Notre Dame joins top seed line

Story Highlights

Last four teams out: VCU, Clemson, Gonzaga, Penn State

UNC jumps from a No. 4 seed to a 2; Florida rises up from a 5 to a 3

Bids by conference: Big East (11); Big 12, Big Ten and SEC (6); ACC (5)

2011 NCAA Tournament Projection

In this bracket, the East matches up with the West, the Southeast with the Southwest in the national semifinals.

This week's notable moves:

• I did an entire seed scrub of the S-curve and a few teams made sizable moves ...

• ACC regular season champ North Carolina went from a No. 4 seed to a 2.

• SEC champ Florida jumps from a No. 5 to a 3.

• Surging Cincinnati went from a 10 to a 6.

• Notre Dame is a new No. 1 seed.

• There was no simple way to avoid the pair of possible Big East Sweet 16 games in the West region.

With the addition of three at-large spots (increasing the field to 68 teams), there are now four play-in games, dubbed the "First Four." Two games will match the tournament's lowest seeds, Nos. 65 through 68, with the winners claiming a No. 16 seed. The other two games will feature the last four teams of the 37 at-large qualifiers, with the winners likely receiving No. 11 or 12 seeds.

The top-four seeds in each region, starting with the No. 1 seeds, receive geographic preference when possible. An imbalance in high seeds between regions (e.g. if more than two top-four seeds are closest to the same subregional location) may force a protected seed into a secondary location.

League winners (automatic qualifiers) are listed with their conference for clarity. Projected auto-bid winners in traditional one-bid leagues are determined by the best RPI from the team(s) with the fewest league losses. Teams can be moved a seed line up or down to conform to bracketing rules.

* Team has officially won its league's automatic bid.

EAST - Newark, N.J.

Cleveland

1	Ohio State (Big Ten)
16	Boston U. (America East)


8	Old Dominion (Colonial)
9	Utah State (WAC)


Denver

5	Xavier (Atlantic 10)
12	Saint Mary's (West Coast)


4	St. John's
13	Belmont* (Atlantic Sun)


Washington, D.C.

6	Kansas State
11	Michigan


3	Syracuse
14	Bucknell (Patriot)


Charlotte

7	Arizona (Pac-10)
10	Georgia


2	North Carolina (ACC)
15	Long Island (Northeast)

SOUTHEAST - New Orleans

Cleveland

1	Pittsburgh (Big East)
16	Mid. Tenn. St. (Sun Belt)/Texas So. (SWAC)


8	UCLA
9	Florida State


Tampa

5	Wisconsin
12	Oakland (Summit)


4	Louisville
13	Harvard (Ivy)


Tampa

6	Georgetown
11	Boston College/Alabama


3	Florida (SEC)
14	Kent State (MAC)


Tulsa

7	UNLV
10	Richmond


2	Texas
15	No. Colorado (Big Sky)

WEST - Anaheim

Chicago

1	Notre Dame
16	Beth.-Cook. (MEAC)/McNeese St. (Southland)


8	Missouri
9	George Mason


Washington, D.C.

5	Connecticut
12	UAB (C-USA)


4	Kentucky
13	College of Charleston (SoCon)


Chicago

6	Cincinnati
11	Butler


3	Purdue
14	Indiana State* (Missouri Valley)


Denver

7	Texas A&M
10	Marquette


2	BYU (Mountain West)
15	Long Beach State (Big West)

SOUTHWEST - San Antonio

Tulsa

1	Kansas (Big 12)
16	UNC Asheville* (Big South)


8	Temple
9	Illinois


Tucson

5	Vanderbilt
12	Virginia Tech/Colorado


4	West Virginia
13	Iona (MAAC)


Tucson

6	Tennessee
11	Michigan State


3	San Diego State
14	Morehead State* (Ohio Valley)


Charlotte

7	Villanova
10	Washington


2	Duke
15	UW-Milwaukee (Horizon)

Last four out: VCU, Clemson, Gonzaga, Penn State. New at-large teams in: Alabama, Boston College. At-large teams out: Baylor, Gonzaga. Bids by conference: Big East (11); Big 12, Big Ten and SEC (6); ACC (5); Mountain West, Pac-10, Atlantic 10 (3); Colonial and Horizon (2). Seed changes: To ease bracket conflicts, Georgetown and Vanderbilt switched 5 and 6 seeds. For more in-depth analysis, check out the Bubble Watch. Got a bone to pick with the Bracket Watch? Send feedback to bubblewatch@gmail.com.

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