Bracketology for March 11, 2020

Creating a Coronavirus Travel Friendly Bracket within the Bracket Rules is Challenging.

This was the toughest bracket to create not because of the bubble teams, there has been a clear cut-off here and if San Francisco had defeated Gonzaga and then went on to win the West Coast Conference Tournament, it would have been an easier process. However, the objective is to try to ensure proper seeding zones, bracketing rules regarding the conferences and host schools, and be geographically friendly to as many schools as possible.

The highlights of this bracket:

• Seed numbers matter less if the objective is to reduce travel in this current environment.
• USC would be a #10 seed ordinarily, but giving them the #12 seed so that they have a shorter trip was the priority.
• Akron is on many brackets a #13 seed, but they are an #11 seed so that they can play in Cleveland.
• Florida stays in the East and does not get to play in Tampa, but if they are bounced out of the SEC Tournament by Georgia, this could certainly end up being arranged without any cringing.
• Liberty would ordinarily be a #12 seed, but sending them to Greensboro for the shorter travel time means pushing them up to a #11 seed.
• Utah State's strong resume of accomplishments earns them a shorter trip to a tournament location and they will travel to Spokane as a #9 seed.
• Last Four In: Stanford, Richmond, Indiana, Cincinnati
• First Three Out: Northern Iowa, Mississippi State, North Carolina State
• More guidance from the NCAA as far as their plans and what they want to do as it relates to the coronavirus crisis/panic will cause drastic changes to this bracket going forward. It is possible that this bracket and the NCAA Tournament Bracket can look really screwy and the seed lines could mean very little. This is unprecedented territory, this is not a typical NCAA Tournament anymore.

	Conference			Conference
SOUTH – Houston			MIDWEST – Indianapolis
St. Louis			Omaha
1) Baylor	Big XII		1) Kansas	Big XII
16) Northern Kentucky	Horizon		16) Prairie View A&M/NC Central	SWAC/MEAC
8) LSU	SEC		8) Colorado	Pac-12
9) Providence	Big East		9) Saint Mary's	WCC
Tampa			Omaha
5) Butler	Big East		5) Wisconsin	Big Ten
12) Indiana/Cincinnati	Big Ten/American		12) Richmond/Stanford	A-10/Pac-12
4) Kentucky	SEC		4) Louisville	ACC
13) North Texas	C-USA		13) Stephen F. Austin	Southland
Greensboro			Cleveland
6) Auburn	SEC		6) Houston	American
11) ETSU	SoCon		11) Akron	MAC
3) Maryland	Big Ten		3) Michigan St.	Big Ten
14) Belmont	OVC		14) North Dakota St.	Summit
Tampa			St. Louis
7) Illinois	Big Ten		7) Iowa	Big Ten
10) Oklahoma	Big XII		10) Wichita St.	American
2) Florida St.	ACC		2) Creighton	Big East
15) Winthrop	Big South		15) Little Rock	Sun Belt
EAST – New York			WEST – Los Angeles
Cleveland			Spokane
1) Dayton	A-10		1) Gonzaga	WCC
16) Robert Morris/Siena	NEC/MAAC		16) Eastern Washington	Big Sky
8) Florida	SEC		8) Marquette	Big East
9) Rutgers	Big Ten		9) Utah St.	MWC
Albany			Sacramento
5) Ohio St.	Big Ten		5) West Virginia	Big XII
12) Yale	Ivy		12) USC	Pac-12
4) Seton Hall	Big East		4) BYU	WCC
13) Vermont	America East		13) New Mexico St.	WAC
Greensboro			Spokane
6) Michigan	Big Ten		6) Penn St.	Big Ten
11) Liberty	A-Sun		11) Texas Tech	Big XII
3) Duke	ACC		3) Oregon	Pac-12
14) Hofstra	Colonial		14) Bradley	MVC
Albany			Sacramento
7) Virginia	ACC		7) Arizona	Pac-12
10) Arizona St.	Pac-12		10) Xavier	Big East
2) Villanova	Big East		2) San Diego St.	MWC
15) Colgate	Patriot		15) UC Irvine	Big West