MENS NCAA TOURNAMENT

How it might go
Staff Writer Corbett Smith projects the 64-plus-team bracket
Kris Joseph and Syracuse have the nation's No. 1 RPI, and the selection committee will probably award their body of work with a No. 1 seed in the East.
Kevin Rivoli/The Associated Press Derick E. Hingle/US Presswire

Kentucky and Anthony Davis reached the SEC tournament title game, but as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, they'll have bigger goals in mind.

EAST
Sd Team 1. Syracuse Conf./Bid Big East At-large Southland Champ Big South Champ SEC At-large ACC At-large Notable Safe choice for No. 1 seed despite loss to Cincy in Big East tourney, top RPI in nation Didnt shy away in nonconference, with losses to Kentucky, Ohio State and Louisville Third trip in school history, been in play-in game both times Held opponents to 38.8 % shooting, but no outside threat (332th in the nation in 3s) Lost six of last 10, slow and grinding No. 1 in nation in points per defensive possession Last years tourney run could be duplicated, 6-5 against RPI Top 50 1-8 against RPI Top 50 (Texas), wins in ACC tourney key to bid If Big East is best conference, 10-6 league mark hard to ignore Back in the tournament for first time since 2008, 3-pt. shooting (43.3 %) a big plus Only in because of tourney title but wont be intimidated against 4 or 5 seed Tough schedule (SOS: 7), and did well 4-3 against Top 50 RPI teams, excluding Kentucky Would have likely received atlarge bid if it didnt win regularseason champ. Lost two of three after dancing at West Virginia but still a threat (12 wins in 15 games) Decent RPI (66) means decent seed, won at New Mexico, 62-53 Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova fun to watch (15.6 ppg, 6.4 apg) Swept Xavier in regular season, 10-5 against RPI Top 100 Dropped from No. 1 discussion after back-to-back losses to Kansas State and Kansas Can play against power conferences, with single-digit losses to Alabama, Notre Dame Sd Team 1. Kentucky

MIDWEST
Notable 3rd team since 1956 to go unbeaten in SEC, No. 1 in opponent field goal pct. (36.2) 16. Mississippi Valley SWAC SWAC team has been in play-in State Champ* game six times since its inception (0-6) 16. Western Sun Belt Only sub-.500 team in the tournaKentucky Champ ment (15-18), but has won six straight 8. Gonzaga West Coast 14th straight NCAA appearance At-large for the Zags, and 15th straight season with 23+ wins 9. West Virginia Big East 13 losses look bad, but played At-large brutal schedule (nonconference SOS: 10) 5. Temple Atlantic 10 Guard-oriented and versatile, but At-large stumble against UMass in A-10 tourney hurt seeding 12. Texas Big 12 Did just enough in Big 12 tournaAt-large ment, with win over Iowa State, to justify bid 4. Florida State ACC Won a school-record tying 12 ACC At-large* games, including 43-point win over UNC 13. Belmont Atl. Sun Opened eyes with one-point loss Champ to Duke in season opener at Maui Invitational 6. Creighton Missouri Val. Nations best shooting team, Champ Doug McDermott tourneys top scorer (23.2 ppg) 11. California Pac-12 Second in down Pac-12, 0-3 At-large against Top 50 in RPI but 8-4 against 51-100 Best seed since 1998 (No. 3 ), 3. Michigan Big Ten hasnt advance past second round At-large since 1994 14. Montana Big Sky Winners of 14 straight, Big Sky Champ hasnt won an NCAA game since Montana in 2006 7. Iowa State Big 12 Tied Baylor for 3rd in Big 12 play, At-large but best nonconference win is against Lehigh 10. Connecticut Big East 8-10 in conference, but strength of At-large schedule (3) earned the bid Likely behind Ohio State in the 2. Duke ACC pecking order after a 85-63 loss in At-large Columbus 15. Long Island Northeast Likes to push (2nd in nation in Champ possessions) but gave up over 100 points twice Conf./Bid SEC Champ*

16. Lamar

16. UNC-Asheville 8. Alabama

9. Virginia

5. San Diego State

Mt. West At-large 12. N. Carolina State ACC At-large 12. South Florida Big East At-large 4. Indiana Big Ten At-large 13. Colorado Pac-12 Champ SEC At-large* Ivy Champ Big East At-large WAC Champ* West Coast Champ Atlantic 10 At-large Big 12 Champ Horizon Champ

6. Vanderbilt

11. Harvard

3. Marquette

14. New Mexico St. 7. Saint Marys

10. St. Louis 2. Missouri

15. Detroit

Harrison Barnes and North Carolina are second in the NCAA in scoring and figure to get a top seed no matter what happens in today's ACC title game.
Gerry Broome/The Associated Press Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Thomas Robinson and Kansas got bounced in the Big 12 tournament, and they'll try to start fresh as the West's top seed.

SOUTH
Sd Team 1. North Carolina Conf./Bid ACC Champ* Notable Just four losses, all to top-25 RPI teams, second in NCAA in scoring (82.4) Am. East Fourth trip in the last decade, Champ upset Syracuse, 60-57 in 2005 Big East Big East tournament run solidified At-large* selection, moving into single-digit seed West Coast 1-4 against Gonzaga and Saint At-large Marys in first year of West Coast conference play SEC With selection committee likely At-large watching, challenged No. 1 Kentucky in 74-71 semifinal loss Pac-12 Won Pac-12 at 14-4 but questionAt-large able with low RPI (69) and lack of quality wins Colonial Last team in, great record (27-6) At-large but terrible strength of schedule (226) Missouri Val. Last years NIT champ has good At-large guard play, plus 7-0 Garrett Stutz Big West Played a great nonconference, but Champ* didnt beat anyone but Xavier and Pitt Big East Win over Syracuse, but overall At-large rsum isnt as stellar (four losses to sub-100 teams) Conf. USA RPI (19) made it near impossible to At-large leave them out, but rsum is thin Big 12 Run to the final in the Big 12 tourAt-large ney will help seed by one, perhaps two spots Southern Not going to sneak up on anyone, Champ especially after beating Kansas on the road Ohio Val. Incredible record (30-1), but just Champ four games against RPI top 100 Mt. West Only 8-6 in conference, but RPI At-large (27) and strength of schedule (5) are great Big Ten Loss of F Branden Dawson to knee At-large* injury March 4 could affect seeding Metro Atl. Balanced scoring, with four playChamp ers in double digits Sd Team 1. Kansas

WEST
Conf./Bid Big 12 At-large MEAC Champ Conf. USA Champ Big 12 At-large Big East Champ* Atl. 10 Champ* Big Ten At-large MAC Champ* Mt. West At-large Colonial Champ Big East At-large Summit Champ Mt. West Champ Big Ten At-large Big Ten Champ* Patriot Champ Notable Loss to Baylor in tourney complicates No. 1 picture, Big Ten champ could take spot Wins over Drexel and Long Island, MEAC hasnt won in NCAA since Hampton (2001) Dominated the C-USA tourney, winning by average of 24.7 points Hasnt been impressive of late but has wins over six RPI top 50 opponents Making a run to Big East final has historically meant big boost in seed Run to A-10 final sealed XUs bid, wins over Vandy, Cincy and Purdue helped Big Tens best defensive team will play in tight games because of its pace Borderline bubble before winning MAC tourney, no losses to teams outside RPI Top 100 Best RPI in conference, but stumbled down the stretch, losing 5 of last 10 Final Four last season, but needed Colonial tourney title to ensure berth Deliberate (301st in nation in possessions) and defensive (best 3-pt. defense in country) First time in the NCAAs, split with Oral Roberts and beat Washington Not much size (tallest player is 6-9) but dangerous, 13-4 away from home Only two losses outside the RPI Top 50, but 3-10 against it Along with Michigan State, Kansas and UNC, in the mix for No. 1 seed Wants to mimic Bucknell, which won games in the NCAAs in 2005 and 2006

16. Vermont 8. Cincinnati

16. Norfork State

8. Memphis 9. Kansas State

9. BYU

5. Florida

5. Louisville

12. Washington

12. Xavier

12. Drexel

4. Wisconsin

4. Wichita State 13. Long Beach State 6. Notre Dame

13. Akron

6. UNLV

11. Virginia Commonwealth 3. Georgetown

11. Southern Miss 3. Baylor

14. Davidson

14. South Dakota State 7. New Mexico

7. Murray State 10. Colorado State

10. Purdue 2. Ohio State 15. Lehigh

2. Michigan State

15. Loyola (Md.)

* projected