Friday, March 12, 2021

A special double-bracket Friday

 As we enter Friday of Championship Week, we will have a bit of a twist to today's post. We are going to post two brackets today. Reason being, Virginia became the latest program to have to bow out of their conference tournament due to a positive COVID-19 case. The Cavaliers squeaked by Syracuse on Thursday in the ACC quarterfinals. But thanks to the positive case, they have to drop out of the ACC tournament, meaning Georgia Tech will advance to tomorrow's championship game against either Florida State or North Carolina.

There is now major uncertainly regarding Virginia's NCAA Tournament chances. Programs have to go seven days without a positive case, meaning the earliest Virginia would be able to play would be next Friday, which is the start of the first round. So because of the uncertainly, we'll have two brackets. One with Virginia and one without Virginia.

That obviously makes the bubble picture very interesting.

Despite the loss to Virginia, Syracuse actually moved further above the cut line, in part due to Boise State's loss to Nevada, their third loss to the Wolf Pack this season. The Broncos fall out of the projected field and Utah State moved in after their win over UNLV, setting up a big semifinal with Colorado State.

With Virginia in the field, Utah State is the last team in. If we take Virginia out, we see Ole Miss enter the field. The Rebels have hung around and now can really make a lasting impression on the committee if they can knock off LSU in today's SEC quarterfinals.

In the Big East, Seton Hall kept their hopes alive with their overtime win against St. John's, effectively knocking the Johnnies out. Seton Hall now takes on Georgetown, who upset a reeling Villanova team that has now fallen to a No. 5 seed.

Let's check out the two brackets.


Last Four Byes: UCLA, Maryland, Drake, Michigan State

Last Four In: Colorado State, Louisville, Syracuse, Utah State

First Four Out: Ole Miss, Seton Hall, Boise State, Saint Louis

Next Four Out: Xavier, Memphis, SMU, St. John's

Bids by Conference:

Big Ten - 9

ACC - 8

Big 12 - 7

SEC - 6

Pac-12 - 4

Big East - 3

Mountain West - 3

American Athletic - 2

Atlantic 10 - 2

Missouri Valley - 2

West Coast - 2

One-bid leagues - 20

And now the bracket without Virginia.


Last Four Byes: Maryland, Drake, Michigan State, Colorado State

Last Four In: Louisville, Syracuse, Utah State, Ole Miss

First Four Out: Seton Hall, Boise State, Saint Louis, Xavier

Next Three Out: Memphis, SMU, St. John's, Belmont

And now your Friday schedule.

American Athletic Quarterfinals (Fort Worth, TX)

No. 8 South Florida vs. No. 1 Wichita State, 12:00, ESPN2

No. 5 Cincinnati vs. No. 4 SMU, 3:00, ESPN2

No. 10 Tulane vs. No. 2 Houston, 7:00, ESPNU

No. 6 UCF vs. No. 3 Memphis, 10:00, ESPNU

ACC Semifinals (Greensboro, NC)

No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Florida State, 8:30, ESPN

Big 12 Semifinals (Kansas City, MO)

No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 Baylor, 6:30, ESPN

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 2 Kansas, 9:30, ESPN2

Big East Semifinals (New York, NY)

No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 5 Seton Hall, 6:00, FS1

No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 2 Creighton, 9:00, FS1

Big Sky Semifinals (Boise, ID)

No. 5 Montana State vs. No. 1 Southern Utah, 7:00, Pluto TV

No. 6 Montana vs. No. 2 Eastern Washington, 10:00, Pluto TV

Big Ten Quarterfinals (Indianapolis, IN)

No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 1 Michigan, 11:30 a.m., BTN

No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Purdue, 2:00, BTN

No. 7 Rutgers vs. No. 2 Illinois, 6:30, BTN

No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Iowa, 9:00, BTN

Big West Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

No. 4 UC Davis vs. No. 1 UC Santa Barbara, 9:00, ESPN3

No. 3 UC Riverside vs. No. 2 UC Irvine, 12 a.m., ESPNU

Conference USA Semifinals (Frisco, TX)

West No. 2 UAB vs. East No. 1 Western Kentucky, 12:00, CBSSN

West No. 3 North Texas vs. West No. 1 Louisiana Tech, 3:00, CBSSN

MAAC Semifinals (Atlantic City, NJ)

No. 9 Iona vs. No. 5 Niagara, 6:00, ESPNews

No. 7 Fairfield vs. No. 3 Saint Peter's, 8:30, ESPNews

MAC Semifinals (Cleveland, OH)

No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 1 Toledo, 5:00, CBSSN

No. 3 Akron vs. No. 2 Buffalo, 7:30, CBSSN

MEAC Semifinals (Norfolk, VA)

North No. 3 Morgan State vs. North No. 1 Coppin State, 6:00, FloHoops.com

North Carolina A&T had to drop out due to COVID, so Norfolk State advances to the championship game.

Mountain West Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

No. 5 Nevada vs. No. 1 San Diego State, 9:30, CBSSN

No. 3 Colorado State vs. No. 2 Utah State, 12 a.m., CBSSN

Pac-12 Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

No. 5 Oregon State vs. No. 1 Oregon, 8:30, Pac-12 Network

No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 2 USC, 11:30, ESPN

SEC Quarterfinals (Nashville, TN)

No. 9 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 Alabama, 12:00, ESPN

No. 5 Florida vs. No. 4 Tennessee, 2:30, ESPN

No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 2 Arkansas, 7:00, SECN

No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 LSU, 9:30, SECN

Southland Semifinals (Katy, TX)

No. 4 Northwestern State vs. No. 1 Nicholls, 6:00, ESPN+

No. 6 Lamar vs. No. 2 Abilene Christian, 9:00, ESPN+

SWAC Semifinals (Birmingham, AL)

No. 3 Texas Southern vs. No. 2 Jackson State, 3:00, ESPN3

No. 4 Grambling State vs. No. 1 Prairie View A&M, 9:30, ESPN3

WAC Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

No. 5 Seattle vs. No. 1 Grand Canyon, 8:00, ESPN+

No. 3 New Mexico State vs. No. 2 Utah Valley, 11:00, ESPN+

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