Forgot Log-in or  Password? |  Help  Not a member, Register Now!
Stream

NCAA Tournament Bracketology


Jerry Palm

Predicting the field for the 2012 men's NCAA tournament

By | CBSSports.com Bracketology Expert

  •  

Updated March 11

Rankings and more
CBSSports.com College Basketball

After three tournament finals and three upsets started off Selection Sunday, Michigan State beat Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament final to sew up the fourth No. 1 seed.

With that the bracket is final. Sunday's major developments:

• Michigan State replaces Ohio State as a No. 1 seed after winning the Big Ten tourney.

• North Carolina fell to Florida State in the ACC final but keeps a No. 1 seed. The Seminoles move up to a 4.

• Kentucky got beat by Vanderbilt in the SEC final but also keeps a No. 1 seed. Vandy moves up to a 6.

• St. Bonaventure, by virtue of its win over Xavier in the A-10 final, gets in and boots out North Carolina State.

Syracuse, which was the Big East regular-season champ but knocked out in the Big East tourney early, is the fourth No. 1 seed. Read blog >>

Bracket note: Bracket projections are always based on "as if the tournament started today." I am not predicting how teams will finish the season. If the conference tournament is ongoing, the projected "champion" is the team with the highest seed remaining in the tournament.

For more from Jerry Palm, check him out on Twitter: @jppalm
Legend: Clinched Bid iconClinched Bid On the Bubble iconOn the Bubble
Bracket updated on: Sun Mar 11 16:31:13 2012
 
First Round
Midwest
West
East
South
 
Dayton, March 13, 14
Second Round
Midwest
  • Louisville
    March 15, 17
  • Portland
    March 15, 17
  • Columbus
    March 16, 18
  • Omaha
    March 16, 18
  • St. Louis
    March 23, 25
East
  • Pittsburgh
    March 15, 17
  • Nashville
    March 16, 18
  • Louisville
    March 15, 17
  • Greensboro
    March 16, 18
  • Boston
    March 22, 24
West
  • Columbus
    March 16, 18
  • Portland
    March 15, 17
  • Nashville
    March 16, 18
  • Omaha
    March 16, 18
  • Phoenix
    March 22, 24
South
  • Greensboro
    March 16, 18
  • Albuquerque
    March 15, 17
  • Albuquerque
    March 15, 17
  • Pittsburgh
    March 15, 17
  • Atlanta
    March 23, 25
South
Winner
Midwest
Winner
West
Winner
East
Winner
FINALS
New Orleans
March 31, April 2
 
Next Game:
Record:
Streak:
RPI/Rank:
Last four in: Colorado State, California, Northwestern, Seton Hall
First four out: North Carolina State, Mississippi, Miami (FL), Iona
Conference Breakdown

Number of bids is based on Jerry Palm's current predicted tournament bracket.

At a Glance
ConferenceBids
ACC4
America East1
Atlantic 104
Atlantic Sun1
Big 126
Big East10
Big Sky1
Big South1
  
ConferenceBids
Big Ten7
Big West1
Colonial1
Conference USA2
Horizon League1
Ivy League1
MAAC1
MAC1
  
ConferenceBids
MEAC1
Missouri Valley2
Mountain West4
Northeast1
Ohio Valley1
Pac-122
Patriot League1
SEC4
  
ConferenceBids
SWAC1
Southern1
Southland1
Summit League1
Sun Belt1
WAC1
West Coast3
 
Detailed Breakdown
ACC (4)
Automatic Bid: Florida State
At-large bids: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia
Tournament: March 8-11, Atlanta
Complete ACC Conference Standings
 
America East (1)
Projected Champion: Vermont
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 1, 3-4, 10, Hartford, Conn.
Complete America East Conference Standings
Atlantic 10 (4)
Automatic Bid: St. Bonaventure
At-large bids: Saint Louis, Temple, Xavier
Tournament: March 6, 9-11, Atlantic City, N.J.
Complete Atlantic 10 Conference Standings
 
Atlantic Sun (1)
Automatic Bid: Belmont
At-large bids: None
Tournament: Feb. 29-March 3, Macon, Ga.
Complete Atlantic Sun Conference Standings
Big 12 (6)
Automatic Bid: Missouri
At-large bids: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas
Tournament: March 7-10, Kansas City, Mo.
Complete Big 12 Conference Standings
 
Big East (10)
Automatic Bid: Louisville
At-large bids: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia
Tournament: March 6-10, New York
Complete Big East Conference Standings
Big Sky (1)
Automatic Bid: Montana
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 3, 6-7, Missoula, Mont.
Complete Big Sky Conference Standings
 
Big South (1)
Automatic Bid: UNC Asheville
At-large bids: None
Tournament: Feb. 27, 29, March 1, 3, Campus sites (higher seeds)
Complete Big South Conference Standings
Big Ten (7)
Automatic Bid: Michigan State
At-large bids: Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Tournament: March 8-11, Indianapolis
Complete Big Ten Conference Standings
 
Big West (1)
Automatic Bid: Long Beach
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 8-10, Anaheim, Calif.
Complete Big West Conference Standings
Colonial (1)
Automatic Bid: VCU
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 2-5, Richmond, Va.
Complete Colonial Conference Standings
 
Conference USA (2)
Automatic Bid: Memphis
At-large bids: Southern Miss
Tournament: March 7-10, Memphis, Tenn.
Complete Conference USA Conference Standings
Horizon League (1)
Automatic Bid: Detroit
At-large bids: None
Tournament: Feb. 28, March 2-3, 6, Valparaiso, Ind.
Complete Horizon League Conference Standings
 
Ivy League (1)
Automatic Bid: Harvard
At-large bids: None
Tournament: No tournament.
Complete Ivy League Conference Standings
MAAC (1)
Automatic Bid: Loyola (Maryland)
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 2-5, Springfield, Mass.
Complete MAAC Conference Standings
 
MAC (1)
Automatic Bid: Ohio
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 5, 7-10, Cleveland
Complete MAC Conference Standings
MEAC (1)
Automatic Bid: Norfolk State
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 6-10, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Complete MEAC Conference Standings
 
Missouri Valley (2)
Automatic Bid: Creighton
At-large bids: Wichita State
Tournament: March 1-4, St. Louis
Complete Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Mountain West (4)
Automatic Bid: New Mexico
At-large bids: Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV
Tournament: March 8-10, Las Vegas
Complete Mountain West Conference Standings
 
Northeast (1)
Automatic Bid: Long Island
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 1, 4, 7, Campus sites (higher seeds)
Complete Northeast Conference Standings
Ohio Valley (1)
Automatic Bid: Murray State
At-large bids: None
Tournament: Feb. 29, March 1-3, Nashville, Tenn.
Complete Ohio Valley Conference Standings
 
Pac-12 (2)
Automatic Bid: Colorado
At-large bids: California
Tournament: March 7-10, Los Angeles
Complete Pac-12 Conference Standings
Patriot League (1)
Automatic Bid: Lehigh
At-large bids: None
Tournament: Feb. 29, March 3, 7, Campus sites (higher seeds)
Complete Patriot League Conference Standings
 
SEC (4)
Automatic Bid: Vanderbilt
At-large bids: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky
Tournament: March 8-11, New Orleans
Complete SEC Conference Standings
SWAC (1)
Automatic Bid: Miss Valley State
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 7-10, Garland, Texas
Complete SWAC Conference Standings
 
Southern (1)
Automatic Bid: Davidson
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 2-5, Asheville, N.C.
Complete Southern Conference Standings
Southland (1)
Projected Champion: Lamar
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 6-10, Katy, Texas
Complete Southland Conference Standings
 
Summit League (1)
Automatic Bid: South Dakota State
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 3-6, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Complete Summit League Conference Standings
Sun Belt (1)
Automatic Bid: Western Kentucky
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 3-6, Hot Springs, Ark.
Complete Sun Belt Conference Standings
 
WAC (1)
Automatic Bid: New Mexico State
At-large bids: None
Tournament: March 8-10, Las Vegas
Complete WAC Conference Standings
West Coast (3)
Automatic Bid: St. Mary's
At-large bids: BYU, Gonzaga
Tournament: Feb. 29, March 1-3, 5, Las Vegas
Complete West Coast Conference Standings