Bracket Breakdown

AS OF MARCH 3, 2008

This Week’s Bracket

Breakdown by Conference

ACC (6): North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Miami (Fl.), Maryland, Virginia Tech
Big East (8): Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Villanova
Big Ten (4): Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State
Big 12 (6): Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M
Pac-10 (6): UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, USC, Arizona, Arizona State
SEC (4): Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas
Atlantic-10 (2): Xavier, Massachusetts
Conference-USA (2): Memphis, UAB
Missouri Valley (3): Drake, Illinois State, Southern Illinois
Mountain West (2): BYU, UNLV
West Coast (2): St. Mary's, Gonzaga

One-Bid Conferences (20): America East (UMBC); Atlantic Sun (Belmont); Big Sky (Portland State); Big South (UNC-Asheville); Big West (CS-Northridge); Colonial (VCU); Horizon (Butler); Ivy (Cornell); MAC (Kent State); MAAC (Siena); MEAC (Morgan State); Northeast (Robert Morris); Ohio Valley (Austin Peay); Patriot (American); Southern (Davidson); Southland (Lamar); Summit (Oral Roberts); Sun Belt (South Alabama); SWAC (Alabama State); WAC (Boise State)

Last Four In: Southern Illinois, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Maryland
Last Four Out: New Mexico, Saint Joseph’s, Syracuse, Kentucky
Next Four Out: Mississippi, Florida, Ohio State, Dayton

Key Games this Week

Pittsburgh at West Virginia (Monday): The Backyard Brawl will have added importance tonight, as WVU could get closer to an NCAA bid with a win.
Texas Tech at Kansas (Monday): Fresh off their home victory over Texas, the Red Raiders are trying to get into the at-large picture with another huge win.
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech (Tuesday): The past couple of weeks, Wake Forest was the ACC team du jour; this week, it’s Tech and its 8-6 conf. record.
Purdue at Ohio State (Tuesday): If Ohio State wants to get back into contention for an at-large bid, it absolutely needs beat the Boilermakers.
UNLV at New Mexico (Tuesday): New Mexico has made a nice run lately to get into the bubble picture, and a win here could be that next step they need to take.
Arkansas at Mississippi (Tuesday): Look who’s back in the at-large mix? Despite a 5-9 SEC record, the Rebels could make a move with a win here.
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Wednesday): It will be interesting to see how the Sooners play without Blake Griffin, while OSU has won five in a row.
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt (Wednesday): Two of the best teams in the SEC will go at it. Jamont Gordon and Shan Foster are both all-conference players.
Tennessee at Florida (Wednesday): Can the Gators salvage their fading at-large hopes with a win over the Vols? Tennessee is still fighting for a No. 1 seed.
Texas A&M at Baylor (Wednesday): Two of the seemingly endless number of Big 12 teams on the bubble. It’s also a rematch of that five-OT classic from earlier this year.
Arizona State at Oregon (Thursday): Huge bubble game in the Pac-10. Arizona State beat USC over the weekend, while the Ducks defeated Oregon State.
Xavier at Saint Joseph’s (Thursday): Even though St. Joe’s has lost five of seven, it is still in the mix for an at-large bid. A win here would do wonders.
UCSB at CSU-Northridge (Thursday): The Big West always seems competitive at the top; this year is no different. Four teams are separated by 1.5 games.
Stanford at UCLA (Thursday): The Pac-10 title comes down to the final week, as two top-10 teams battle it out. UCLA won the first meeting on the road.