JeffDBracket's Bracketology - Version 3.0 - 12/07/10

It is time for the third JeffDBracket's Bracketology by @JeffDLowe of the year. One week ago we began to wonder if some of these teams were for real or not. We knew that conference play would be starting soon, so it meant that schools had some final chances to impress voters with their out of conference play. Some schools have stunned people so far (Cleveland State and Central Florida), some teams have racked up tough wins to further prove they are for real (San Diego State) and other schools have suffered head scratching losses (Florida, Virginia Tech and Texas). So far a college basktball fan would have to admit the level of play has lacked greatly. The Big East is showing superior dominance in terms of overall conference power (yeah I know you probably think they're overrated - however, in terms of top to bottom the Big East is the best conference, especially right now). Some might argue though that the Big Ten is just as powerful. After those two conferences the only conference that has been impressive is the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State leads that charge, followed by a Nevada-Las Vegas team that bathes in tournament experience under Lon Kruger, Jimmer Fridette and Brigham Young and the Steve Lavin led New Mexico Lobos. Oh I also should probably mention that Duke is pretty good. However, even they looked poor at times against Butler, but thanks to two very unfortunate injuries and one foul issue with Butler's top three players, Duke was able to cover up their mess in the end. Basically what has become clear, is that this is a very equal season of college basketball and could spell for a balanced and exciting NCAA Tournament.

By the way, the son of "His Airness" is beginning to make a name for himself in Orlando, Florida right now. Stephen Curry, George Mason and Butler are fun and all, but imagine an NCAA Tournament Cinderella run led by the son of the greatest basketball player of all time? Fun to think about.

Who made the bracket:

American East - Vermont

Atlantic Coast - Boston College, Duke*, Florida State, North Carolina

Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville

Atlantic 10 - Temple, Dayton, Richmond*, Xavier

Big East - Pittsburgh*, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John's, Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova

Big Sky - Northern Arizona

Big South - Coastal Carolina

Big Ten - Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State*, Purdue, Wisconsin

Big XII - Kansas State*, Baylor, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M

Big West - California-Santa Barbara

Colonial - Old Dominion*

Conference USA - Memphis*, Central Florida

Horizon - Butler*, Cleveland State

Ivy - Harvard

Metro Atlantic - Fairfield

Mid-American - Kent State

Mid-Eastern - Hampton

Missouri Valley - Wichita State

Mountain West - San Diego State*, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Nevada-Las Vegas

Northeast - Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pacific-10 - Arizona, California-Berkley, Washington*

Patriot - American

Southeastern - Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee*, Vanderbilt

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Stephen F. Austin

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

Souhtwestern - Alabama A&M

Western (WAC) - Utah State

West Coast - Gonzaga*, St. Mary's

* - Automatic Bid

Italic - New Addition


The rest of the bracket is after the jump

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Conference Bids

Big East - 11

Big Ten - 7

Big XII - 5

Atlantic Coast - 4

Southeastern - 4

Atlantic Ten - 4

Mountain West - 4

Pacific-10 - 3

West Coast - 2

Colonial Athletic - 2

Conference USA - 2
Horizon League - 2

Missouri Valley - 1

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Bracket Notes

First Four In

 - St. Mary's

 - New Mexico

 - St. John's

 - Utah State

First Four Out

 - North Carolina State

 - South Carolina

 - Maryland

 - Virginia Tech

Next Four Out

 - Dayton

 - Missouri State

 - Mississippi State

 - Virginia

Also Considered

 - Creighton

 - Clemson

 - Indiana

 - Murray State

 - Georgia

 - Virginia Commonwealth

 - Iowa State

 - Oklahoma State

1st Round Games

 12 - California-Berkley vs. St. John's

 12 - Cleveland State vs. St. Mary's

 16 - Quinnipiac vs. Jacksonville

 16 - Vermont vs. Alabama A&M

New Additions (Power Conferences)

 - Marquette

 - Central Florida

 - Texas A&M

 - California-Berkley

 - Cleveland State

 - Morehead State

Dropped Out (Power Conferences

 - Virginia Commonwealth

 - Virginia Tech

 - Dayton

 - Murray State

 - Mississippi State

 - Iowa State

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NCAA Tournament Seeding

#1 Seeds -

- Duke, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas State

#2 Seeds -

- Michigan State, Kansas, Connecticut, Georgetown

#3 Seeds -

- Syracuse, San Diego State, Villanova, Tennessee

#4 Seeds -

- Illinois, Nevada-Las Vegas, Missouri, Baylor

#5 Seeds -

- Minnesota, Kentucky, Purdue, Notre Dame

#6 Seeds -

- Memphis, Washington, Florida, Texas

#7 Seeds -

- Vanderbilt, Butler, Wisconsin, Brigham Young

#8 Seeds -

- Old Dominion, West Virginia, Arizona, Richmond

#9 Seeds -

- Louisville, Gonzaga, Wichita State, North Carolina

#10 Seeds -

- Cincinnati, Florida State, Marquette, Central Florida

#11 Seeds -

- Temple, Texas A&M, Xavier, Northwestern

#12 Seeds -

- California-Berkley vs. St. John's, Cleveland State vs. St. Mary's, Boston College, Utah State

#13 Seeds -

- New Mexico, Morehead State, Wofford, Oakland

#14 Seeds -

- Kent State, Northern Arizona, Harvard, California-Santa Barbara

#15 Seeds -

- Stephen F. Austin, American, North Texas, Hampton

#16 Seeds -

- Quinnipiac vs. Jacksonville, Vermont vs. Alabama A&M, Iona, Coastal Carolina

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The Bracket

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Contact on Twitter: @JeffDLowe or E-Mail: JeffDBrackets@gmail.com