Well, we managed to get through an entire day without any gruesome injuries! Perhaps things are looking up.

Although, one could argue that Air Force losing a home game to BYU is a gruesome injury in and of itself, I suppose. But more on that later.

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase. First, my projections on the #1 seeds as of Tuesday night:

UCLA (#1 overall): The Bruins are tops in the RPI and fifth in SOS. UCLA’s racked up wins over BYU, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Michigan, Washington State, USC (twice), Arizona (twice), Oregon, and Stanford (twice). Even if they lose at Washington State on Thursday, I don’t seem them falling out of the 1 seeds.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes clinched the outright Big Ten title with their win over Wisconsin this past weekend. Even a letdown at Michigan this week won’t keep them from a 1-seed, unless they do something truly stupid like lose to Minnesota or Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten tourney. That ain’t happening, muchacho.

North Carolina: I may be alone in thinking this, but the Tar Heels, despite some troubling inconsistency, are still a bona fide #1 seed. Victories over Tennessee, Ohio State, Kentucky, FSU, Virginia, Arizona (on the road, by 28 points), Duke (also on the road), and Boston College (again on the road) place this team above the other remaining contenders.

Wisconsin: Despite two losses in the last week, Wisconsin still gets the nod for the fourth #1 seed. Both of their losses were on the road, to tournament-bound teams. And Wisconsin’s quality wins this year are a bit more impressive than their nearest competitor.

The teams still in play for a #1 seed:

Kansas: Seven wins in a row make anyone look good, even if those seven wins came against Kansas State (twice), Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa State, and Oklahoma…all teams whose postseason futures MIGHT include hosting an NIT game if they’re lucky. Kansas can bolster their chances for a #1 seed considerably by knocking off Texas on Saturday, and following that up with a run to the Big 12 title game. If Wisconsin falters in the semifinals of their conference tournament, look for Kansas to move up. If Kansas can’t get it done, then look for…

Florida: Someone needs to tap the Gators on the shoulder and tell them that the 2006 tournament was LAST year. Three losses in their last four games, including a truly atrocious loss to a Big Baby-less LSU team, might be alright for a North Carolina or a UCLA, but not for a Florida team who has exactly one good win outside of their conference (Ohio State). Kansas doesn’t have a whole lot more in the out-of-conference quality win department, but they do have that victory over Florida on a neutral court.

Texas A&M: That loss to LSU isn’t looking so good now, is it? For as many wins as A&M has this year (24 at last count), they’ve got only two wins over tournament-bound teams - the quasi-upset at Kansas in early February and the win at home versus Texas two days later. If Wisconsin, Kansas, and Florida all collapse in the next two weeks, A&M could slide into that fourth #1 position. I seriously doubt that scenario will play out.

While we’re at it, let’s look at some bubble teams with big games on Wednesday night:

Indiana (18-9) at Northwestern (13-15): The Hoosiers aren’t on the bubble…yet. However, their complete and utter inability to win on the road is causing some folks to question this team’s mentality at this stage of the season. A win at Northwestern won’t do much to improve their resume. A loss, on the other hand, would drop IU right back on the bubble.

Iowa (16-12) at Penn State (terrible): Must-win for Iowa. No questions asked. The Hawkeyes are just barely on the lowest levels of the bubble, thanks to their wretched RPI number. However, a win by Iowa tonight, followed by a home win against Illinois, would give Iowa a 10-6 record in the Big Ten. Only one other team in Big Ten history has finished two games above .500 and NOT been selected — Indiana in 2005, which had similar RPI problems. It’s pretty simple for Iowa — win, and keep winning. Even then, nothing is assured.

Xavier (21-7) vs St. Joseph’s (17-11): Xavier’s really not in any shape to be taking games off. 21-7 in the Atlantic 10 might’ve been at-large worthy back in 1994, but this is definitely not 1994 anymore. I can’t even hear a Collective Soul song on the radio these days. Anyway, the Muskies RPI is in decent shape at 33, but losses at home to Cincinnati (yikes) and at Duquesne have removed their margin for error.

Clemson (19-9) vs Miami (FL) (11-17): Clemson is toast at this point. Their only chance at an at-large berth is a string of victories, starting tomorrow and ending no earlier than the ACC semifinals. I keep wondering if Oliver Purnell has been replaced as coach by Rich Kotite.

#23 Vanderbilt (19-9) at South Carolina (14-13): Vanderbilt locked itself into an at-large berth with their win over Kentucky this weekend. Now they’re playing for seeding. If the Commodores can beat SC and Arkansas in their last two SEC games, and make a decent showing in the SEC tournament, Vandy could be looking at as high as a #4 seed in the Big Dance.

Georgia (17-10) at Kentucky (19-9): A rare game where both teams have tournament chances, although Georgia’s chances are anorexic compared to Kentucky’s. The Wildcats aren’t in danger of missing the tournament…not with an RPI of 10 and an SOS of 2. But Kentucky has lost 4 of 5, and still has to go to Florida before the regular season ends. They need to stabilize their seeding in this matchup, lest they fall below the dreaded at-large mendoza line (which this year is approximately a 9 seed). Georgia recently lost a key player to a season-ending injury, so they’ve got to prove to the committee that they can win without him. A loss in this game will torch Georgia’s bubble.

Alabama (19-9) vs Mississippi (18-10): Unfortunately, Mississippi blew their at-large chances with that choke job in Columbia this weekend. Too bad…I was looking forward to imagining the grimace on Nancy Zimpher’s face if Ole Miss had made it to the tournament. No matter, though…the team with the most to lose now is Alabama, who HAS to win this game to get themselves back into serious at-large consideration. As it stands now, Alabama has done nothing of consequence this season, save a neutral court victory over Xavier and a win over Kentucky two weeks ago. Much like Kentucky, the Crimson Tide are 1-4 in their last five, and were swept by a putrid Auburn team. Alabama now finds themslves in a similar situation to Iowa…they need to start winning, and not stop until next weekend.

Purdue (18-10) vs Minnesota (9-20): The Boilermakers shot themselves in the foot early in the Big Ten season by losing at Minnesota, and have been climbing uphill ever since. Beating the Golden Gophers tonight, and Northwestern later this week, are both prerequisites for Purdue even having a chance at an at-large, in my opinion. They can’t afford a bad loss this late in the year, particularly at home.

Texas Tech (18-11) vs Baylor (13-14): I feel like I’m writing the same thing in consecutive paragraphs. The Red Raiders put themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball early on by dropping a winnable game at Baylor early in the Big XII season. This is a must-win for Tech…far moreso than their game at Iowa State later this week.

That’s it for tonight, kids. Be sure to send in your thoughts via email.