The field begins to narrow as bubble teams like Dayton and Ole Miss suffer crushing defeats. Here's my first stab at projecting the brackets as of 9 p.m. Friday night (teams in italics have automatic bids, italicized teams with an asterisk denote projected automatic bids):
MIDWEST
1-Kansas
16-Winthrop
8-Richmond
9-Marquette
4-Tennessee
13-Murray State
5-Maryland
12-Washington
6-Texas
11-Old Dominion
3-Villanova
14-Akron*
7-Florida State
10-San Diego State
2-Purdue*
15-UC-Santa Barbara*
WEST
1-Duke*
16-Robert Morris
8-Northern Iowa
9-Oklahoma State
4-Pittsburgh
13-Rhode Island
5-Vanderbilt
12-Illinois
6-BYU
11-St. Mary's
3-Baylor
14-Wofford
7-Clemson
10-Utah State*
2-West Virginia*
15-East Tennessee State
EAST
1-Kentucky*
16-Arkansas-Pine Bluff*/Lehigh
8-Notre Dame
9-Virginia Tech
4-Texas A&M
13-Oakland
5-Temple*
12-UNLV
6-Xavier
11-Missouri
3-Ohio State
14-Montana
7-California*
10-Louisville
2-New Mexico*
15-North Texas
SOUTH
1-Syracuse
16-Vermont*
8-UTEP*
9-Wake Forest
4-Wisconsin
13-Florida
5-Butler
12-Siena
6-Georgetown
11-Cornell
3-Michigan State
14-Sam Houston St*
7-Gonzaga
10-Georgia Tech
2-Kansas State
15-Morgan State*
Last Four In: Illinois, Rhode Island, Washington, Florida
First Four Out: Mississippi State, Arizona State, Memphis, Ole Miss
Next Four Out: Dayton, UAB, Kent State, Minnesota
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