That’s all for now
Check back later for full analysis of all four regionals.
The complete NCAA tournament bracket
Here’s the printable bracket for this year’s NCAA tournament field.
Updated
Last four out
These four teams just missed the cut:
- Colorado State (27-6, RPI: 30)
- Temple (23-10, RPI: 34)
- Old Dominion (24-7, RPI: 46)
- Richmond (19-13, RPI: 57)
Only two teams have ever missed the tournament with a higher RPI that Colorado State’s 30: Missouri State in 2006 (21) and Texas Tech in 1997 (29).
Updated
West Regional pairings
Here are the pairings in the West Region:
No1 Wisconsin v No16 Coastal Carolina (Friday)
No8 Oregon v No9 Oklahoma State (Friday)
No5 Arkansas v No12 Wofford (Thursday)
No4 North Carolina v No13 Harvard (Thursday)
No6 Xavier v No11 BYU/Ole Miss (Thursday)
No3 Baylor v No14 Georgia State (Thursday)
No7 VCU v No10 Ohio State (Thursday)
No2 Arizona v No15 Texas Southern (Thursday)
Wisconsin gets the final No1 seed
The Big Ten champs edge out Arizona for the No1 seed in the West.
UCLA makes the cut
Controversy! UCLA not only makes the tournament field but avoids the play-in games despite a dubious . They’ve earned a matchup with Larry Brown’s SMU.
UCLA?? Especially not even in a First Four game??
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 15, 2015
UCLA IS IN ... okay? ... THEY'RE A No. 11 ... WHAT?
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) March 15, 2015
Really, UCLA, really
— Eamonn Brennan (@eamonnbrennan) March 15, 2015
I can't believe UCLA got in
— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) March 15, 2015
Ucla made it! Look at that. They play Larry Brown.
— Bill Walton (@BillWalton) March 15, 2015
UCLA GOT IN? AND NOT EVEN IN THE FIRST FOUR?
— Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) March 15, 2015
UCLA is pretty much the worst at-large selection since...Air Force whenever the hell they got in with nothing.
— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) March 15, 2015
South Regional pairings
Here are the pairings in the South Region:
No1 Duke v No 16 North Florida/Robert Morris (Friday)
No8 San Diego State v No9 St John’s (Friday)
No5 Utah v No12 Stephen F Austin (Thursday)
No4 Georgetown v No13 Eastern Washington (Thursday)
No6 SMU v No11 UCLA (Thursday)
No3 Iowa State v No14 UAB (Thursday)
No7 Iowa v No10 Davidson (Friday)
No2 Gonzaga v No15 North Dakota State (Friday)
Updated
East Regional pairings
Here are the pairings in the East Region:
No1 Villanova v No16 Lafayette (Thursday)
No8 North Carolina v No9 LSU (Thursday)
No5 Northern Iowa v No12 Wyoming (Friday)
No4 Louisville v No13 UC Irvine (Friday)
No6 Providence v No11 Boise State/Dayton (Friday)
No3 Oklahoma v No14 Albany (Friday)
No7 Michigan State v No10 Georgia (Friday)
No2 Virginia v No15 Belmont (Friday)
‘Cats on top (again)
Villanova, Big East tournament champions for the first time since 1995, is your top seed in the East Region.
Updated
Jayhawks-Shockers on Sunday?
Kansas v Wichita State in the second round is a potential barnburner. Also a bit disappointing to see a middling team like Texas in the field when more deserving mid-major teams will be left out. Five teams from the state of Indiana in this regional alone. Maryland not thrilled with the No4 seed.
Maryland's reaction says it all pic.twitter.com/Hy743u8Nwq
— Jesse Yomtov (@JesseYomtov) March 15, 2015
Updated
Midwest Regional pairings
Here are the pairings in the Midwest Region:
No1 Kentucky v No16 Manhattan/Hampton (Thursday)
No8 Cincinnati v No9 Purdue (Thursday)
No5 West Virginia v No12 Buffalo (Friday)
No4 Maryland v No13 Valpariaso (Friday)
No6 Butler v No11 Texas (Thursday)
No3 Notre Dame v No14 Northeastern (Thursday)
No7 Wichita State v No10 Indiana (Friday)
No2 Kansas v No15 New Mexico State (Friday)
Updated
‘Cats on top
The top overall seed is Kentucky in the Midwest Regional. No surprise there.
Updated
The Selection Show is underway
Greg Gumbel has signed on from CBS studios in New York with Clark Kellogg, Seth Davis and Doug Gottlieb. We’re minutes away from knowing the first pairings.
To be Frank
While we’re waiting for the reveal, here’s Wisconsin forward and National Player of the Year candidate Frank Kaminsky trying to eat confetti after the Badgers’ win over Michigan State in the Big Ten title game just now.
Who’s already in?
The NCAA awards 32 automatic bids, with 31 of those being determined through the conference tournaments that took place over the past week. Only the Ivy League does not hold a conference tournament, instead awarding its automatic bid to its regular-season champion (or, in this year’s case, the winner of yesterday’s tie-breaking playoff at the Palestra).
These 32 schools know they will hear their names called when the selection show gets underway at 6pm ET. All other schools will be sweating it out, hoping for one of the 36 at-large bids decided on by the selection committee.
- Albany, America East Conference
- Arizona, Pacific-12 Conference
- Belmont, Ohio Valley Conference
- Buffalo, Mid-American Conference
- Coastal Carolina, Big South Conference
- Eastern Washington, Big Sky Conference
- Georgia State, Sun Belt Conference
- Gonzaga, West Coast Conference
- Hampton, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
- Harvard, Ivy League
- Iowa State, Big 12 Conference
- Kentucky, Southeastern Conference
- Lafayette, Patriot League
- Manhattan, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- New Mexico State, Western Athletic Conference
- North Dakota State, Summit League
- North Florida, Atlantic Sun Conference
- Northeastern, Colonial Athletic Association
- Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
- Notre Dame, Atlantic Coast Conference
- Robert Morris, Northeast Conference
- Southern Methodist University, American Athletic Conference
- Stephen F. Austin, Southland Conference
- Texas Southern, Southwestern Athletic Conference
- UAB, Conference USA
- UC Irvine, Big West Conference
- Valparaiso, Horizon League
- VCU, Atlantic 10 Conference
- Villanova, Big East Conference
- Wisconsin, Big Ten Conference
- Wofford, Southern Conference
- Wyoming, Mountain West Conference
Selection Sunday is here
The 68-team field for this year’s NCAA tournament will be revealed at 6pm. Two things we know for sure:
- Kentucky will be the top overall seed after capping off a perfect regular season today with a win over Arkansas in the SEC tournament championship game.
- There will be a new national champion after Connecticut fell to SMU in today’s AAC title game. The Huskies needed to win their conference’s automatic bid to have a chance of making this year’s field.
We’ll have more throughout the evening as March Madness takes grip of a nation’s sporting consciousness.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime why not read about Kentucky’s win over Arkansas in today’s SEC tournament final to cap a 34-0 regular season:
The top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats have a 34-game winning streak and yet another Southeastern Conference Tournament championship as they head into the NCAA Tournament.
“Those aren’t the nets we’re really looking to cut down,” junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein said. “It’s just a milestone. It’s just part of the process for us winning and everything, but we’re looking for something bigger. We’re looking to cut down a couple more nets in the tournament.”
And perfection just may be the side product.
Cauley-Stein scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kentucky never trailed in beating No21 Arkansas 78-63 on Sunday for the program’s 28th SEC Tournament title.
The Wildcats (34-0) are only the fourth team to go into the NCAA Tournament undefeated since Indiana finished off the last perfect season with a title in 1976. The last three teams that went into the NCAA Tournament undefeated all lost with Indiana State and Larry Bird the closest, losing in the 1979 title game.
Not that Kentucky sees being undefeated as a challenge.
“We’re still only guaranteed one game, so it’s really the slate is clean whether we’re 34-0 or have got five losses,” Cauley-Stein said. “It’s still from here on out, you’re 0-0.”
