First crack at a March Madness bracket

Attempting to project a potential NCAA tournament bracket two months before the Big Dance is like guessing which night games will grace Big Ten football fields in 2018. Sure, you can make a few educated guesses, but it's a pretty futile exercise.

Because in this state there are a pair of top-20 teams with a decent shot of not only competing in the tournament but gaining good seeds with favorable locations, I thought I'd give it a shot. There are only eight weeks to go before we're scrambling to fill out a bracket in your favorite office pool.

A couple of notes: Providence can't compete in Providence, North Carolina State can't play in Raleigh and Iowa State can't compete in Des Moines. All are considered host schools at those sites. Also, SMU is ineligible for postseason play.

So, based on RPI, current top-25 rankings and conference standings, here's a guess at a 68-team bracket come March. None of it was gerrymandered to generate interesting match-ups. I'm guaranteed to get most (if not all) of it wrong, but in the end does it really matter?

CHICAGO REGION

1. Oklahoma vs. 16. Wagner-Texas Southern winner at Oklahoma City

8. St. Mary's vs. 9. Michigan at Oklahoma City

4. USC vs. 13. UC-Irvine at Spokane, Wash.

5. Duke vs. 12. Valparaiso at Spokane, Wash.

3. Virginia vs. 14. Navy at Raleigh, N.C.

6. Butler vs. 11. Stanford-St. Joseph's winner at Raleigh, N.C.

2. Maryland vs. 15. UNC-Asheville at Brooklyn

7. Wichita State vs. 10. Syracuse at Brooklyn

LOUISVILLE REGION

1. North Carolina vs. 16. CSU-Bakersfield-Hampton winner at Raleigh, N.C.

8. Florida vs. 9. Gonzaga at Raleigh, N.C.

4. Providence vs. 13. William & Mary at Spokane, Wash.

5. Baylor vs. 12. Monmouth at Spokane, Wash.

3. Michigan State vs. 14. South Dakota State at St. Louis

6. Kentucky vs. 11. Utah at St. Louis

2. West Virginia vs. 15. Stony Brook at Providence, R.I.

7. Pittsburgh vs. 10. Oregon State at Providence, R.I.

PHILADELPHIA REGION

1. Villanova vs. 16. North Florida at Brooklyn

8. Dayton vs. 9. Notre Dame at Brooklyn

4. Iowa State vs. 13. Princeton at Denver

5. Miami (Fla.) vs. 12. Middle Tennessee State at Denver

3. Arizona vs. 14. Belmont at Denver

6. South Carolina vs. 11. Tulsa at Denver

2. Iowa vs. 15. Montana at Des Moines

7. Texas vs. 10. San Diego State at Des Moines

ANAHEIM REGION

1. Kansas vs. 16. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Des Moines

8. Oregon vs. 9. George Washington at Des Moines

4. Louisville vs. 13. Chattanooga at Providence

5. Indiana vs. 12. Seton Hall-UConn winner at Providence

3. Texas A&M vs. 14. Akron at Oklahoma City

6. Purdue vs. 11. Boise State at Oklahoma City

2. Xavier vs. 15. Texas-Arlington at St. Louis

7. Colorado vs. 10. Texas Tech at St. Louis

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com