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Selection Sunday bracket projection

Posted: Sunday March 16, 2008 1:29PM; Updated: Sunday March 16, 2008 3:15PM
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With only five conference championship games remaining, we can safely assume that North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA will all land No. 1 seeds. The fourth was shaping up to be Tennessee until the Vols lost to Arkansas in the SEC semifinals. Sunday's Kansas-Texas winner may now land that last No. 1 spot, though the 'Horns (No. 4 strength-of-schedule, 11-3 vs. RPI Top 50) would have a better case than the Jayhawks (No. 59, 7-2).

As for the bubble, the biggest mystery surrounds three teams from the Pac-10: Arizona, Oregon and Arizona State. All three could make it, and all three could just as easily be excluded. Meanwhile, if either Illinois or Georgia wins its conference-title game Sunday, they will knock out one of the current at-large teams.

The last four teams in this projected bracket are, in order, St. Joe's, Virginia Tech, Oregon and Illinois State. The last four teams out were Arizona State, Villanova, Ole Miss and VCU. For a more detailed bubble breakdown, click here.

The chart below is designed like an actual bracket sheet, with the regions on the left-hand side (East and Midwest) meeting in one semifinal and the regions on the right-hand side (South and West) meeting in the other. Note that the pairings are based on the order of the No. 1 seeds.

Projected NCAA bracket
EAST REGION (Charlotte) MIDWEST REGION (Detroit)
March 21-23 at Raleigh, N.C. March 21-23 at Little Rock, Ark.
1 North Carolina (32-2) 1 Texas (28-5)
16 Miss. Valley St. (17-15)/Coppin St. (16-20) 16 Portland St. (23-9)
8 Arkansas (22-10) 8 West Virginia (24-10)
9 UNLV (26-7) 9 Kent State (28-6)
March 20-22 at Denver March 21-23 at Birmingham
4 Purdue (24-8) 4 Clemson (24-9)
13 George Mason (23-10) 13 Winthrop (22-11)
5 Connecticut (24-8) 5 Michigan St. (25-8)
12 Western Kentucky (27-6) 12 Illinois St. (24-9)
March 20-22 at Washington D.C. March 20-22 at Washington D.C.
6 Washington St. (24-8) 6 USC (21-11)
11 Davidson (26-6) 11 Baylor (21-10)
3 Xavier (27-6) 3 Louisville (24-8)
14 Siena (22-10) 14 Cal St. Fullerton (24-8)
March 21-23 at Tampa, Fla. March 21-23 at Birmingham, Ala.
7 Texas A&M (24-10) 7 Gonzaga (25-7)
10 St. Mary's (25-6) 10 Temple (21-12)
2 Georgetown (27-5) 2 Tennessee (29-4)
15 Austin Peay (24-10) 15 American (21-11)
WEST REGION (Phoenix) SOUTH REGION (Houston)
March 20-22 at Anaheim, Calif. March 21-23 at Little Rock, Ark.
1 UCLA (31-3) 1 Memphis (33-1)
16 UT-Arlington (21-11) 16 Mount St. Mary's (18-14)
8 BYU (27-7) 8 Kansas State (20-11)
9 Mississippi State (22-10) 9 Miami (22-10)
March 20-22 at Denver March 21-23 at Tampa, Fla.
4 Pittsburgh (26-9) 4 Notre Dame (24-7)
13 Oral Roberts (24-8) 13 San Diego (21-13)
5 Drake (28-4) 5 Butler (29-3)
12 Virginia Tech (19-13) 12 Oregon (18-13)
March 21-23 at Raleigh, N.C. March 20-22 at Anaheim, Calif.
6 Vanderbilt (26-7) 6 Indiana (25-7)
11 Arizona (19-14) 11 St. Joseph's (21-12)
3 Duke (27-5) 3 Stanford (26-7)
14 Boise State (25-8) 14 Cornell (22-5)
March 20-22 at Omaha, Neb March 20-22 at Omaha, Neb.
7 Oklahoma (22-11) 7 Marquette (24-9)
10 South Alabama (26-6) 10 Kentucky (18-12)
2 Wisconsin (28-4) 2 Kansas (30-3)
15 Belmont (25-8) 15 UMBC (24-8)

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