South
1. Auburn vs. 16. Holy Cross/CCSU
8. Pittsburgh vs. 9. Texas Tech
5. Mississippi State vs. 12. Samford
4. Purdue vs. 13. McNeese
6. West Virginiavs. 11. New Mexico/Arkansas
3. Texas A&M vs. 14. High Point
7. Georgia vs. 10. North Carolina
2. Kansas vs. 15. Norfolk State
West
1. Alabama vs. 16. Southern/Morehead State
8. UCLA vs. 9. Clemson
5. Gonzaga vs. 12. UC Irvine
4. Illinois vs. 13. Northern Colorado
6. Utah State vs. 11. St. Mary’s
3. Oregon vs. 14. Grand Canyon
7. Oklahoma vs. 10. San Diego State
2. Marquette vs. 15. New Mexico State
Midwest
1. Iowa State vs. 16. Omaha
8. Louisville vs. 9. Nebraska
5. Memphisvs. 12. Drake
4. Kentucky vs. 13. South Alabama
6. Wisconsin vs. 11. Iowa/Creighton
3. Houston vs. 14. Akron
7. Baylor vs. 10. Ohio State
2. Florida vs. 15. Cleveland State
East
1. Duke vs. 16. Bryant
8. Maryland vs. 9. St John’s
5. Ole Miss vs. 12. Princeton
4. Michigan vs. 13. Lipscomb
6. UConn vs. 11. Dayton
3. Michigan State vs. 14. Marist
7. Arizona vs. 10. Missouri
2. Tennessee vs. 15. William & Mary
Last Four in:
New Mexico, Iowa, Creighton and Arkansas
First Four Out:
Arizona State, Indiana, Vanderbilt and UCF
The loss to Pacific was brutal for Washington State.
The Cougars were a ten-seed before that loss and now are under the group of teams in consideration for the tournament. It is a hard lesson to learn that every game has more value than it did when WSU was in the Pac-12. Mid-major teams have less leeway than power conference teams due to the level of competition they play night-in and night-out.
That means WSU does not have room for anymore quad three or four losses and need to pick up a couple of wins against San Francisco, Santa Clara, Oregon State, St Mary’s and Gonzaga to have a chance.