraska. The reason is threefold:
1. Non-Conference SOS
– Nebraska: 264th
– WKU: 37th
2. Tier 1 + Tier 2 Record
– Nebraska: 3-8
– WKU: 3-3
3. Two Best Wins:
– Nebraska: Michigan (Home) and Maryland (Home)
– WKU: Purdue (Neutral) and SMU (Neutral)
The committee has a pattern of rewarding teams for scheduling tough OOC and overlooking bad losses in the face of quality wins.
Thanks for the response – appreciate it.
Coincidentally, I think you might be interested in this article from the Omaha World-Herald today with quotes straight from committee chair Bruce Rasmussen. One excerpt related to this discussion is the below, but there’s a whole lot more at the link:
http://www.omaha.com/sports/blogs/mad-chatter-bruce-rasmussen-has-a-thoughtful-message-for-husker/article_e36edfda-1332-11e8-89e6-c341d32c13f9.html
“Where Dirk’s column is misleading and doesn’t give you the entire story is this: Dirk says that the non-conference SOS is a “prominent tool” in tournament selection. This is ABSOLUTELY incorrect. Non-conference SOS is not a predominant tool in selections.” [Bruce’s words]
Thank you for providing this link! It was a very worthwhile read, as insight from the committee selection chair is always valuable.