Fox Sports Bracket Predictions

Wednesday night we gave you a half-dozen games worth watching Thursday. We only hope we have as much success picking games in our tournament pool next week — or at least have as much excitement.

Here's a quick review:

Syracuse vs. Connecticut: We all know what's happened here by now. The Orange are now safely in the field, while UConn may lose its overall No. 1 spot depending on what Villanova and Duke do.


Temple vs. George Washington: The Atlantic 10 basically imploded Thursday — and probably cost the Colonials a top-four seeding.


Georgetown vs. Marquette: A solid, close game with the Hoyas winning and moving above Marquette in the Big East pecking order.


Wyoming vs. Air Force: On the bubble all season, Air Force is now off after losing to a team that came in with a six-game losing streak.


West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh: The tough late-season schedule takes its toll on West Virginia.


Oregon vs. Washington: Oregon finally realized expectations — even without its starting point guard.


So if you're looking for Friday's best games, here's a quick list:

Duke vs. Miami: Hurricanes aren't the usual pushover No. 8 team in the ACC.

Indiana vs Wisconsin: Will the Hoosiers' late-season run continue?


Syracuse vs. Georgetown: Classic Big East.


Houston vs. Memphis: Tigers have looked a little vulnerable lately and a No. 1 is at stake.


Both A-10 games: Winner gets the bid, even Fordham has a shot!


We'll be bringing you a new projected bracket each morning until the real one is picked late Sunday afternoon.


See here for more details on the rules of building a bracket.


Have a beef or a question? Send it here and we'll try to address and answer them.


Bracket projection as if the season ended after Thursday night's games.


New schools in (Thursday): Syracuse, Saint Joseph's.


Old schools out: Michigan, Florida State.



WASHINGTON D.C. REGION
Seed Team (Wednesday's rank) Comment
At Philadelphia

1. Connecticut (1) Second game in a row Huskies have looked a bit lazy.
16. Southern (PI)/ Belmont (PI) Belmont will be making tournament debut.

8. Wichita State (8) MVC regular–season title means Shockers can breathe easy.
9. Texas A&M (9) Need to beat Buffaloes to feel safe.

At Auburn Hills

4. Iowa (4) Has had trouble with Minnesota.
13. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (13) Pretty much locked in at this point.

5. Florida (5) Got closer to home in this projection.
12. Saint Joseph's (NS) A-10 tournament has simply imploded.

At Salt Lake City

2. Gonzaga (2) UNC close to passing Bulldogs.
15. Pacific (15) Knocked down a spot from early this week but still stays close to home.

7. Arkansas (7) Beat up on Bulldogs twice in four days.
10. California (10) Bears may have to watch out for forearm shivers.

At Greensboro

3. North Carolina (3) Could make an argument for a No. 2.
14. South Alabama (14) Made a statement by mauling Hilltoppers.

6. Nevada (6) All bubble teams — save Utah State rooting for Wolf Pack .
11. Cincinnati (11) Bearcats have to sweat it out for three more days.


OAKLAND REGION
Seed Team (LR) Comment
At Dallas

1. Memphis (1) Could still get passed by OSU or Illinois.
16. Monmouth (16) Hawks are capable — they did beat Southern Illinois.

8. Kentucky (8) Plays pretty well away from Rupp.
9. Syracuse (NS) Pretty marquee game for a first-rounder.

At Auburn Hills

4. Pittsburgh (5) Weak nonconference SOS could still hurt Panthers.
13. Kent State (13) Looking for three-peat against Ohio.

5. George Washington (4) Colonials not playing their best down stretch.
12. Hofstra (12) Gaudy record, recent big wins worthy of Pride.

At Dayton

2. Ohio State (2) If Buckeyes run table, No. 1 seed still likely.
15. Penn (15) Quakers need to rebound from losing to Princeton.

7. Marquette (6) Eagles still best of Big East newcomers
10. Northern Iowa (10) The one MVC team with huge non-conference wins.

At San Diego

3. UCLA (3) Howland returns to Big Sky roots with this matchup.
14. Montana (14) Grizzlies look to take out another Pac-10 foe.

6. Oklahoma (6) How is RPI so high (11) with only one win over top 46?
11. Bucknell (12) Wins over Orange, Saint Joseph's looking better.


MINNEAPOLIS REGION
Seed Team (LR) Comment
At Philadelphia

1. Villanova (1) Wildcats could be No. 1 overall with Big East tourney title.
16. Delaware State (16) Gave Blue Devils tough time in 2005.

8. Indiana (8) Winner of Friday's game will likely move up.
9. Southern Illinois (9) Sorry we doubted you, Salukis.

At Salt Lake City

4. Boston College (5) Now that Huskies lost, we'll bump up rising Eagles.
13. Winthrop (13) Making it's usual first-round appearance.

5. Washington (4) Suddenly ran out of steam in last 10 minutes
12. San Diego State (12) AFA, BYU losses nightmare scenario for MWC at-large hopes.

At Dallas

2. Texas (2) Got a bit of its swagger back.
15. Oral Roberts (15) Moved over here to stay closer to home.

7. North Carolina State (7) Hasn't won in almost three weeks!
10. UAB (10) Taking care of business so far.

At Jacksonville

3. LSU (3) Almost dropped one Saturday.
14. Murray State (14) Dominated Ohio Valley competition.

6. Michigan State (6) Beginning to right the ship?
11. Seton Hall (11) Wrong Pirate team showed up in MSG.



ATLANTA REGION
Seed Team (LR) Comment

At Greensboro

1. Duke (1) Time to prove Blue Devils aren't tired.
16. Albany (16) Tough introduction to NCAAs.

8. Wisconsin (8) Badgers tend to be slightly underseeded.
9. Alabama (9) Will swap places with Kentucky with a win over Wildcats.

At San Diego

4. Kansas (4) Are Jayhawks still miffed about Big 12 trophy?
13. Northwestern State (13) May get hurt by late Southland title game.

5. West Virginia (5) Could slide farther down with late-season fade.
12. Missouri State (12) Did well in conference, largely unknown outside of MVC

At Dayton

2. Illinois (2) A No. 1 is a stretch, but not a huge one.
15. Davidson (15) Expected to be here in preseason — finally came through

7. Arizona (7) Losing to Stanford wouldn't have killed Wildcats' chances.
10. UNC-Wilmington (10) Colonial still may have shot at three.

At Jacksonville

3. Tennessee (3) Defensive lapses cause for concern.
14. Iona (14) Had little trouble pounding St. Peter's.

6. Georgetown (7) Actually closing well other than South Florida loss.
11. Bradley (11) Late-season surge was just enough to get in.


The last schools in: Missouri State, Hofstra, Seton Hall, Cincinnati. Waiting to get in: George Mason, Creighton, Florida State, Michigan.

Some other notes — just for housekeeping:


Automatic bids from conferences are given to conference tournament champions (and Penn in the conference tournament-less Ivy) and the highest remaining seed if the conference tournament has not been completed.

Georgetown cannot play in Washington and San Diego State cannot play in San Diego because those sites are considered their home arenas and/or they are the host schools.


First- and second-round sites are not tied to specific regions — rather many teams, especially top-seeded ones, will play at a site relatively close to their campus because of the "pod" system.

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