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Bracket discussion

Bracket Buster weekend, a made for ESPN event that is actually a pretty good idea -- unlike Who's Now? -- has propelled the MVC into a position to get multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, something that has not been the case since the projections have gotten serious.

The top four MVC teams all won their Bracket Buster crossovers, with the most impressive wins coming for Drake at Butler and Illinois State at Saint Mary's. Creighton won at Oral Roberts and Southern Illinois blew out Nevada at home. Those wins helped ISU and SIU move into the field.

The conference that had the most to lost from the Valley's gain is the Atlantic 10. The A-10 has now seen its potential for four or five bids vanish in the wake of poor stretches for Dayton and Rhode Island. Saint Joseph's was in decent position until losing at home to Saint Louis on Thursday. Rick Majerus and the Billikens continue to tramp all over the A-10's dream of a return to glory.

The other big story of this bracket is the continued decrepitude of the bubble teams. I started to wretch around the No. 9 seed line, unable to find compelling reasons to include any of the last 10 or so teams. But the rule is that 34 at-large teams qualify, and so I filled out the bracket, much to Kentucky fans' delight.

Big East breakdown

Louisville (No. 3 seed, Midwest): Louisville is back in the Midwest as the No. 3 seed thanks to two more quality wins this week. It's going to be hard for UofL to crack the top eight and nab a No. 2 seed unless Louisville continues its run of dominant play to a 14-4 or better conference record and at least a Big East Tournament final appearance. Still, even at a No. 3 seed, the Cardinals are a Final Four contender, and it's not hard to envision Louisville meeting and knocking off Tennessee in the Elite 8 in Detroit.

Georgetown (No. 4 seed, West): Georgetown won twice but did little to convince us that this team is ready to make a deep March run. The talent is there and there is a lot of experience, but the Hoyas will need to hit more shots to be a threat in March. A trip to Marquette this weekend should tell us a lot.

Connecticut (No. 4 seed, East): UConn's recent play has dropped it from a No. 2 to a No. 4, but the Huskies are still in good position to get back on a higher line with a deep run at the Garden in two weeks. The Huskies host West Virginia this weekend in what will be a crucial game for the Mountaineers.

Notre Dame (No. 5 seed, South): The Irish had a stumble at Louisville, but showed great perseverance in attempting to come back. The Cardinals are just a very difficult matchup for Notre Dame, because of their quickness on the perimeter and ability to prevent Kyle McAlarney to get open looks. The Irish's schedule is pretty soft down the stretch, including a trip to Depaul, which should allow them to pad their record.

Marquette (No. 4 seed, South): The Golden Eagles' recent streak of superb play has boosted them to the lowest No. 4 seed in the most recent projection. Georgetown presents a tough matchup on Saturday, but if Marquette is able to win, then it may find itself even higher in a week. When it comes to March, MU will go as far as it can shoot well and force turnovers.

Pittsburgh (No. 7 seed, East -- true seed is No. 8): Pittsburgh played better this week, but not by much. This team should have stayed a No. 8 seed, but the glut of 4's and 5's forced me to move the Panthers up a line. There's nothing to keep this team securely in the field if it loses consecutive road games to Syracuse and West Virginia.

West Virginia (No. 10 seed, West): The opposition may have not been stellar, but blowout wins over Providence and DePaul have moved West Virginia to 9-6 in conference and in a more comfortable spot for NCAA Tournament consideration. Still, a road game against Connecticut followed by a home contest with Pittsburgh means that Bob Huggins' team is not out of the woods yet. A win at UConn could seal the deal, though, since it would give WVU a fifth conference road win.

Syracuse (first team out): There's not much to say here, except that a week off has given other teams a chance to pass the Orange. Syracuse will be back in the field with a win over Pittsburgh on Saturday. SU then hosts Marquette and travels to Seton Hall. Anything worse than 2-1 in this stretch probably eliminates the Orange from the Dance -- barring a deep run at MSG.

Villanova (second team out): Regardless of what Joe Juliano said on our Monday podcast, the Wildcats weren't in need of six more wins entering the Marquette game on Monday. A loss there certainly hurts, but even a loss to Louisville will not eliminate the Cats. VU is not much different in profile than Syracuse, the two teams split, and both would go to MSG with some work to do if each were to finish 9-9.

Seton Hall: The Pirates have gotten two of the five wins that will garner them consideration. All that's left is St. John's on the road and Syracuse and Rutgers at home. Win those three and then at least one game in the Big East Tournament, and SHU will at least make the committee think. It's a tall task, but I wouldn't put it past a team led by a couple of seniors and dynamic underclassmen like Eugene Harvey and Jeremy Hazell.

Moving in (as at-larges): Florida, Kentucky, Illinois State, Southern Illinois

Moving out (as at-larges): Mississippi, Ohio State, Syracuse, Wake Forest

Moving in (as automatics): Loyola (Md.), Robert Morris

Moving out (as automatics): Siena, Wagner

Last four in:

Florida (last in): This was the most nose-holding pick of them all. The Gators beat no one out of conference and aren't even playing very well. The more I think about it, the more Syracuse looks better than this team. But it'll all come out in the wash by mid-March.

Southern Illinois: The Salukis have overcome a very difficult start against a very difficult schedule to get in the field. They have now won five straight, including a win over Drake.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have overcome an especially brutal non-conference performance to move to 10-3 in conference. They have now lost freshman Patrick Patterson for the season to a stress fracture and will have to overcome that, too.

Arizona State: This is kind of a bleh team. The Sun Devils have now lost three of four games since we profiled them here, but a solid road win against Washington keeps them in. It would help if ASU knocke off USC this weekend.

Next four in: Houston, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Maryland

Last four out:

Syracuse (last out)
Villanova
Florida State
Creighton

Next four out:

Mississippi
Ohio State
Oregon
Saint Joseph's

No. 1 seeds:

1. Tennessee
2. Memphis
3. North Carolina
4. Texas

Texas just continues to win, and that gets them in here ahead of UCLA -- along with the fact that the Longhorns won at UCLA earlier this season. Tennessee is the overall top seed despite its loss to Vanderbilt this week. No one else really stands out as a challenger. Memphis just lost at home to the Vols and UNC hasn't been particularly dominant this month.

Bids by conference:

Big East: 7
Pac-10: 6
Big 12: 6
SEC: 6
ACC: 5
Big Ten: 4
Missouri Valley: 3
Atlantic 10: 2
Conference USA: 2
West Coast: 2
Mountain West: 2

The SEC jumps up a notch with six bids, but both Florida and Kentucky are precariously placed in the field. The Big Ten dropped a bid, and Ohio State isn't playing nearly well enough to get it back. The ACC has a bunch of teams in the first 10 or so out -- Florida State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest -- but none that inspire the basketball viewer.