Bracket Breakdown

AS OF FEBRUARY 4, 2008

This Week's Bracket

Breakdown by Conference

ACC (4): North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, North Carolina State
Big East (8): Georgetown, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia
Big Ten (5): Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State
Big 12 (6): Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Baylor
Pac-10 (5): UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, Arizona, USC
SEC (5): Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Florida
Atlantic-10 (5): Xavier, Dayton, Rhode Island, St. Joseph's, Massachusetts
Mountain West (2): UNLV, BYU
West Coast (2): St. Mary's, Gonzaga

One-Bid Conferences (23): America East (UMBC); Atlantic Sun (Jacksonville); Big Sky (Portland State); Big South (UNC-Asheville); Big West (CS-Northridge); Colonial (VCU); Conference USA (Memphis); Horizon (Butler); Ivy (Cornell); MAC (Kent State); MAAC (Rider); MEAC (Morgan State); Missouri Valley (Drake); Northeast (Sacred Heart); Ohio Valley (Austin Peay); Patriot (Lafayette); Southern (Davidson); Southland (Lamar); Summit (Oral Roberts; Sun Belt (South Alabama); SWAC (Alabama State); WAC (Utah State)

Last Four In: Mississippi State, North Carolina State, BYU, Massachusetts
Last Four Out: California, Oregon, Miami (Fl.), Illinois State
Next Four Out: Arizona State, George Mason, Seton Hall, Maryland

Key Games this Week

Louisville at Marquette (Monday): Two of the many middle-of-the-pack Big East teams – both teams are trying to stay in the mix for a top-five seed.
Villanova at Saint Joseph ’s (Monday): Philly rivalry between two bubble teams. ‘Nova needs the win badly – it has lost four in a row.
Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s (Monday): Battle for first in the West Coast. Both teams are likely locks at this point, but a win would solidify that.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina State (Tuesday): The ACC will get a fourth team in the Big Dance – will either of these two teams get the nod?
Drake at Illinois State (Tuesday): The MVC looks like a one-bid league this year, but a win here would vault ISU back into the discussion.
Florida at Tennessee (Tuesday): SEC East battle. Florida was blown out by Arkansas this week, while Tennessee is rolling again.
Texas at Oklahoma (Wednesday): Two teams trying to keep pace with Kansas – and Kansas State – in the Big 12. Both lost to Texas A&M last week.
Charlotte at Dayton (Wednesday): Is Charlotte in the at-large mix? A win on the road here over a struggling Dayton team would be huge.
Maryland at Boston College (Wednesday): The Terrapins are quietly working their way back into the at-large picture, while BC is quickly falling.
Connecticut at Syracuse (Wednesday): Classic Big East rivalry between two hot teams. UConn has won five in a row, ‘Cuse three in a row.
Notre Dame at Seton Hall (Wednesday): Seton Hall needs more top-50 wins to get into the bracket, while ND wants a top-five seed.
Duke at North Carolina (Wednesday): Best rivalry in college basketball – both teams are in the top-five and Final Four threats.
West Virginia at Pittsburgh (Thursday): Two teams looking for a win after both dropped to 5-4 in the Big East over the weekend.
Wright State at Cleveland State (Thursday): Butler has a 1.5-game lead on both teams, but the winner will keep pace with the Bulldogs.
Rhode Island at Massachusetts (Thursday): UMass was one of the last teams out of the bracket, but a win here would keep them in next week.
Jacksonville at Belmont (Thursday): First-place in the Atlantic Sun is on the line. Jacksonville has won 9 of 10, Belmont 8 of 10.
Portland State at Northern Arizona (Thursday): Battle for the top spot in the Big Sky. PSU is hot, while NAU has dropped two in a row.
Oregon at Stanford (Thursday): Oregon is one of the season’s disappointments, while Stanford is quickly making a move in the top-ten.
CSU Northridge at Pacific (Thursday): The Big West lead is up for grabs. Northridge lost its first game of the league season to Fullerton at home this weekend.
UCLA at Washington State (Thursday): What looked like a potential top-ten match-up is now just another tough Pac-10 contest for UCLA.