It's March! 3/1 Bracket Update

Photo credit: Brad Young, FGCU Athletics

The clock has struck midnight! Welcome to March, everyone! Over the next 20 days or so the action will be almost non-stop, and Bracket Forecast has you covered. To celebrate March Madness, we've got a fresh bracket up for your viewing pleasure. We'll have new posts coming just about every day until Selection Sunday, March 11th. In the mean time, Let's quickly go over a few headlines about the bracket as it stands today.

•  Virginia all but has the #1 overall seed locked up. If they win either of their final two regular season games this week, it's a done deal. They'll be playing in the South Region on Thursday and Saturday, March 15th and 17th. If they win in the first two rounds, they'll then advance to Atlanta for the regional semis.

• Speaking of the ACC, UNC fans need not worry about the loss to Miami. Their ten Tier 1 wins, a very high SOS, and a lack of bad losses means they're still firmly on the two line with a chance to get a 1 seed, should they win a couple of more quality games. Barring a collapse, they're also headed to Charlotte. Which region they play in is still far from decided.

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• Does Middle Tennessee deserve an at-large bid if they don't win the C-USA tournament? Their lack of wins against the field says no, but their non-conference SOS and record in Tier 1 and 2 game says yes. Their only loss outside Tier 1 and 2 is against Belmont, who is 23-8 and has an RPI of 76. That's hardly a bad loss. They lost neutral court games against Auburn, USC, and Miami by an average of five points. Pay close attention to the Blue Raiders. If they need an at-large bid to make the tournament, that could steal a spot away from someone on the edge of the bubble.

• The Pac 12 is a mess. Arizona and Arizona State are firmly in the field, but otherwise there are no guarantees. As of today, Washington and UCLA are in my last four teams in and Utah, USC, Oregon, and Utah are sitting just outside the field. As we get closer to Selection Sunday, keep a close eye on which teams on the bubble weed themselves out with bad losses or play themselves in with quality wins. The conference tournament in Las Vegas next week will have a lot on the line. 

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• The more time that passes without St. Bonaventure suffering a bad loss, the more confident I am that they'll make the field. After squeaking out a thrilling 3OT victory against Davidson Tuesday, they close out the regular season at St. Louis. If they can win that game and advance to the semis of the A10 tournament next week, they'll get pretty close to lock status. 

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