The bracket is available for download below. Fill out it out and let us know in the comments who you picked to win, who you think will upset, whether you see any cinderella teams emerging, and how well the Selection Committee did with their choices for who made it and who didn't. Scroll down for more info on the number one seeds and the bracket in general.
***UPDATE 3/15 6:33PM*** The number one seeds have been released, and the full bracket should be out momentarily. Check back to download it. Here's some info on what we know so far:
The Big East put up a big number Sunday: Three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut helped the Big East, a group originally created for basketball only, become the first conference to put three teams on the top line. North Carolina, regular-season Atlantic Coast conference champions, was the other top seed.
Louisville was the top overall seed in the tournament and will play in the Midwest. The Cardinals will open against the winner of an opening-round game Tuesday between Alabama State and Morehead State. Pitt was tops in the East, Carolina in the South and UConn in the West.
Of the four top seeds, Rick Pitino's Cardinals were the only team to win its conference tournament. Louisville entered the Big East conference tournament as the top seed, though Pitt and UConn were more highly regarded throughout the regular season, each spending time at No. 1 in The Associated Press poll.
Memphis (31-3) got snubbed, taking the second seed in the West despite a 25-game winning streak. The Tigers are often downgraded for playing in the less-than-steller Conference USA, but John Calipari's team proved people wrong last year, making it to the national title game.
In the West, it's No. 2 seed Memphis vs. Cal State-Northridge; Missouri vs. Cornell; Washington vs. Mississippi State; Purdue vs. Northern Iowa; Marquette vs. Utah State; California vs. Maryland; BYU vs. Texas A&M.
Last year's national champion, Kansas, is almost completely revamped this year and was seeded third in the Midwest with an opening game against North Dakota State.
Arizona extended its string of tournament appearances to a quarter century, and the 25th bid will be among the most debated. The Wildcats were thought by many to be off the bubble after an early loss to Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament, but made it as 12th seed in the Midwest.
In the Midwest, No. 2 seed Michigan State will face No. 15 seed Robert Morris. In other games: Kansas vs. N. Dakota State; Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State; Utah vs. Arizona; West Virginia vs. Dayton; Boston College vs. Southern California; Ohio State vs. Siena.
With Selection Sunday bearing down upon us, here's where you can download and print out brackets and rule your office pool. Obviously the official 2009 tournament brackets won't be available until Selection Sunday, but you can print out your own blank 2009 NCAA tournament bracket and try to predict who will make it into the tournament. Check back this Sunday to download the official 2009 tournament bracket.
USA Today reports that the selection committee is building the 2009 NCAA tournament bracket:
Wednesday, the 10-person committee that puts the Division I tournament together gathers in Indianapolis' downtown Westin Hotel and begins the exhaustive process of filling out and seeding the 65-team field. First ballots are due by 4:30 ET Wednesday.
The clock is ticking toward 6 p.m. Sunday, when the bracket -- who's in, who's not, who'll play whom -- is unveiled on national TV.
For those fans interested in bracket projections, the folks at CollegeHoopsnet and FanNation have helpfully provided their takes here and here.