MRI
TOURNEY PROJECTION - WEEK 5
East
Region
Greensboro,
NC
#1 Duke #16 SWAC: Mississippi Valley State
#8 UCLA #9 Creighton
#5 Kentucky #12 Sun Belt: Western Kentucky
#4 TCU #13 MAC: Kent State
Uniondale,
NY
#3 Kansas #14 MCC: Valparaiso
#6 Indiana #11 Mountain West: BYU
#7 Tennessee #10 Pepperdine
#2 Georgetown #15 Big Sky: Cal State Northridge
West
Region
San
Diego, CA
#1 Stanford #16 Big South: Winthrop
#8 Notre Dame #9
Gonzaga
#5 Texas #12 Mississippi State
#4 Wake Forest #13
Richmond **
Boise,
ID
#3 Fresno State #14 MVC: Indiana State
#6 Temple #11 MWCC: Butler
#7 Alabama #10 UNC-Charlotte
#2 Boston College #15
MAAC: Iona
Midwest
Region
Dayton,
OH
#1
Michigan State #16 play-in
game: IVY: Princeton vs. Southern: UNC-Greensboro
#8 Cal #9 Syracuse
#5 North
Carolina #12 TAAC: Georgia State
#4
Florida #13 Patriot:
Holy Cross
Kansas
City, MO
#3 Iowa State #14 Southland: McNeese State
#6 Cincinnati #11 America East: Hofstra
#7 St. Joseph's #10
Tulsa
#2 Maryland #15 Northeast: Monmouth
South
Region
New
Orleans, LA
#1 Arizona #16 OVC: Eastern
Illinois
#8 Ohio State #9 Arkansas
#5 Providence #12 Big West: Utah State
#4 Oklahoma #13 Detroit
Memphis,
TN
#3 Virginia #14 Colonial: George Mason **
#6 Mississippi #11 Southern Mississippi
#7 Xavier #10 Connecticut
#2 Illinois #15 MEAC: Hampton
Conferences
with multiple bids: ACC (5), SEC (7); Big Ten (4); Big
East (6); Pac-10 (4); Big 12 (4); A-10 (3); C-USA (3); WAC (3); MWCC (2); MVC
(2); Colonial (2); WCC (2)
Moved
Down for placement requirements: Syracuse 8 to 9; Uconn 9 to 10;
Mississippi State 11 to 12
Moved
up for placement requirements: UCLA 9 to 8; Gonzaga 10 to 9; Butler 12 to 11
Last 4
at large teams in: Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State,
Richmond, Detroit
Last 4
at large teams out:
Iowa, Oklahoma State, USC, Auburn
Teams
leading one bid conferences who should qualify for at-large bids: Creighton, Hofstra, Butler,
Western Kentucky
**:
Note that George Mason was chosen as the Colonial conference winner as
Richmond, the current leader, is ineligible for the conference's automatic bid
because they are moving to the A-10 next year.
Richmond still manages to squeak in as one of the last 4 teams picked.
The teams
I have on top kept winning on Monday.
Those results are not included other than for the fact that the MRI
picked them. I included Indiana State as
the MVC winner. Of the teams in the
Championship game, which is all I could know on Sunday night, they had the
highest MRI. Creighton still gets in as
an at-large, but not as high as they would have been had they won the
tournament. Another small conference,
the Midwestern Collegiate conference gets 2 bids this week too. Lost in the shuffle is the fact that over the
past two weeks, I have the Big Ten losing two bids, one from Iowa and another
from Wisconsin.
Oklahoma State also falls out this week, while C-USA gets two extra bids
this week, something that will most likely change come the conference
tournament. A lot more will fall into
place over the next week as the conference tournaments will eliminate the bubble
teams who truly don't belong.
Automatic
bids known:
Southern:
UNC-Greensboro
Big
South: Winthrop
OVC: Eastern Illinois
TAAC: Georgia State
Interesting
matchups this week:
1. North
Carolina and Florida could meet in a rematch of last year's Final Four. And a chance at Michigan State again, if
things work out.
2. Illinois and Arizona could meet in the
Regional finals for the third time this year.
3. Duke and Kentucky could meet in the Sweet
Sixteen. No matter when these two play
each other, it is always an interesting game.
This one should be no different.
Kentucky first has to get past Western Kentucky. Not an easy feat although it looks that way.
4. East meets West in the Final Four. If Duke and Stanford make it through, a rematch of their early season nail biter
Hardest
Region: Midwest
Easiest
Region (comparatively): West
Enjoy,
B