Brackteology 1/2/16

1) Most teams have now begun conference play, and thus the general picture of the bracket is beginning to take shape. We're deep enough into the season that most of the top 8 seeds here are going to make the tournament. Just for reference, 28 of the 32 top 8 seeds in my first bracketology last year made the tournament, including all the 5 seeds and above. Also, 11 of the protected seeds in the tournament were protected seeds in my first bracketology of the year. It seems pretty likely that the top of the bracket now looks similar to how it'll look come Selection Sunday.

1: Villanova, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky
2: Louisville, Gonzaga, UCLA, Florida State
3: Creighton, Xavier, Duke, Virginia
4: Florida, Butler, North Carolina, Oregon
5: West Virginia, Minnesota, USC, Clemson
6: Notre Dame, Arizona, St. Mary's, Cincinnati
7: Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Maryland, Arkansas
8: SMU, Northwestern, Purdue, Pittsburgh
9: Illinois, TCU, Indiana, Miami (FL)
10: Seton Hall, South Carolina, Middle Tennessee, UNC Wilmington
11: Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, (Iowa State/Dayton), UT-Arlington
12: VCU, (Michigan State/Rhode Island), Wichita State, Nevada
13: Chattanooga, Princeton, Monmouth, Valparaiso
14: Akron, Florida Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Vermont
15: Cal State Bakersfield, North Dakota State, Tennessee State, Weber State
16: Winthrop, North Carolina Central, (UC Irvine/Texas Southern), (Texas A&M Corpus Christi/Wagner)

Last Four In: Iowa State, Michigan State, Dayton, Rhode Island
First Four Out: North Carolina State, Temple, Wichita State, Kansas State
Next Four Out: Michigan, Texas A&M, Providence, Georgia
Also Considered: Mississippi, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Nevada, Houston, Marquette, California, Auburn, Colorado

Moving In: Iowa State, Rhode Island
Moving Out: Temple, North Carolina State
Removed From Consideration: Georgetown, Syracuse