Week of 2/2 Bracketology

If we win @ MSU and beat UM at home, we'll be in a really, really good spot. I'll say it again, those two West Coast games are just hanging out there for potential disaster. Actually, we have more than a few lane minds ahead, outside of the obvious ones. Wisconsin and Indiana at home....have to play well.

To we have an estimated date on a Kylan return? I'm pretty sure it's a TBD, but wasn't sure if they had an aggressive goal in place.

sacraig said:

Right, but if we win out and Michigan only loses that one to us, then they have a better record with their only other lose being Wisconsin. Our losses would be better but there would be more of them. So I'll just root for Michigan to drop one to another middling team to make it an easy call.

Click to expand...

may I suggest rooting for Michigan to lose every game from now until eternity as an alternative.

EmeraldCityIllini said:

This is great! Thank you.

Yes you’re correct, basically wanted to eliminate the first round results. I’m curious how that ranks to first seeds in the round of 32.

My overall point. When it comes to second weekends, being a first or second seeds seems like you get similar caliber opponents.

The real advantage in a 1 versus 2 seed seems to flip flop by round, which makes sense. The caliber of teams within the top 10-15 in the sport typically are wider gaps, than the caliber of teams in the 5-12 seed range. I remember the Loyola matchup, where I wasn’t overly jazzed up to play Georgia Tech if they won that game either.

The one thing I like a lot about a 3 seed is getting both the 2 seed, and the higher odds of the 6 being upset. Might be a ramble haha. Just continue to get better and roll

Click to expand...

We are lucky to have @Fighter of the Nightman giving us all sorts of data. His numbers are pretty close to this website, which happens to be made by a UIUC professor!

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

mysterio2525 said:

may I suggest rooting for Michigan to lose every game from now until eternity as an alternative.

Click to expand...

I generally take this approach, but I am trying to be realistic here.

Piotyr said:

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

Click to expand...

Lunardi could never

Piotyr said:

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

Click to expand...

Thanks.

For your next trick can you give us the dates, times, networks, announcers, and referees?

SeattleSlim said:

Thanks.

For your next trick can you give us the dates, times, networks, announcers, and referees?

Click to expand...

They don't pay me enough for that.

Piotyr said:

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

Click to expand...

Any chance you could apply this to lottery numbers...? DM me...
.

Piotyr said:

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

Click to expand...

Great stuff!

I can go for that, unless they are playing Indiana.

^^ Great stuff @Piotyr! I know it is down to conference-based logistics, but it just feels so unfair and wrong that a #3 seed Nebraska or #4 seed Kansas could get the Chicago Regional while a #2 seed Illinois gets shipped away, haha.

Piotyr said:

6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.

Click to expand...

sacraig said:

Right, but if we win out and Michigan only loses that one to us, then they have a better record with their only other lose being Wisconsin. Our losses would be better but there would be more of them. So I'll just root for Michigan to drop one to another middling team to make it an easy call.

Click to expand...

If we win out and win the BIG outright, I am convinced we would get the 1Seed over Michigan even though we have more losses..Michigan may still get a#1 seed as the 2nd BIG team with a#1 but the winner of the BIG would get priority

6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.

@Piotyr ... too soon

Edit, @socalini beat me!

Piotyr said:

As a demonstration of how a bracket is actually put together, I'll use the metrics bracket I showed yesterday to build a legal bracket.

Here is the S-curve:

1. Michigan
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Iowa St.
5. Houston
6. Illinois
7. UConn
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Gonzaga
11. Michigan St.
12. Nebraska
13. Vanderbilt
14. Kansas
15. Louisville
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. BYU
19. Texas Tech
20. Iowa
21. Alabama
22. Saint Louis
23. St. John's
24. Arkansas
25. NC State
26. North Carolina
27. Auburn
28. Indiana
29. Clemson
30. Utah St.
31. Texas A&M
32. Villanova
33. Kentucky
34. SMU
35. St. Mary's
36. Wisconsin
37. Georgia
38. Santa Clara
39. Miami FL
40. UCLA
41. New Mexico
42. UCF*
43. USC*
44. Tulsa
45. Belmont
46. Oklahoma St.*
47. McNeese
48. Yale
49. Miami OH
50. George Mason*
51. Liberty
52. Utah Valley
53. Hawaii
54. High Point
55. UNCW
56. St. Thomas
57. ETSU
58. Oakland
59. Marshall
60. Portland St.
61. Austin Peay
62. Marist
63. UT Martin
64. Navy
65. LIU*
66. Vermont*
67. Bethune-Cookman*
68. Howard*

So right away we know the play-in games are UCF-USC, Oklahoma State-George Mason, LIU-Vermont, and Bethune Cookman-Howard.

Next, we assign regions from teams 1-4. Michigan is 1, their region will be Midwest (Chicago). Arizona at 2 will get the West region (Las Vegas). Duke at 3 gets the East region (DC), and Iowa State gets the South region (Houston), as that's what is left.

Next up is the pods for the first two rounds, assigned from teams 1 to 16. Half of the pods are Thursday-Saturday (TS) pods, half are Friday-Sunday (FS) pods. BYU must be in a TS pod (and a TS region! which means they have to be in the West or South regional, luck for them). Play-ins will be split, as Tuesday play-ins will go to a TS pod and Wednesday play-ins will go to a FS pod. It's also a rule you can't play at home, which this year would make it so San Diego State can't play in San DIego, but that's the only specific one here for an at-large quality team (hosts are Niagara, Furman, Oregon State, South Florida, St. Joseph's and San Diego State. Oklahoma City is in the NBA stadium, and St. Louis is the Enterprise Center). Here are the sites and dates:

TS Buffalo, NY
TS Greenville, SC
TS Oklahoma City, OK
TS Portland, OR
FS Tampa, FL
FS Philadelphia, PA
FS San Diego, CA
FS St. Louis, MO

1. Michigan would get Buffalo, NY and the Tuesday play-in winner of Bethune-Cookman and Howard.
2. Arizona would get San Diego, CA and the Wednesday play-in winner of LIU and Vermont.
3. Duke would get Greenville, SC and play 64 Navy in the first round.
4. Iowa State would get St. Louis, MO and play 63 UT Martin in the first round.
5. Houston would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 62 Marist in the first round.
6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.
7. UConn would get Philadelphia, PA and play 60 Portland State in the first round.
8. Purdue would get Buffalo, NY (80 miles closer than Greenville) and play 59 Marshall in the first round.
9. Florida would get Tampa, FL and play 58 Oakland in the first round.
10. Gonzaga would get Portland, OR and play 57 ETSU in the first round.
11. Michigan State would get Philadelphia, PA and play 56 St. Thomas in the first round.
12. Nebraska would get Oklahoma City, OK and play 55 UNC Wilmington in the first round.
13. Vanderbilt would get Greenville, SC and play 54 High Point in the first round.
14. Kansas would get Tampa FL (somehow the closest option left) and would play 53 Hawaii in the first round, but due to travel concerns and the fact that there's a San Diego pod game left, they'd probably play 52 Utah Valley.
15. Louisville would get San Diego, CA (it's that or Portland, guess which is closer) and play 53 Hawaii in the first round.
16. Virginia would get Portland, OR and play 51 Liberty in the first round.

Now that regions and pods are established, build a legal bracket for the top 4 seeds:

Midwest (FS-Chicago): (34)
TS-Buffalo, NY 1 (1) Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
FS-Philadelphia, PA 2 (7) UConn vs 15 Portland State
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 3 (12) Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
FS-Tampa, FL 4 (14) Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley

South (TS-Houston): (36)
FS-St. Louis, MO 1 (4) Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
FS-St. Louis, MO 2 (6) Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
TS-Portland, OR 3 (10) Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
TS-Portland, OR 4 (16) Virginia vs 13 Liberty

West (TS-Las Vegas): (34)
FS-San Diego, CA 1 (2) Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
TS-Buffalo, NY 2 (8) Purdue vs 15 Marshall
FS-Tampa, FL 3 (9) Florida vs 14 Oakland
FS-San Diego, CA 4 (15) Louisville vs 13 Hawaii

East (FS-Washington DC): (32)
TS-Greenville, SC 1 (3) Duke vs 16 Navy
TS-Oklahoma City, OK 2 (5) Houston vs 15 Marist
FS-Philadelphia, PA 3 (11) Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
TS-Greenville, SC 4 (13) Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point

Rules followed:
- The top 4 teams in each conference should be in separate regions if possible. (Houston and Illinois swapped, Purdue and UConn swapped, MSU gets the last region, Nebraska the 5th team, Duke-Louisville-Virginia in separate regions, Florida-Vandy in separate regions, Arizona-Iowa State-Houston-Kansas in separate regions)
- The combined sum of seeds should be as close as possible. 32-34-34-36 not bad.

Finally, fill in the rest of the bracket, adhering to the following rules:
- Avoid rematches in the first round.
- Avoid teams that played each other twice in the regular season in the second round (like Illinois and Nebraska, for example)
- Avoid teams that played each other thrice in the regular season in the third round (so like if Illinois/Nebraska played again in the BTT, they would avoid each other in the NCAAs until the E8)
- BYU can't be in a FS region or a FS pod.
- For the other two play-in games, make sure one ends up in a TS pod and one in a FS pod.

First Four - Dayton, OH
Tuesday
16 Bethune-Cookman vs 16 Howard
11 UCF vs 11 USC
Wednesday
16 LIU vs 16 Vermont
12 Oklahoma State vs 12 George Mason

First Round
Midwest (FS-Chicago):
TS-Buffalo, NY
1 Michigan vs 16b Bethune-Cookman/Howard
8 Villanova vs 9 Kentucky
FS-Tampa, FL
4 Kansas vs 13 Utah Valley
5 Tennessee vs 12 Oklahoma State/George Mason
FS-Philadelphia, PA
2 UConn vs 15 Portland State
7 NC State vs 10 UCLA
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
3 Nebraska vs 14 UNC Wilmington
6 Arkansas vs 11 UCF/USC

South (TS-Houston):
FS-St. Louis, MO
1 Iowa State vs 16 UT Martin
8 Clemson vs 9 Wisconsin
TS-Portland, OR
4 Virginia vs 13 Liberty
5 BYU vs 12 Miami OH
FS-St. Louis, MO
2 Illinois vs 15 Austin Peay
7 North Carolina vs 10 Georgia
TS-Portland, OR
3 Gonzaga vs 14 ETSU
6 Alabama vs 11 Belmont

West (TS-Las Vegas):
FS-San Diego, CA
1 Arizona vs 16a LIU/Vermont
8 Texas A&M vs 9 SMU
FS-San Diego, CA
4 Louisville vs 13 Hawaii
5 Texas Tech vs 12 Yale
TS-Buffalo, NY
2 Purdue vs 15 Marshall
7 Auburn vs 10 Miami FL
FS-Tampa, FL
3 Florida vs 14 Oakland
6 St. John's vs 11 New Mexico

East (FS-Washington DC):
TS-Greenville, SC
1 Duke vs 16 Navy
8 Utah State vs 9 St. Mary's
TS-Greenville, SC
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 High Point
5 Iowa vs 12 McNeese
TS-Oklahoma City, OK
2 Houston vs 15 Marist
7 Indiana vs 10 Santa Clara
FS-Philadelphia, PA
3 Michigan State vs 14 St. Thomas
6 Saint Louis vs 11 Tulsa

Click to expand...

We owe Austin Peay a severe beatdown from 1987. The Snake played all 40 minutes and scored 17 on 14 shots. We missed 5 FTs and we could not stop their best two players. Thank God Vitale is too old to stand on his head this time around. What is minting off we beat APU by 38 points in the Non-Com. . What was frustrating about that year’s bracket was that if we would have won that game, we would have ran into a very hot Providence team coached by Rick Pitino and best player Billy Donovan. That bracket we set up for us as after beating Providence, we would have faced number 2 Alabama then money 1 Goergetown with Syracuse waiting for us in the Semi’s and the eventual winner Indiana and Keith Smart waiting in the final.

RollChief said:

I was reading about this yesterday, and apparently, the prices will come down as the finalists shake out, if you can stomach planning a whole trip without getting the tickets until the last minute.

Would appreciate any corroboration here, I will absolutely be going to Indianapolis if Illinois makes a final four so would be good to know when to buy.

Click to expand...

For the championship game on Monday - this is absolutely true - you have 2 fan bases who's team lost in the FF and are looking to sell tickets after the game, so don't buy tix for Monday ahead of time if you can avoid it. The UNC-ILL game in '05 was a little exception to this given both fan bases travelled really well that year, but it was still cheaper day of.

For the FF tickets, it really depends on which teams make it - if Illinois, Purdue and Michigan all make it for example - tix will be insanely high and you would have been better off getting them early. If it's either smaller schools or far away schools, then what you said it accurate - some people buy tickets in advance hoping their team makes it, so more becomes available once the FF is known and prices come down - plus a ton of scalpers scoop up all the tix in advance, post them for crazy prices on stubhub, but on Thursday/Friday online or even Saturday of outside the game you find both scalpers and just individuals looking to unload tickets at much more reasonable prices.

Battle89 said:

6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.

@Piotyr ... too soon

Edit, @socalini beat me!

Click to expand...

I highly doubt we will see upsets now as in the past as all the good players on mid major teams have transferred to the big schools because of NIL....Austin Peay beat Illinois again??? Fogetaboutit.....

Battle89 said:

6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.

@Piotyr ... too soon

Edit, @socalini beat me!

Click to expand...

This is another example of "The committee defniitely doesn't go out of their way to set up specific matchups, but the fanbase will create drama out of potential matchups anyway". The numbers lined it up, and people have PTSD from 1987.

SeattleSlim said:

Thanks.

For your next trick can you give us the dates, times, networks, announcers, and referees?

Click to expand...

Could you at least develop an algorithm that would remove all possibility of ever having to listen to Avery Johnson announce another March Madness Illini game?

rdk573 said:

I highly doubt we will see upsets now as in the past as all the good players on mid major teams have transferred to the big schools because of NIL....Austin Peay beat Illinois again??? Fogetaboutit.....

Click to expand...

I mean, you are probably right as far as long-term trends. However, in the last three NCAA Tournaments during the NIL Era, we have seen...

First Round
#16 FDU over #1 Purdue (2023)
#15 Princeton over #2 Arizona (2023)
#14 Oakland over #3 Kentucky (2024)
#13 Furman over #4 Virginia (2023)
#13 Yale over #4 Auburn (2024)
#12 James Madison over #5 Wisconsin (2024)
#12 McNeese over #5 Clemson (2025)

Second Round
#15 Princeton over #7 Missouri (2023)

Sweet Sixteen
#9 FAU over #4 Tennessee (2023)

Elite Eight
#9 FAU over #3 Kansas State

So I definitely don't think upsets are going anywhere, even if we might start to see way fewer longer Cinderella runs.

Battle89 said:

6. Illinois would get St. Louis, MO and play 61 Austin Peay in the first round.

@Piotyr ... too soon

Edit, @socalini beat me!

Click to expand...

Look at it this way, it'd be a chance to exorcise old demons. Take out Austin Peay in round 1 & then maybe dump Scum in elite eight or final 4. Could exorcise most all our 80's era demons in one fell swoop. Maybe we could dispatch Kentucky as well to pay em back for the 1984 regional final rape at Rupp

rdk573 said:

I highly doubt we will see upsets now as in the past as all the good players on mid major teams have transferred to the big schools because of NIL....Austin Peay beat Illinois again??? Fogetaboutit.....

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But each year, there's a new crop of future high-major transfers still playing at mid-major schools. Upsets will still happen.

Fighter of the Nightman said:

I mean, you are probably right as far as long-term trends. However, in the last three NCAA Tournaments during the NIL Era, we have seen...

First Round
#16 FDU over #1 Purdue (2023)
#15 Princeton over #2 Arizona (2023)
#14 Oakland over #3 Kentucky (2024)
#13 Furman over #4 Virginia (2023)
#13 Yale over #4 Auburn (2024)
#12 James Madison over #5 Wisconsin (2024)
#12 McNeese over #5 Clemson (2025)

Second Round
#15 Princeton over #7 Missouri (2023)

Sweet Sixteen
#9 FAU over #4 Tennessee (2023)

Elite Eight
#9 FAU over #3 Kansas State

So I definitely don't think upsets are going anywhere, even if we might start to see way fewer longer Cinderella runs.

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I don't think NIL was big in 2023 (especially as it is now) so I would not include 2023 in your analysis, but 2024 and 2025, I grant you your point..

Curbelo Fanboy said:

Look at it this way, it'd be a chance to exorcise old demons. Take out Austin Peay in round 1 & then maybe dump Scum in elite eight or final 4. Could exorcise most all our 80's era demons in one fell swoop. Maybe we could dispatch Kentucky as well to pay em back for the 1984 regional final rape at Rupp

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Loyola would be the cherry on top...!