(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)
We feel 100 percent confident in at least one of our bracket picks after Tuesday: Wagner is going to Dayton.
The Seahawks, who ended the regular season 13-15 and were the No. 7 seed in the Northeast Conference tournament, upset Merrimack to clinch a bid to the NCAA Tournament. (Please, explain to us again why the tournament needs to be expanded so more teams have “access?”) The NEC ranked second-to-last among conferences this season, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an NCAA Tournament team with worse metrics than Wagner: 303rd in the NET, 293rd in KenPom, 11-10 (!) in Quad 4. That’s a No. 16-seed-play-in-game team if we’ve ever seen one.
What, you were hoping for a more interesting bracket update? Sorry, but Tuesday was relatively calm. We did get five more auto qualifiers, including Wagner and highlighted by Saint Mary’s beating Gonzaga in the WCC. Yes, the Zags really were in trouble of missing the tournament in early February. They aren’t now. We didn’t even change the seeding for either team (Gaels are No. 6 seed, Gonzaga a 7), though you could convince us either side could move up a line or two.
There will be some bubble teams open conference tournament action on Wednesday. Wake Forest plays Notre Dame in a must-win game for the Demon Deacons. TCU is probably getting in no matter what, but a loss to Oklahoma would leave the Horned Frogs on awfully shaky ground. Providence needs to beat Georgetown to keep its hopes alive; same for New Mexico against Air Force and Villanova against DePaul.
Anything can happen. Just ask Wagner.
GO DEEPER
Championship week conference tournament guide, Vol. 2: The Power 6 takes center stage
Bracket Watch will appear daily between now and Sunday, with a short update before the 6 p.m. ET selection show if warranted.
| First Four Out | Next Four Out | Last Four In | Last Four Byes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Villanova |
Providence |
Virginia |
Florida Atlantic |
|
New Mexico |
Pitt |
St. John’s |
Seton Hall |
|
Colorado |
Kansas State |
Indiana State |
Michigan State |
|
Wake Forest |
Iowa |
Texas A&M |
TCU |
Multi-bid leagues
| League | Bids |
|---|---|
|
Big 12 |
9 |
|
SEC |
8 |
|
Big Ten |
6 |
|
Big East |
5 |
|
Mountain West |
5 |
|
ACC |
4 |
|
Pac-12 |
2 |
|
A10 |
2 |
|
AAC |
2 |
|
Missouri Valley |
2 |
|
WCC |
2 |
Seed list
|
1 |
Purdue |
AQ |
|
2 |
Houston |
AQ |
|
3 |
UConn |
AQ |
|
4 |
Tennessee |
AQ |
|
5 |
North Carolina |
AQ |
|
6 |
Arizona |
AQ |
|
7 |
Baylor |
|
|
8 |
Iowa State |
|
|
9 |
Marquette |
|
|
10 |
Creighton |
|
|
11 |
Kansas |
|
|
12 |
Duke |
|
|
13 |
Kentucky |
|
|
14 |
Illinois |
|
|
15 |
BYU |
|
|
16 |
Alabama |
|
|
17 |
Auburn |
|
|
18 |
South Carolina |
|
|
19 |
Utah State |
AQ |
|
20 |
Clemson |
|
|
21 |
Florida |
|
|
22 |
San Diego State |
|
|
23 |
Washington State |
|
|
24 |
Saint Mary’s |
AQ |
|
25 |
Gonzaga |
|
|
26 |
Dayton |
|
|
27 |
Boise State |
|
|
28 |
Texas |
|
|
29 |
Nevada |
|
|
30 |
Texas Tech |
|
|
31 |
Wisconsin |
|
|
32 |
Northwestern |
|
|
33 |
Nebraska |
|
|
34 |
Colorado State |
|
|
35 |
Florida Atlantic |
|
|
36 |
Oklahoma |
|
|
37 |
Mississippi State |
|
|
38 |
Seton Hall |
|
|
39 |
Michigan State |
|
|
40 |
Drake |
AQ |
|
41 |
TCU |
|
|
42 |
Virginia |
|
|
43 |
St. John’s |
|
|
44 |
Indiana State |
|
|
45 |
Texas A&M |
|
|
46 |
Richmond |
AQ |
|
47 |
South Florida |
AQ |
|
48 |
James Madison |
AQ |
|
49 |
Grand Canyon |
AQ |
|
50 |
McNeese Sate |
AQ |
|
51 |
Samford |
AQ |
|
52 |
UC Irvine |
AQ |
|
53 |
Princeton |
AQ |
|
54 |
Toledo |
AQ |
|
55 |
Vermont |
AQ |
|
56 |
Charleston |
AQ |
|
57 |
Oakland |
AQ |
|
58 |
Morehead State |
AQ |
|
59 |
Colgate |
AQ |
|
60 |
Sam Houston State |
AQ |
|
61 |
Montana |
AQ |
|
62 |
Longwood |
AQ |
|
63 |
Quinnipiac |
AQ |
|
64 |
South Dakota State |
AQ |
|
65 |
Stetson |
AQ |
|
66 |
Norfolk State |
AQ |
|
67 |
Grambling |
AQ |
|
68 |
Wagner |
AQ |
The Bracket Central series is part of a partnership with E*TRADE.
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo of Mitchell Saxen: Ian Maule / AP)
