March Madness Bracketology Update for 2/23: Cloud 9 for Cougs!

The countdown continues to Selection Sunday in college basketball, and we’ve got you geared up with another edition of our bracket projections! If you’re just starting to tune in to the collegiate hardwood, we’ve covered you with our latest bracket projections.

Before we get to the bracket, an ode to this time of year.

Thursday night’s improbable victory for Washington State felt like our first true taste of the magic of March. This team has it all when it comes to a magical story. The Cougars are a team of misfits. This time last year, star point guard Myles Rice was receiving his final chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is now second on the team in scoring while leading them in assists as one of the best point guards in the Pac-12. Big man Isaac Jones is an up-transfer from Idaho. The Vandals are one of the worst schools in Division I that has spent a majority of the past decade in the Big Sky’s basement. He is now dominating the Pac-12 paint, leading the Cougars in scoring and rebounding. Junior wing Jaylen Wells was playing at the Division II level this time last year. He just hung 27 on Arizona inside the McKale Center including a ridiculous four-point play to help seal the victory for Wazzu.

There is absolutely nothing conventional about how this Washington State team was put together, and it’s what makes this sport undeniably beautiful. For one month, unique storylines like this one will dominate the sports landscape as months and even years of hard work will culminate into worthwhile recognition. From the inevitable Cinderella run in a small conference tournament to crowning a national championship in Phoenix this April, a toast to March Madness. Enjoy every second of it while it’s here.

Let’s get to the bracket:

Score big with SportsGrid’s College Basketball Game Picks and College Hoops Player Props Picks.

	MIDWEST	EAST	SOUTH	WEST
1	Purdue (+750)	UConn (+500)	Houston (+750)	Tennessee (+1400)
2	Marquette (+2500)	Kansas (+2500)	Arizona (+1400)	North Carolina (+2000)
3	Alabama (+2000)	Duke (+2100)	Creighton (+3000)	Baylor (+4500)
4	Iowa State (+2000)	Auburn (+2100)	Clemson (+10000)	San Diego State (+7500)
5	Dayton	Texas Tech	Wisconsin	Illinois
6	BYU	Saint Mary’s	Utah State	Washington State
7	Texas	South Carolina	Kentucky	Colorado State
8	Florida	Florida Atlantic	Michigan State	New Mexico
9	TCU	Northwestern	Mississippi State	Oklahoma
10	Nevada	Boise State	Virginia	Seton Hall
11	Providence	Nebraska	GONZ/MISS	Texas A&M
12	Samford	McNeese	Grand Canyon	VILL/IND ST
13	James Madison	Princeton	Louisiana Tech	UC Irvine
14	High Point	Vermont	UNC Wilmington	Akron
15	Morehead State	Weber State	Oakland	Colgate
16	FAIR/MERR	LIPS/NORF	Southern	St. Thomas

LAST FOUR IN: Gonzaga, Ole Miss, Indiana State, Villanova

FIRST FOUR OUT: Utah, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Butler

NEXT FOUR OUT: Iowa, Drake, Colorado, Oregon

Bold = automatic qualifier through conference title

Odds = National Championship Odds for the Top 16 teams (1-4 seeds) 

Conference winners were determined based on the following:

• Power 6 conferences: Highest-seeded team
• Mid-major conferences: Highest current KenPom ranking

Wazzu’s Rapid Rise

Less than a month back, Washington State was a distant afterthought in the Pac-12 title race. The Cougs entered our field of 68 three weeks ago after taking down Utah and Colorado in a two-game home stand. Since, they have only gone up in our seeding list by ripping off six more wins including road wins over Washington, Oregon, and, most notably, Arizona on Thursday night. Wazzu is emerging as a legitimate dark horse Final Four contender with the star power, coaching, and play style that fits March perfectly. This is a team that is peaking at the right time and could even push for a potential five-seed or beyond depending on their conference tournament performance.

Does Anybody Want the Final #1 Seed?

Speaking of Arizona’s home defeat to Washington State on Thursday, it marked the fourth loss in the past ten days by either the Wildcats, North Carolina, Marquette, or Kansas, four teams we had contending for that fourth #1 seed. By process of elimination, it leaves Tennessee as the current placeholder for that final spot. The Vols are one of just three teams – alongside Purdue and UConn – to be top seven in all four committee metrics (KPI, Strength of Record, BPI, and KenPom). They are the pick for now, but February has shown us that we’ll see more movement soon enough.

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Texas A&M’s Wonky Resumé Brings Debate

I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen a resumé as volatile as Texas A&M’s. It makes for a rough evaluation, leading to bracketologists listing them as high as an eight-seed and as low as completely out of the field. While their six Quad 1 wins blow the rest of the bubble out of the water, their three Quad 3 defeats nearly wipe out all of that hard work. We have seen the committee side with upside more often than not in recent years, so we’ll slot the Aggies somewhere in the middle of consensus by putting them as an 11-seed, but another bad loss could be the dagger.

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