March Madness Bracket Breakdown: Gonzaga's Loss to BYU Shakes Up Tournament Field

The last week has provided some shuffling and a little more clarity at the top of the NCAA Tournament field, and lots of action near the bubble line. Some teams have made huge moves with big wins, while others have continued to flounder.

Texas, for example, has been on a steady slide where they have just been unable to get big wins against the other Big 12 teams likely in the tournament. Going only 2-11 against teams in the field could prove their undoing, and they likely need to win the last two games this week.

BYU, on the other hand, joined Oregon and NC State in adding huge recent wins. It was perhaps even bigger for BYU, since they have fewer conference opportunities and got a road win at a potential #1 seed. That win moves BYU into my projected field.

That loss at home, meanwhile, shot Gonzaga from a potential #1 seed after Wisconsin’s loss, to almost certainly on the 2-seed line. Further, the happenings out West, where Arizona also went on the road to Utah last night and won, could have big implications come bracketing time. Arizona shot back around Gonzaga, and will have preference for staying out West as a result.

Villanova, meanwhile, is the beneficiary of the Wisconsin loss at Maryland and Gonzaga’s loss, moving to the final #1 seed, ahead of Wisconsin and Arizona.

I’ll do a further bubble breakdown tomorrow, going into detail. For now, the following teams just missed the cut, in order: Texas A&M, Texas, Tulsa, Davidson, Illinois, Stanford, and Miami.