Analysts like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, CBS’ Jerry Palm, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller, and Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney are regularly updating their projected field of 68 and going over where the top programs will end up come tourney time in mid-March. We’ll go over what the experts are projecting as the rest of the season unfolds.
No. 1 seeds
As it stands, Gonzaga and Auburn remains as consensus No. 1 seeds heading into the weekend. Auburn has been in a few tight battles in the past few weeks and had its winning streak ended this week when they were clipped by Arkansas. That loss vaulted the Zags back into consideration for the top overall seed in the tournament.
As always, there’s varying opinions on who should grab the other No. 1 seeds. Some experts have Kentucky to No. 1 status and its warranted considering that they’re riding a five-game winning streak heading into the weekend. Arizona peeks their head in after picking up a pair of Quadrant 1 victories over USC and UCLA, respectively, in the past two weeks. Kansas is represented in Sweeney’s latest projection seven Quad 1 victories but that may change considering they stumbled against Texas on Monday. The same goes for Purdue in Lunardi’s poll, who was beaten down by Michigan on Thursday.
Other Notable Seeds
Just below that tier are teams like Baylor, Duke, Wisconsin, and Houston, projected two-seeds who could very well play themselves in one-seeds with strong finishes. That especially rings true for Baylor and Wisconsin, who are tied with Purdue for the most Quad 1 victories in the nation at eight.
Who’s In/Out
The real tension comes from the bubble and determining who will sneak their way into the tournament and who will be left out.
The likes of Oregon, Creighton, Miami, North Carolina, and Florida, among others, are all squarely on the bubbles. Opinions on their respective fates vary with a team like Florida, for example, in the field of 68 for some experts while others have them on the outside looking in.
There’s still plenty of time for these teams to improve their standing but they’ll have to move fast.
Conference Breakdown
ACC - 5 (Lunardi, Miller, and Sweeney), 3 (Palm)
Big 12 - 8 (Miller), 7 (Lunardi, Palm, and Sweeney)
Big East - 7 (Lunardi, Miller, and Palm), 6 Sweeney
Big Ten - 8 (Palm and Sweeney), 7 (Lunardi and Miller)
MWC - 4 (Palm), 3 (Lunardi, Miller, and Sweeney)
Pac-12 - 4 (Lunardi, Miller, Palm, and Sweeney)
SEC - 7 (Sweeney and Palm), 6 (Lunardi and Miller)
WCC - 4 (Lunardi, Miller, and Palm), 3 (Sweeney)
Wisconsin upset by Rutgers, Houston upset by Memphis