This is the end.

Hold your breath and count to ten.

Feel the earth move, and then

Hear my bubble burst again.

LET THE SKY FALL…

And the sky is falling. For I stand on the precipice of an abyss, and I stare into it, and it only stares back. Sixty-eight different fates are right in front of my face, and still they seem an eternity away, too faint to discern with any certainty.

I wish I could tell you that I’m feeling confident at the moment; that I could end this year’s series of bracketology columns the same way I started it, with a declaration that I am quite good at this; that the Bracket Matrix will validate all the hours of mind-numbing thought I’ve put into this project.

But the truth is that I have no idea what’s about to happen. The truth is that this is the most confused I’ve ever been on a Selection Sunday. I’m not confident in my 1-seeds or my 16-seeds. Seeds 8 through 10 are a train wreck. I just don’t know.

All I am sure of is my gratitude to everyone who read this column this season, who trusted me at the wheel in this hurricane of a year. I cannot promise you that I won’t let you down, but I can promise you that I am incredibly appreciative for the interest you have taken in my stupid, stupid hobby. It keeps me sane during a grueling winter quarter, or perhaps just the right amount of insane.

Now one last time, before the sky falls, here are the usual disclaimers and my final projections.

The Usual Disclaimers

• This is what I think the committee would do given what we know about each team. I do not necessarily agree with the committee’s projected evaluations of these teams.
• Italics in the graphic denote conference champions.
• Keep all of this in mind if you choose to @ me on Twitter.

PROJECTIONS 

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