Bracketology: Memphis basketball's NCAA Tournament chances 2 weeks from Selection Sunday
The window of opportunity leading up to Selection Sunday is dwindling.
NCAA Tournament hopefuls are running out of time to prove they belong in the field of 68. But Memphis basketball appears to have all but set its March Madness prospects in stone. Last week, the majority of bracketologists had the Tigers (22-7, 12-4 AAC) plopped right on the meaty part of the bubble. One week and two more wins later, Penny Hardaway's team seems to have only solidified its standing.
According to projections tracked daily by BracketMatrix.com, Memphis was included on all 97 brackets updated after Monday's games. The Tigers, who defeated Cincinnati 76-73 Sunday at FedExForum, appear on one bracket as high as a 7-seed and on one bracket as low as a 12-seed. Eight brackets have Memphis in as a 9-seed, while the rest have it as either a 10- or 11-seed.
Based on the average of the most up-to-date estimates, Memphis would be an 11 seed. This time last year, Memphis was on 70 out of 115 brackets, per Bracket Matrix.
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Memphis came into Monday ranked No. 38 in the NET. It is 2-3 in Quad 1 games and 7-3 in Quad 2 games. The team has two games left in the regular season: at SMU (8 p.m., Thursday, ESPN2) and home versus No. 1 Houston (11 a.m., Sunday, CBS).
Hardaway did not hesitate when asked if the Tigers had done enough to warrant an at-large selection.
"Absolutely. Our resume is good enough to be in," he said. "I mean, I’m looking around the country and, you know, I feel like with what we’ve done, it’s not even close."
Here is a cross section of where the Tigers stand in the eyes of a variety of bracketologists:
ESPN (Joe Lunardi)
Lunardi has the Tigers slotted as the first team under the "last four byes" heading − eight spots away from falling out of the field. He's got Memphis as a 10 seed versus Providence in Denver.
CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)
Palm updated his bracket Tuesday morning. He kept the Tigers as a 10 seed. His bracket has Memphis facing Maryland in Columbus, Ohio, with Marquette and Eastern Washington the other two teams in that quadrant.
Fox Sports (Mike DeCourcy)
DeCourcy's latest update came Tuesday morning and has the Tigers in as a 10 seed versus Creighton.
USA TODAY Sports (Shelby Mast)
Mast's most recent bracketology has Memphis as the lowest 10 seed (a two-spot bump from Monday). His prediction on Tuesday is the Tigers will match up with Duke in Sacramento, with UCLA and UNC-Asheville rounding out that part of the bracket.
Field of 68
Memphis is in as a 10 seed facing Duke, alongside Texas and Kennesaw State.
Bracketville (Dave Ommen)
Ommen, Bracket Matrix's only two-time "Bracket Project" champion, put Memphis in as an 11 seed on his Monday morning bracket. Ommen has the Tigers as the next-to-last team under his "last four byes" heading. He projects Memphis to face Iowa State in Greensboro, N.C., alongside the matchup of Indiana and Colgate.
Crazy Sports Dude blog
The Crazy Sports Dude blog has the most accurate five-bracketology average out of all brackets tracked by Bracket Matrix. Prior to Sunday's win over Cincinnati, Crazy Sports Dude had Memphis as the top 11-seed, facing TCU in Greensboro alongside Virginia and Yale.
1-3-1 Sports
1-3-1 Sports' Monday projection has the Tigers in as the top 11 seed. 1-3-1 Sports has been the sixth-most accurate five-year bracketology average among all brackets tracked by Bracket Matrix.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Bracketology: Memphis basketball's NCAA Tournament outlook
