We are getting closer and closer to the big day. As conferences have passed the halfway point in their season, it's time to get serious. We have decided that it is no longer "Way too early" and have shifted into our just plain bracketology column. We have also added two new bracketology sites to our index. We are proud to welcome the fine folks from Bracketology 101 and Bracketville into our tour around bracketology on the web. As we get closer and closer to March 13, we'll look at adding even more projections. If you have any site that you think would be a great addition, post it in a comment and I'll look into it.
Now, on to the main event. Last week was a funky week for Washington teams. Both Washington and Washington State fell flat on their face following the Apple Cup in Pullman. The Cougars were able to recover against Oregon State, but Washington took its two-game losing streak into the new Matt Court and the Ducks made it a three-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, the team across the state went to Oregon as well, and came out of Portland with a win. Their next game was back in Spokane where Gonzaga had a big opportunity to beat a very good Memphis team. They played a very close game, but couldn't pull it out in the end.
All three teams suffered losses, It will be very interesting to see what these losses did to the bracket projections for all three teams
ESPN: Joe Lunardi (Updated 2/7/2011)
- Washington Huskies: Seventh seed - New Orleans bracket - First- and second-round games in Tucson - Projected to play the 10th-seeded Georgia Bulldogs - Seed Falling [Last week: Fifth Seed]
- Gonzaga Bulldogs: Not Included in bracket [Last week: Twelfth Seed]
- Washington State Cougars: Twelfth seed - Play-in game in Dayton, Ohio - Projected to play Missouri State Bears (Note: Winner would take on Missouri in the Tucson regional of the New Orleans bracket) - Seed steady
- Pac-10: Arizona (Fifth seed in Anaheim bracket - vs. Cleveland State), UCLA (Ninth seed in Newark Bracket - vs. Marquette)
CBS Sports: Jerry Palm (Updated 2/8/2011)
- Washington Huskies: Tenth seed - New Orleans bracket - First- and second-round games in Chicago - Projected to play the seventh-seeded Temple Owls - Seed falling [Last week: Seventh Seed]
- Gonzaga Bulldogs: Not included in bracket
- Washington State Cougars: Not included in bracket
- Pac-10: Arizona (Sixth seed in Newark bracket - vs. Richmond), UCLA (Ninth seed in New Orleans bracket - vs. Georgia)
SB Nation's Blogging The Bracket (Updated 2/8/2011)
- Washington Huskies: Seventh seed - San Antonio bracket - First- and second-round games in Tucson - Projected to play the tenth seeded Boston College Eagles - Seed falling [Last week: Fifth Seed]
- Gonzaga Bulldogs: Not included in bracket (Listed as second team in "First Eight Out" category)
- Washington State Cougars: Not included in bracket (Listed as fifth team in "First Eight Out" category)
- Pac-10: Arizona (Sixth seed in Anaheim bracket - vs. Richmond), UCLA (Eighth seed in Newark bracket - vs. Utah State)
Bracketology 101 (Updated 2/7/2011)
- Washington Huskies: Ninth seed - Anaheim bracket - First- and second-round games in Cleveland - Projected to play the eighth-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels
- Gonzaga Bulldogs: Not included in bracket (Listed as third team in first four out category)
- Washington State Cougars: Twelfth seed - Play-in game in Dayton, Ohio - Projected to play Colorado State Rams (Note: Winner would take on Kentucky in the Tucson regional of the New Orleans bracket)
- Pac-10: Arizona (Seventh seed in New Orleans bracket - vs. Boston College), UCLA (Eighth seed in Newark bracket - vs. Cincinnati)
Bracketville (Updated 2/7/2011)
- Washington Huskies: Ninth seed - New Orleans bracket - First and second-round games in Tulsa - Projected to play the eighth seeded Georgia Bulldogs
- Gonzaga Bulldogs: Not included in bracket (Listed in "Also Considered" category)
- Washington State Cougars: Not included in bracket (Listed as first team in "First Five Out" category)
- Pac-10: Arizona (Sixth seed in Anaheim bracket - vs. Alabama), UCLA (Seventh seed in New Orleans - vs. Marquette)
Both Washington State and Gonzaga both seem to be firmly on the bubble. According to most projections they are either barely in, or very nearly in. Should these teams come out and grab a couple wins this next week, look for them to be back in the fray in the eyes of most bracketologists.
While Washington's position seems to be fairly solid, despite what most would call a disastrous week. Should they recover and sweep Cal and Stanford at home, they will have no problem getting their stock back on the right side of the spectrum. Should they falter and get swept, look for their stock to plummet. A disaster like that would more than likely place them on the bubble and saddle them with a double digit seed, or maybe even a spot in a play-in game.