Bracketology, Freshman Fifteen Edition

You know already that college football, not basketball, is what this space is for, and that my favorite sport is the gridiron variety of university athletics. But college basketball is a close second, and I've always been a dabbler in bracketology. What follows is my best guess of how the brackets will line up come 6 o'clock this evening.

A few notes before we get to the field of 65...

1) This is being posted before the Ohio State-Purdue game ends, and I've assumed that Purdue, as the favorite, will win. If that's wrong (which, judging by the rest of the week, is pretty likely), Ohio State will swap with Butler, the Buckeyes to a 7 seed and the Bulldogs to an 8. And Purdue will fall from a 4 to a 5, giving Arizona State the open 4 seed. Of course, that would require some re-arrangement of who plays whom and in what bracket, but we don't have time for that.

2) The last 4 teams into the field are: Texas A&M, Maryland, San Diego State, and Creighton (in that order). Creighton slips in by a fingernail.

3) The first 4 teams out are: Minnesota, Penn State, St. Mary's, UNLV (in that order). The Big Ten has bids stolen by Cleveland State and Mississippi State.

4) North Carolina gets the overall #1 (South Region), followed by Pitt (Midwest), UConn (East), and Louisville (West). Brackets are aligned as follows: South vs. West, Midwest vs. East.

And on to the bracket...

SOUTH REGION

1) North Carolina

16) Morehead State

8) Ohio State

9) BYU

5) Arizona State

12) Creighton

4) Syracuse

13) Stephen F. Austin

3) Villanova

14) American

6) Clemson

11) USC

7) Butler

10) Michigan

2) Oklahoma

15) Robert Morris

WEST REGION

1) Louisville

16) East Tennessee State

8) Oklahoma State

9) Utah State

5) Utah

12) Western Kentucky

4) Wake Forest

13) Mississippi State

3) Washington

14) Akron

6) Illinois

11) Texas A&M

7) Marquette

10) Boston College

2) Memphis

15) Morgan State

MIDWEST REGION

1) Pittsburgh

16) Chattanooga/Alabama State (opening round game)

8) California

9) Temple

5) Gonzaga

12) VCU

4) Florida State

13) Northern Iowa

3) Missouri

14) North Dakota State

6) West Virginia

11) Maryland

7) LSU

10) Dayton

2) Michigan State

15) Cornell

EAST REGION

1) Connecticut

16) Cal St. Northridge

8) Texas

9) Siena

5) UCLA

12) Cleveland State

4) Purdue

13) Portland State

3) Kansas

14) Binghamton

6) Xavier

11) San Diego State

7) Tennessee

10) Wisconsin

2) Duke

15) Radford

Coming by Thursday - my picks on the actual bracket.