Tom Petty rings in the ears of college basketball teams and fans today.
“The waiting is the hardest part…”
From the moment a team sees it’s conference tournament run end, the angst really begins as players, coaches and fans wait for Selection Sunday.
The down time waiting for March Madness matchups to be revealed for the NCAA Tournament can create all types of concerns.
Bid stealers rise (and there sure have been many in 2024) and fans, especially, have time to let doom-and-gloom theories rise.
What’s it all mean? Specifically locally, what does it all mean for the Colorado State men’s basketball team?
Here’s a look at where CSU stands on Selection Sunday.
Is Colorado State basketball an NCAA Tournament lock?
Bid-stealing was underway Saturday as North Carolina State won the ACC, FAU lost in the American and Oregon won the Pac-12. As many as five stealers have significantly shrunk the bubble and created concern for a number of teams.
Been doing this since 2006. It’s never been this hard for the committee, not only because of how close so many of these teams are, but because of the abundance of bid thieves which have knocked teams out. Going on midnight but the work continues. That’s why they call it Madness.
— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) March 17, 2024
Still, Colorado State is considered in the field. If the Rams had lost to San Jose State to begin the Mountain West tournament it could have been trouble. Instead, CSU won that game and then beat Nevada. That seemingly secured the bid.
There are 122 bracket projections available on BracketMatrix.com and the Rams are in every single one of them. ESPN’s BPI metric is historically down on the Mountain West, which is reflected on Joe Lunardi’s bracket. Still, Lunardi’s latest projection after Saturday’s games has four teams behind CSU on the bubble who are still in.
Unless every single bracketologist is wrong, the Rams are in despite the bubble chaos. The two wins in the MW tournament for CSU may prove important.
More: Analyzing the biggest games on Colorado State’s March Madness path
What are the NCAA Tournament projections for Colorado State?
Lunardi is one of the biggest names in bracketology as one of the inventors of the industry, but he’s not considered all that accurate.
BracketMatrix tracks the accuracy of bracketologists over a multi-year period. Lunardi’s score is 98th-best over a five-year period. He has the Rams as a No. 9 seed in his latest projection, set to face No. 8 FAU.
Some other notable projections:
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Jerry Palm, CBS Sports (ranked No. 142 by BracketMatrix): CSU as a No. 8 vs. No. 9 Nebraska
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Bracketometry (ranked No. 1): CSU as a No. 9 vs. No. 8 Texas
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1-3-1 Sports (ranked No. 2): CSU as a No. 9 (no matchup predicted)
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Rocco Miller, The Bracketeer (ranked No. 17): CSU as a No. 10 vs. No. 7 Clemson
Individual projections can be interesting but also hard to pin, but the overall view of bracketologists also provides a more consensus view.
The Rams average a No. 9 seed on the 122 brackets, with an average seed number of 8.48. The best seed among the 122 is a No. 5 and the worst a No. 11.
What’s the best guess for Colorado State’s NCAA Tournament seed?
Based on the bracket projections from around the web, CSU is a lock to make the tournament and probably not likely to play a first-four game, either. Those play-in game spots likely go to teams such as N.C. State and Oregon who stole bids late.
Bracketologists on average seem confident CSU will play in an 8-9 game.
When is the NCAA Tournament selection show?
The men’s basketball NCAA Tournament selection show runs from 4-5 p.m. Mountain on Sunday, March 17. It will air on CBS.
The 68-team bracket will be revealed during the show.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State March Madness bracket predictions for NCAA Tournament
