Despite the fact this was one of my worst years ever (64/65 teams; only 50/65 within one line), Guerrero’s Committee did a perfectly fine job of selecting the field.  As I wrote in my Bubble Breakdown earlier this morning, I have no problem with the Gators being selected over Illinois. I don’t think the Illini, [...]

Updated Sunday morning at 8:00 am PT.
Bubble Math:
1) A team is only a “lock” if its chance of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large is better than 95%.
I really don’t like moving teams out of “lock” status because they’ve lost four games in a row.
2) 31 teams earn automatic bids to the NCAA [...]

Just wanted to hit people with a quick run-down, in case you want to discuss.  I am off to watch the Big East and WAC Finals!
Nines
Old Dominion (CAA)
Clemson
UNLV
Utah State (WAC)
Tens
Missouri
Minnesota
Washington (Pac-10)
Florida State
Elevens
UTEP
Louisville
Wake Forest
California
Twelves
Siena (MAAC)
Cornell (Ivy)
Illinois
Georgia Tech
The (Un?)lucky Thirteen
Florida

At this point, Kansas has all but locked up the overall #1 seed, in the Midwest region.  Syracuse and Kentucky will continue to battle for the #2/#3 line, but because Syracuse can’t play in the East region (whose semi-final and final it hosts), Kentucky will be in the East and Syracuse in the South.  Which [...]

As the calendar turns to March, America tingles with the anticipation of the Cinderella stories sure to emerge over the course of the next four weeks.  Blissfully ignorant of these “inferior leagues” these last four months, all eyes now turn to conferences like the Colonial, Horizon, and WAC.
Especially if you’re a fan of a bubble [...]

California won its first Pac-10 title in 50 years over the weekend by sweeping the Arizona schools at Haas Pavilion.  Congratulations to Mike Montgomery and all of the players.  Ordinarily that feat would mean a top-four seed, and with this year’s host sites, a first-round placement in San Jose.
Not this year, however.  The Pac-10 is [...]

This is one of the better brackets in recent memory (of course I would say that, given my projection). But top-to-bottom, Mike Slive’s Committee did a fantastic job of selection and seeding.
Surprises:
Boston College: A 7-seed seems a bit high for a team that lost to Harvard and Saint Louis in the non-conference portion of [...]

FINAL Update: Selection Sunday, 1:00 pm PT.
Without a doubt, this is the most confusing year to try to project the bracket since I started doing this in 2001. I would have no argument with the Selection Committee on selecting ANY of the 9 teams on the “true bubble.”
Locks (38):
ACC: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, [...]

First off, let me say that Tom O’Connor’s Selection Committee did an absolutely fabulous job at both selecting and seeding the teams for the 2008 NCAA Tournament.  In my opinion, breaking down the Bubble has never been harder than it was this year, even before the SEC Tournament Tornado, and Georgia and Illinois’ terrific runs [...]

My Full 2009 NCAA Tournament Predictions:
MIDWEST REGION     EAST REGION
WEST REGION            SOUTH REGION
 

1) The team with the most individual talent does not always win the national championship. In fact, in recent Tournament history, it only seems to happen about half the time. North Carolina won in ’05 with [...]

1) UPDATE: I agree with Joe Lunardi, the Big XII champion will be a #1 seed in the Midwest.  The loser gets the #2 in the South.
We saw last year that the Big XII Final has essentially no impact on the seeding of the final bracket, given that the game finished about 11 minutes prior [...]

Here’s the article I’ll be updating throughout Championship Week to reflect the ever-changing landscape in BubbleLand. I would encourage BracketNation to post its thoughts on teams’ chances on making the NCAA Tournament, as well as seeding discussion, in the comments below.
Updated Saturday March 15, 1:00 PT
The biggest stories on The Bubble…where to begin? [...]