Bracket Breakdown is an examination of all 68 NCAA tournament bids, and a prediction of which teams will get into the tournament, and what seeds teams will receive. Bracket Breakdown will be posted every week until Selection Sunday.
(Teams in parenthesis are automatic qualifiers from the respective conferences. In this particular Bracket Breakdown, 21 conference winners received auto-bids that otherwise would not have. All major conferences and other conferences with teams of at-large bid quality are assumed to have these teams win their conference tournament.)
East Southeast
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1. Pittsburgh 1. Purdue
16. BCU (MEAC)/FAU (Sun Belt) 16. Miami OH (MAC)/MSU (Southland)
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8. UNLV 8. Marquette
9. Baylor 9. Old Dominion
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5. Villanova 5. Connecticut
12. Saint Mary’s (WCC) 12. Georgia/Michigan State
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4. Florida 4. North Carolina
13. Charleston (Southern) 13. Oakland (Summit)
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6. West Virginia 6. Kentucky
11. Tennessee 11. Colorado/Clemson
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3. San Diego State 3. Syracuse
14. Harvard (Ivy) 14. Bucknell (Patriot)
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7. Xavier 7. Arizona
10. Utah State 10. Kansas State
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2. Texas 2. Notre Dame
15. Vermont (America East) 15. Long Island (Northeast)
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West Southwest
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1. Ohio State 1. Kansas
16. Morehead State (Ohio Valley) 16. Texas Southern (SWAC)
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8. UCLA 8. Illinois
9. Florida State 9. George Mason
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5. Missouri 5. Georgetown
12. UAB (C-USA) 12. Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
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4. St. John’s 4. Vanderbilt
13. Missouri State (MVC) 13. Cleveland State (Horizon)
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6. Cincinnati 6. Temple
11. Arkansas 11. Michigan
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3. Wisconsin 3. Louisville
14. Fairfield (MAAC) 14. Long Beach State (Big West)
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7. Virginia Tech 7. Texas A&M
10. Washington 10. Alabama
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2. BYU 2. Duke
15. Coastal Carolina (Big South) 15. Montana (Big Sky)
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LAST 4 IN: Colorado, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan State
FIRST FOUR OUT: Nebraska, Maryland, Washington State, Boston College
NEXT FOUR OUT: Minnesota, Mississippi, Richmond, Gonzaga
BY CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN:
BIG EAST: 11 teams
Big XII: 7 teams
SEC: 7 teams
Big Ten: 6 teams
ACC: 5 teams
Pac 10: 3 teams
Mountain West: 3 teams
Atlantic 10: 2 teams
CAA: 2 teams