Wow. Just…wow. I’ve seen days of brutality in college basketball that would test the wills of mere mortals, but Thursday the 13th truly was a unique experience.

Seemingly every bubble team with something to prove went out and laid an entire carton of eggs on the floor.  Mississippi, Florida, Villanova, Arizona State, Oregon, Massachusetts, Baylor, Dayton…the list was long, and brutal. Only Temple, St. Joseph’s, and Texas A&M really accomplished anything.

Meanwhile, there were several teams that did a lot to improve their seeding. West Virginia was probably the big winner in this area, but the efforts of Pittsburgh, Marquette, Vanderbilt, Southern Cal, Stanford, Miami, and others will probably filter into their final spot on Selection Sunday.

I have no clue what the next few days will hold, but if it goes anything like Thursday, it could prove to be the most muddled tournament picture in the last 15 years.

Let’s get to the brackets, after the jump.

First, we start in the East:

North Carolina maintains the #1 overall seed. Villanova is not a natural 9 seed…they get moved up due to conference conflicts. Same with BYU…a natural 7 seed, but they’ve got that darn religious requirement to deal with. Therefore, they swap spots with Clemson — so, Oliver Purnell, don’t blame me! Baylor keeps a spot in the field…only the failures of those below them guarantee their continued placement in the field.

The match-up in the Final Four for the East region this time out is the Midwest:

Saint Joe’s is back! This may be temporary, particularly if they lose to Temple later today. Louisville’s loss isn’t enough to drop them out of a 3 seed. St. Mary’s is hard to justify keeping at higher than an 8…and in this case, they’re a 9. Illinois State grabs the last at-large slot, mostly because their profile is nice and inoffensive.

Next, we head to the South region:

Memphis stands now as the third overall #1 seed, matched up (potentially) against Texas in the Elite 8. UConn drops to a 4 seed. Ohio State maintains a spot in the field, mostly due to other teams’ ineptitudes. Pittsburgh moves out of the 8/9 line and into a 7 seed. Stanford grabs a 3 seed for the first time in a while.

Finally, let’s head out West:

UCLA maintains a #1 see. Southern Cal plays around a bit with their seeding, upping it to a 6 this time out. West Virginia’s reward for beating UConn? A potential match-up with Duke in the second round. Elsewhere, Marquette moves up to a 4 seed, South Alabama claims an at-large, and Miami maintains an 8.

NUMBERS

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Last 4 In: Ohio State, St. Joseph’s, Florida State, Illinois State

Last 4 Out: Massachusetts, Syracuse, Temple, New Mexico

Conferences:

Big East: 8

Big 12: 6

ACC, Big 10, Pac 10, SEC: 5

WCC: 3

A-10, MVC, MWC, Sun Belt: 2