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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: Jan. 26th

Who’s ready for a new weekly column?

Between now and Selection Sunday, each Friday I’ll give a “BRACKET BREAKDOWN” with my 68 projected teams for the 2024 NCAA Tournament along with my Top 16 seeds as well as emerging trends.

*The team who’s currently in first place in their respective conference will be listed as that league’s “automatic qualifier”.

The Current Field

Atlantic Sun (1)
Eastern Kentucky (AQ)

America East (1)
Vermont (AQ)

American Athletic Conference (2)
Florida Atlantic (AQ), Memphis

Atlantic 10 (1)
Dayton (AQ)

ACC (3)
North Carolina (AQ), Duke, Clemson

Big 12 (11)
Texas Tech (AQ), Kansas, Baylor, BYU, Oklahoma, Houston, Iowa State, Cincinnati, TCU, Kansas State, Texas

Big East (6)
UConn (AQ), Marquette, Creighton, Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall

Big Sky (1)
Eastern Washington (AQ)

Big South (1)
High Point (AQ)

Big Ten (6)
Wisconsin (AQ), Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State

Big West (1)
UC Irvine (AQ)

CAA (1)
Drexel (AQ)

Conference-USA (1)
Sam Houston (AQ)

Horizon League (1)
Green Bay (AQ)

Ivy League (1)
Princeton (AQ)

MAAC (1)
Quinnipiac (AQ)

MAC (1)
Akron (AQ)

MEAC (1)
Delaware State (AQ)

Missouri Valley (1)
Indiana State (AQ)

Mountain West (5)
Utah State (AQ), San Diego State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Boise State

NEC (1)
Central Connecticut (AQ)

OVC (1)
Morehead State (AQ)

Pac-12 (3)
Oregon (AQ), Arizona, Utah

Patriot League (1)
Lafayette (AQ)

SEC (8)
Alabama (AQ), Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, South Carolina

Southern (1)
Samford (AQ)

Southland (1)
McNeese (AQ)

SWAC (1)
Jackson State (AQ)

Summit (1)
South Dakota State (AQ)

Sun Belt (1)
Appalachian State (AQ)

WCC (1)
Saint Mary’s (AQ)

WAC (1)
Grand Canyon (AQ)

First Four Out

Providence, Nevada, Gonzaga, Colorado

Top 16 Seeds

1: Purdue, UConn, Houston, North Carolina
2: Kansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Arizona
3: Auburn, Marquette, Illinois, Creighton
4: Duke, Baylor, Dayton, Alabama

Five Things To Know

  • As of Thursday, the Big 12 had 10 teams in the Top 44 of the NET.
  • One thing that I never thought I’d write? The ACC has a real chance to only have 20 percent of its league reach the NCAA Tournament.
  • Three of St. John’s final five regular season games are against Georgetown and DePaul.
  • Nevada moved up seven spots in the NET — from 54 to 47 — following Wednesday night’s win over Colorado State. The Wolf Pack have a chance to earn another Quad 1 victory on Sunday night against New Mexico. Steve Alford’s squad is currently 3-3 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents.
  • Gonzaga currently has four Quad 1 opportunities remaining during the regular season; two games against Saint Mary’s plus road tilts at both Kentucky and San Francisco. The Bulldogs are listed as one of the “First Four Out” in the bracket above and haven’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 1998.

Leftovers