1/18 Bracket Update

Here is today's updated bracket:

SEEDS
1.) Kentucky, Texas, Kansas, Villanova
2.) Syracuse, Duke, Michigan St., West Virginia
3.) Purdue, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Kansas St.
4.) Georgetown, Butler, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt
5.) Clemson, Temple, Tennessee, Ohio St.
6.) BYU, Baylor, Xavier, Missouri
7.) Georgia Tech, UCONN, Ole Miss, North Carolina
8.) Northern Iowa, Mississippi St., Wake Forest, Florida St.
9.) California, Oklahoma St., New Mexico, Memphis
10.) St. Mary's, Arizona St., Illinois, Washington
11.) William & Mary, Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Western Kentucky
12.) UNLV, Old Dominion, Texas A&M, Dayton
13.) Louisiana Tech, Cornell, Siena, Buffalo
14.) Weber St., Radford, Murray St., College of Charleston
15.) Oakland, Sam Houston St., Pacific, Vermont
16.) Morgan St., Lafayette, Campbell, Jackson St., Quinnipiac

(Opening Round Game: Jackson St. vs. Quinnipiac)

Last Four In: UNLV, Old Dominion, Texas A&M, Dayton
First Four Out: Louisville, Northwestern, Maryland, Richmond

Added to Bracket: Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Washington, Buffalo, Weber St., Sam Houston St., Jackson St., Quinnipiac
Dropped out: Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Wichita St., Kent St., Northern Colorado, UT-San Antonio, Prairie View A&M, Long Island

Bids by Conference
America East - Vermont
Atlantic 10 (4) - Temple, Xavier, Dayton, Rhode Island
ACC (6) - Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida St.
Atlantic Sun - Campbell
Big 12 (7) - Texas, Kansas, Kansas St., Oklahoma St., Missouri, Baylor, Texas A&M
Big East (7) - Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia, UCONN, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati
Big Sky- Weber St.
Big South - Radford
Big Ten (5) - Michigan St., Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio St., Illinois
Big West - Pacific
Colonial (2) - William & Mary, Old Dominion
Conference- USA - Memphis
Horizon - Butler
Ivy - Cornell
MAAC -Siena
MAC - Buffalo
MEAC - Morgan St.
MVC - Northern Iowa
Mountain West (3) - BYU, New Mexico, UNLV
Northeast - Quinnipiac
OVC - Murray St.
Pac 10 (3) - California, Arizona St., Washington
Patriot - Lafayette
SEC (5) - Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Mississippi St.
SoCon - College of Charleston
Southland - Sam Houston St.
SWAC - Jackson St.
Summit - Oakland
Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
WCC (2) - Gonzaga, St. Mary's
WAC - Louisiana Tech

Here are also ten games this week that feature teams fighting to get into the bracket and teams fighting for better seeding:

1.) Texas at Kansas St: Big game between two teams that look to be firmly in the tournament field. Texas has struggled a bit in its two games as the #1 team and a road game at Kansas St. is not easy. Texas will look to keep hold of a #1 seed while Kansas St. will look to possibly move up to a 2 seed.

2.) Purdue at Illinois: Two teams coming off of tough conference losses over the weekend. Purdue got off to a hot start but has dropped three in a row. They really need a win to shift momentum as conference play gets going. Illinois could really use a win to stay off the bubble.

3.) Northwestern at Ohio St: Both teams are coming off of big wins over the weekend. Northwestern scored a home win over Purdue while Ohio St. defeated Wisconsin in Columbus. Northwestern needs a win to get into the bracket while Ohio St. is looking to move up within the bracket.

4.) Oklahoma at Texas A&M: Two teams going in opposite directions. Oklahoma has won a few games since Big 12 play has began while Texas A&M has dropped a few. Oklahoma needs a win to possibly get into the bracket while Texas A&M needs a win to stay in.

5.) Northern Iowa at Wichita St: Big game in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita St. dropped out of the bracket this week but could get back in with a win over Northern Iowa, which could still get an at-large bid even if they do not win the conference.

6.) Baylor at Kansas: Another game between two teams that figure to be in the tournament. Kansas is looking to hold on to a 1 seed while a quality road win for Baylor could move them up a few seeds.

7.) Wake Forest at North Carolina: North Carolina is really struggling. Another loss over the weekend has put the Tar Heels in a tough spot and it doesn't get any easier with Wake Forest coming into Chapel Hill. North Carolina doesn't want to fallto 1-3 in the ACC while Wake needs a win after falling at Duke last night.

8.) Michigan at Wisconsin: Michigan scored a big win over the weekend as they defeated UCONN yesterday in Ann Arbor. It was a win they needed over a quality opponent and moved them close to the bubble discussion. A win here would be huge for the Wolverines.

9.) Georgetown at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh was lucky to escape with a win over Louisville this weekend while Georgetown fell at Villanova. Both teams are just looking for a quality win over a top 20 RPI team to improve their resume.

10.) Xavier at Temple: A big game in the Atlantic 10 as the conference looks to get multiple bids. Both teams figure to be in the tournament and like the Georgetown/Pittsburgh game, this is a chance for a team to get a top 20 RPI win to improve their resume.