NCAA Tournament projections: San Diego State among three Mountain West teams in South Region
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ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi updated his NCAA tournament projections on Tuesday morning as the final week of the college basketball regular season is here.
San Diego State continues to distance themselves from the last four teams in according to Lunardi. The Aztecs will return to the floor tonight in Las Vegas for a matchup against UNLV. They’ll head home after to host Nevada on Saturday night before returning to Las Vegas next week for the Mountain West Conference tournament.
Lunardi lists San Diego State as a 10-seed in the South Region, facing seven-seed Illinois in a first-round matchup. The other side of the quadrant features two-seed Iowa State and 15-seed Bryant. Those first two rounds would be played in Milwaukee.
Boise State continues to rise in recent weeks with significant wins over teams solidly in the tournament. Two weeks ago, the Broncos were not listed among Lunardi’s next four teams out. On Tuesday, Lunardi now has Boise State as the last team in the tournament, leapfrogging Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina in the process. The Broncos have taken down Utah State, New Mexico and Nevada with a huge matchup against Colorado State looming on Friday night in Boise.
Lunardi currently has Boise State playing Nebraska in a first four game in Dayton. The winner would then head to Providence to take on five-seed Clemson in the South Region.
Utah State is also projected to be in the South Region according to Lunardi. The Aggies have scuffled recently but appear to be solidly locked into the tournament. Utah State is projected as a nine-seed, taking on eight-seed Creighton in Lexington, Kentucky. The winner would likely see Auburn two days later.
New Mexico currently leads the Mountain West regular season standings with two games to play but also sits as a nine-seed according to Lunardi. The Lobos would be projected to play eight-seed BYU in Lexington. One-seed Tennessee and 16-seed Norfolk State are on the other side of the quadrant.
Colorado State remains the lone team among the current top five in the Mountain West to be left out of current projections. The Rams now sit in second place in the conference heading into their final two games before the conference tournament. They’ll head to Boise State on Friday before beginning the conference tournament with lots to be decided over the next 10 days. Time will tell if the Mountain West can get three, four or possibly five teams in this year’s bracket.
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.