March Madness is a month away and resumes are already well in development by teams hoping for a berth in the 65-team bracket. NaismithLives.com’s Jesse Arendt examines how the bracket currently looks (as of games played through February 8th, 2010) and what the teams on the bubble need to do to dance… or watch their bubble burst.

Ranked by seed in order of South/East/Midwest/West Regions with Automatic Bids from each conference in parentheses.

1-seeds: Kansas (Big 12), Syracuse (Big East), Kentucky (SEC), Villanova
2-seeds: Duke (ACC), West Virginia, Georgetown, Purdue (Big 10)
3-seeds: Michigan St, Kansas St, Wisconsin, New Mexico (Mountain West)
4-seeds: Tennessee, Texas, Temple (Atlantic 10), Georgia Tech
5-seeds: BYU, Wake Forest, Butler (Horizon), Ohio St
6-seeds: Pittsburgh, UNLV, Gonzaga (WCC), Rhode Island
7-seeds: Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Charlotte, Northern Iowa (MVC)
8-seeds: St. Mary’s, Xavier, Florida State, Missouri
9-seeds: Maryland, Florida, Baylor, UAB (Confere USA)
10-seeds: Siena (MAAC), Clemson, Oklahoma St, Louisville
11-seeds: Cornell (Ivy), Dayton, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion (CAA)
12-seeds: South Florida, California (Pac-10), Cincinnati, Ole Miss
13-seeds: Richmond, Sam Houston St (Southland), Utah St (WAC), Murray St (OVC)
14-seeds: Kent St (MAC), Oakland (Summit), Weber St (Big Sky), Wofford (SoCon)
15-seeds: C Carolina (Big South), Morgan St (MEAC), Pacific (Big West), Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
16-seeds: Arkansas St (Sun Belt), Stony Brook (A East), Lehigh (Patriot)
Play-in game: Quinnipiac (NEC) vs Jackson St (SWAC)

Multiple bids by conference:
Big East (8)
ACC (7)
Big 12 (7)
A-10 (6)
SEC (5)
Big Ten (4)
MWC (3)
WCC (2)

Last five in:

Dayton (11-seed)
Why they should be in: Three RPI Top 50 wins (Ga Tech, ODU, Xavier).
Why they should be out: Lost three of last six, 6th in A-10 standings.
What they need to do: Get to 11 A-10 wins to feel safe, beating Charlotte on February 10th would be huge.

Ole Miss (12-seed)
Why they should be in: 7-4 in road/neutral games, Five RPI Top 100 wins.
Why they should be out: 7-5 in last 12 puts them on the road to the NIT.
What they need to do: Win two of their next three (at Miss St, Vandy, Florida) to feel more secure.

Cincinnati (12-seed)
Why they should be in: No. 19 strength of schedule (SOS), five RPI Top 100 wins, 0 losses to below Top 100 teams.
Why they should be out: 5-6 in conference, two best wins were in late November.
What they need to do: Get hot quickly; six of next seven are against Top 75 teams.

South Florida (12-seed)
Why they should be in: Two Top 25 wins in the last three games, 7-5 in road/neutral games.
Why they should be out: 5-6 in Big East play, 0 Top 50 wins before the last two weeks.
What they need to do: Probably need to get to 10-8 or 9-9 with a good tourney run in the Big East to have a legit shot at holding their bid.

Richmond (13-seed, last team in)
Why they should be in: 7-2 in a conference that’s better than the Pac-10 this year.
Why they should be out: Before win over Temple, no Top 100 wins since mid-December.
What they need to do: Get a couple more good wins late in A-10 play, but actually in decent shape.

First ten out:

UTEP
Why they should be in: Five RPI Top 100 wins, 8-1 in Conference USA play.
Why they should be out: Only one RPI Top 50 win, No. 109 SOS.
What they need to do: Finish no worse than 14-2 in conference play, beat either Tulsa or UAB

Northwestern
Why they should be in: Three RPI Top 100 wins, beat Purdue, no bad losses.
Why they should be out: 5-6 in Big Ten play, no notable road wins.
What they need to do: Win seven more conference games, including the tournament.

Illinois
Why they should be in: Just beat Michigan State, three RPI Top 50 wins, 8-3 in Big Ten play.
Why they should be out: Losses to Utah and Bradley, No. 72 RPI.
What they need to do: Killer finish next seven games, win four of them and likely in.

Virginia Commonwealth
Why they should be in: Six RPI Top 100 wins, four RPI Top 50 wins.
Why they should be out: 9-4 in conference play, No. 134 SOS.
What they need to do: Win out the regular season, including at Old Dominion.

Mississippi State
Why they should be in: Four RPI Top 100 wins, 6-2 in road/neutral non-conference games.
Why they should be out: Lost four of five, 4-4 in SEC play, two bad non-conference losses.
What they need to do: Go 6-2 in rest of SEC play, beat Tennessee or Kentucky or Mississippi.

Notre Dame
Why they should be in: Four RPI Top 100 wins, 6-5 in Big East play.
Why they should be out: Lost four of seven, two bad losses (Loyola Marymount, Rutgers).
What they need to do: Win four of last seven in Big East play and get to 10-8.

Minnesota
Why they should be in: Three RPI Top 100 wins, including non-conference win over Butler.
Why they should be out: Lost five of eight, including bad loss against Indiana.
What they need to do: Get to 11-7 in conference play, beat Wisconsin or Purdue at home.

Texas Tech
Why they should be in: No bad losses, four RPI Top 100 wins, No. 33 RPI.
Why they should be out: 3-5 in Big 12 play, 1-7 vs RPI Top 50.
What they need to do: Probably have to win six of eight (includes Baylor 2x, Texas, Kan State, Texas A&M).

Wichita State
Why they should be in: RPI No. 39, five RPI Top 100 wins.
Why they should be out: Only 9-4 in MVC, best non-conference win is Texas Tech.
What they need to do: Win out, probably to MVC final, especially at Utah State in BracketBusters.

Seton Hall
Why they should be in: Four RPI Top 100 wins, No. 8 SOS, no bad losses.
Why they should be out: Recently 4-9 (after 8-0 start), 3-7 in Big East play.
What they need to do: Win seven of their last eight, which is the easier half of their schedule.

Two notable teams not in the first ten out:

Connecticut
Why they are where they are: Lost 7 of 12, only 4-6 in Big East play, 1-7 in road/neutral games.
What they need to do: Go 5-3 in last eight gives them a shot, beat Syracuse or WVU or Villanova.

North Carolina
Why they are where they are: Lost 7 of 9, 2-6 in ACC play, 2-7 in road/neutral games.
What they need to do: Five RPI Top 100 wins, get to 8-8 and they have a shot.