Bracketology - Edition XV

It's Selection Sunday and the debate over the bubble is somewhat calm, but the debate over who will get the final number one seed is still a hot one. After wins last night from Duke & Arizona in their conference championship games, those two now have a legitimate shot at overtaking North Carolina as the final number one. But will it happen? Duke has the most wins over top fifty opponents in the nation at thirteen, but they also have eight losses and finished fifth in their conference standings. No team has ever received a one seed with eight losses. Arizona meanwhile has a very impressive record at 30-4 and beat both UCLA & Oregon en route to the Pac 12 Tournament Championship. Arizona can also boast that the only four losses they've suffered have come to four teams with a top fifteen RPI (Butler, Gonzaga, Oregon, UCLA), but they only have three wins over teams that are going to be seeded eighth or higher. The team that likely has the best argument for the last one seed is North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the regular season championship in the ACC, the best conference in the nation and they own eleven wins over top fifty teams. If you want all the numbers to make the decision yourself, here they are:

North Carolina:
RPI: 4
Record: 27-7
Strength of Schedule: 14
Opponent Strength of Schedule: 4
Non-Conference Strength of Schedule: 61
Non-Conference RPI: 10
Scoring Margin: +13.4
Record vs. RPI Top 25: 5-4
Record vs. RPI Top 50: 11-5
Record vs. RPI Top 100: 17-6
Conference Record: 14-4 (ACC Regular Season Champions; Lost in Tournament Semifinals)

Arizona:
RPI: 2
Record: 30-4
Strength of Schedule: 23
Opponent Strength of Schedule: 65
Non-Conference Strength of Schedule: 24
Non-Conference RPI: 17
Scoring Margin: +10.8
Record vs. RPI Top 25: 3-4
Record vs. RPI Top 50: 6-4
Record vs. RPI Top 100: 16-4
Conference Record: 16-2 (Pac 12 #2 Seed; Won Tournament Championship)

Duke:
RPI: 7
Record: 27-8
Strength of Schedule: 9
Opponent Strength of Schedule: 2
Non-Conference Strength of Schedule: 104
Non-Conference RPI: 1
Scoring Margin: +10.8
Record vs. RPI Top 25: 8-4
Record vs. RPI Top 50: 13-6
Record vs. RPI Top 100: 16-7
Conference Record: 11-7 (ACC #5 Seed; Won Tournament Championship)

So with all of that said, here's a look our latest bracket as we're a little over six hours from having the bracket unveiled.
*Teams in Bold* have clinched an automatic bid

East Regional
#1 Villanova* vs. #16 North Carolina Central*/#16 Mount St. Mary's*
#8 Northwestern vs. #9 Miami
#5 Cincinnati vs. #12 Marquette/#12 Kansas State
#4 Florida vs. #13 Florida Gulf Coast*
#6 Wisconsin vs. #11 Wake Forest
#3 West Virginia vs. #14 Iona*
#7 St. Mary's vs. #10 Seton Hall
#2 Duke* vs. #15 Texas State*
West Regional
#1 Gonzaga* vs. #16 UC Davis*/#16 Texas Southern*
#8 Oklahoma State vs. #9 Virginia Commonwealth
#5 Butler vs. #12 Nevada*
#4 Notre Dame vs. #13 Princeton
#6 Minnesota vs. #11 Southern California/#11 Syracuse
#3 Baylor vs. #14 New Mexico State*
#7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 Middle Tennessee*
#2 Arizona* vs. #15 South Dakota State*
Mid-West Regional
#1 Kansas vs. #16 Jacksonville State*
#8 Wichita State* vs. #9 Dayton
#5 Florida State vs. #12 North Carolina-Wilmington*
#4 Purdue vs. #13 Bucknell*
#6 Creighton vs. #11 Vanderbilt
#3 Louisville vs. #14 Kent State*
#7 Arkansas vs. #10 Michigan State
#2 Oregon vs. #15 North Dakota*
South Regional
#1 North Carolina vs. #16 New Orleans*
#8 South Carolina vs. #9 Maryland
#5 Iowa State* vs. #12 Vermont*
#4 Southern Methodist vs. #13 East Tennessee State*
#6 Virginia vs. #11 Providence
#3 UCLA vs. #14 Winthrop*
#7 Michigan vs. #10 Xavier
#2 Kentucky vs. #15 Northern Kentucky*

First Teams Out: 
Rhode Island, Illinois State, California