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BRACKET BREAKDOWN

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 2023 NCAA Tournament along with my Top 16 seeds as well as emerging trends.

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

The Current Field

Atlantic Sun (1)
Florida Gulf Coast (AQ)
America East (1)
UMass Lowell (AQ)
American Athletic Conference (2)
Houston (AQ), Memphis
Atlantic 10 (1)
Fordham (AQ)
ACC (5)
Miami (AQ), Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke North Carolina
Big 12 (9)
Kansas (AQ), Kansas State, Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Iowa State, TCU, West Virginia
Big East (4)
UConn (AQ), Xavier, Marquette, Creighton
Big Sky (1)
Montana State (AQ)
Big South (1)
High Point (AQ)
Big Ten (9)
Purdue (AQ), Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State, Maryland
Big West (1)
UC Santa Barbara (AQ)
CAA (1)
Charleston (AQ)
Conference-USA (1)
Florida Atlantic (AQ)
Horizon League (1)
Milwaukee (AQ)
Ivy League (1)
Yale (AQ)
MAAC (1)
Iona (AQ)
MAC (1)
Kent State (AQ)
MEAC (1)
Norfolk State (AQ)
Missouri Valley (1)
Bradley (AQ)
Mountain West (4)
New Mexico (AQ), Utah State, San Diego State, UNLV
NEC (1)
Wagner (AQ)
OVC (1)
SIU Edwardsville (AQ)
Pac-12 (4)
UCLA (AQ), Arizona State, Arizona, Utah
Patriot League (1)
American (AQ)
SEC (6)
Arkansas (AQ), Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State
Southern (1)
Furman (AQ)
Southland (1)
Nicholls (AQ)
SWAC (1)
Grambling (AQ)
Summit (1)
Oral Roberts (AQ)
Sun Belt (1)
Marshall (AQ)
WCC (2)
Gonzaga (AQ), Saint Mary’s
WAC (1)
Sam Houston (AQ)

First Four Out

Rutgers, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Michigan

Top 16 Seeds

1: Purdue, UConn, Kansas, Arizona
2: Houston, UCLA, Alabama, Tennessee
3: Baylor, Gonzaga, Texas, Virginia
4: Duke, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky

Five Things To Know

  • UConn has seven Quad 1 and 2 wins — that’s more than any other team in college basketball.
  • There’s obviously a lot of basketball left to be played, but the Big 12 and the Big Ten accounted for 26.5 percent of the above bracket.
  • The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will always take into account when a team is playing without a key player. That’s why it’s imperative to remember that Villanova is 5-0 with five-star freshman Cam Whitmore in the lineup and 2-5 when he is not. The 6-7 Whitmore is currently averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds.
  • Six teams from the Mountain West — Utah State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Nevada, and Boise State — are currently ranked in the Top 59 of the NET. You know what that means? A lot of Quad 1 and 2 opportunities for teams in that league during conference play.
  • As of Friday, the Atlantic 10 had just one team — Dayton — ranked in the Top 100 of the NET. The Flyers checked in at 88.

Leftovers