[Cactus Jack]

1's:
Auburn (SEC #1)
Duke (ACC #1)
Houston (Big XII #1)
Michigan State (Big Ten #1)

2's:
Alabama (SEC #2)
St. John's (Big East #1)
Florida (SEC #3)
Wisconsin (Big Ten #2)

3's:
Texas Tech (Big XII #2)
Tennessee (SEC #4)
Marquette (Big East #2)
Michigan/UCLA (Big Ten #3)

4's:
Iowa State (Big XII #3)
Texas A&M (SEC #5)
Creighton (Big East #3)
Kentucky (SEC #6)

5's:
Arizona (Big XII #4)
UConn (Big East #4)
Clemson (ACC #2)
Michigan/UCLA (Big Ten #4)

6's:
Missouri (SEC #7)
Oregon/Maryland/Purdue/Illinois (Big Ten #5)
Memphis (AAC #1)
St. Mary's (WCC #1)

7's:
Oregon/Maryland/Purdue/Illinois (Big Ten #6)
Ole Miss (SEC #8)
New Mexico (MWC #1)
BYU (Big XII #5)

8's:
Oregon/Maryland/Purdue/Illinois (Big Ten #7)
Kansas (Big XII #6)
Louisville (ACC #3)
Gonzaga (WCC #2)

9's:
San Diego State (MWC #2)
Oregon/Maryland/Purdue/Illinois (Big Ten #8)
Vanderbilt/Mississippi State (SEC #9)


Other Teams of Note:
Mississippi State - 10 or 9
Vanderbilt - 9, 10, or 11
Georgia - 10, 11, or 12 (Play-In)
Arkansas - 12, 11, or 10 (Play-In)
Texas - 12 or 11

Baylor - 11 or 12
UC San Diego - 11 or 12 (will be a trendy upset pick)
McNeese State - 11 or 12
Utah State - 12 or 13
VCU - 12 or 13
Drake - 13 or 12
Yale - 13 or 14

North Carolina - OUT
Indiana - OUT


***Because of how many teams will get in and rules on when teams from the same conference can meet, I'd be shocked if there weren't a #8 or #9 seed from the SEC. MSU and Vandy are in the best slots for those despite losses tonight. Performance in the conference tournament is a given for everyone in that range, but so is the outcome of MSU/Arkansas game. Texas or Oklahoma still have work to do to get in (and play each other)-- Texas is probably in with a win over Oklahoma, a Sooners win keeps their hopes alive, but it also causes utter chaos. I see at least one SEC school in the play-in game and have a feeling that Calipari and/or Asa Newell's Georgia teams would be nice ratings draws.

***Big Ten is kind of a jumble. I locked in Michigan State as the winner and WIsconsin at #2. Michigan has a tough remaining schedule. UCLA and Oregon are probably better than their records indicate, but will need runs to get better seeds. Maryland and Illinois are up and down. Purdue is on a terrible losing skid. Ohio State is on the bubble. Nebraska is a team that could be dangerous. Those teams will sort themselves out in the conference tournament. What I've predicated won't be exact, but they'll get a lot of teams in at a bunch of different seed lines.

***Mountain West will probably get another #9 or #10 seed, maybe both. They could have between two and four bids, so their league and mid-tier teams in the Big XII (West Virginia and Baylor) will be the most hurt by bid thieves.