Competition is a healthy thing

In response to Barnes's posts about the upcoming NCAA tournament, I have decided to do my own projected bracket, and I will update it accordingly. This was my first crack at this, so it took me a little while to come up with this. After about two hours, this is what I came up with:

East Regional (Boston)

(1)Connecticut vs. (16) Bowling Green    (Philadelphia)
(8) California vs. (9) Boston College    (Philadelphia)
(5) Purdue vs. (12) St. Mary’s    (Miami)
(4) LSU vs. (13) Cornell    (Miami)

(6) Butler vs. (11) Texas A&M    (Minneapolis)
(3) Missouri vs. (14) Weber State    (Minneapolis)
(7) West Virginia vs. (10) Wisconsin    (Philadelphia)
(2) Wake Forest vs. (15) Jacksonville    (Philadelphia)

South Regional (Memphis)

(1) North Carolina vs. (16) Radford    (Greensboro)
(8) Dayton vs. (9) Ohio State    (Greensboro)
(5) Clemson vs. (12) Penn State    (Portland)
(4) Marquette vs. (13) Western Kentucky    (Portland)

(6) UCLA vs. (11) South Carolina    (Miami)
(3) Louisville vs. (14) American University    (Miami)
(7) BYU vs. (10) New Mexico    (Minneapolis)
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Vermont    (Minneapolis)


Midwest Regional (Indianapolis)

(1) Pittsburg vs. (16) Cal St. Northridge/Alabama St.    (Dayton)
(8) Utah vs. (9) Rhode Island    (Dayton)
(5) Gonzaga vs. (12) Siena    (Boise)
(4) Illinois vs. (13) VCU    (Boise)

(6) Arizona State vs. (11) Utah State    (Dayton)
(3) Kansas vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin    (Dayton)
(7) Syracuse vs. (10) Oklahoma State    (Greensboro)
(2) Duke vs. (15) Morgan State    (Greensboro)


West Regional (Arizona)

(1) Memphis vs. (16) Tennessee Martin    (Kansas City)
(8) Texas vs. (9) Minnesota    (Kansas City)
(5) Xavier vs. (12) Davidson    (Boise)
(4) Washington vs. (13) North Dakota State    (Boise)

(6) Florida State vs. (11) Creighton    (Portland)
(3) Villanova vs. (14) Morgan State    (Portland)
(7) Tennessee vs. (10) Providence    (Kansas City)
(2) Oklahoma vs. (15) Robert Morris    (Kansas City)

I did my best to follow the guidelines of not letting conference opponents meet up until at least the regional final (elite eight). I'll get a little more in depth as to why some teams are in and some teams are out next time. For now, these are the teams I was deciding between:

Just got in:

St. Mary's, South Carolina, Penn State

Just got left out:

Arizona, Michigan, San Diego State, UNLV, Northwestern

After tonight's round of games, I'll get more in depth of some of the bubble teams and why I think they deserve to get in.

Next week marks one of my favorite weeks in all of sports: the conference tournaments! I almost like the conference tourneys more than the actual Big Dance itself. Don't get me wrong, the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are stellar, but I love watching each conference have it's teams battle it out for their respective conference title. Not to mention, a lot of bubble teams can prove why they deserve to be in the NCAA tournament during that week as well.

Here's to a great week in college basketball!