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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: Feb. 16th

And Here. We. Go!

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)
South Florida (AQ), Florida Atlantic

Atlantic 10 (1)
Dayton (AQ)

ACC (4)
North Carolina (AQ), Duke, Clemson, Virginia

Big 12 (9)
Iowa State (AQ), Houston, Texas Tech, Kansas, Baylor, BYU, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas

Big East (5)
UConn (AQ), Marquette, Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall

Big Sky (1)
Eastern Washington (AQ)

Big South (1)
High Point (AQ)

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

Big West (1)
UC Irvine (AQ)

CAA (1)
UNC Wilmington (AQ)

Conference-USA (1)
Sam Houston (AQ)

Horizon League (1)
Green Bay (AQ)

Ivy League (1)
Yale (AQ)

MAAC (1)
Quinnipiac (AQ)

MAC (1)
Akron (AQ)

MEAC (1)
NC Central (AQ)

Missouri Valley (1)
Indiana State (AQ)

Mountain West (6)
Utah State (AQ), San Diego State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Boise State, Nevada

NEC (1)
Merrimack (AQ)

OVC (1)
Morehead State (AQ)

Pac-12 (3)
Arizona (AQ), Utah, Washington State

Patriot League (1)
Colgate (AQ)

SEC (9)
Alabama (AQ), Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Florida

Southern (1)
Samford (AQ)

Southland (1)
McNeese (AQ)

SWAC (1)
Southern (AQ)

Summit (1)
North Dakota (AQ)

Sun Belt (1)
Appalachian State (AQ)

WCC (1)
Saint Mary’s (AQ)

WAC (1)
Grand Canyon (AQ)

First Four Out

Providence, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Wake Forest

Top 16 Seeds

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

Five Things To Know

  • Marquette will become a number one seed in the projected bracket above if it can beat UConn on Saturday in Hartford. The Golden Eagles are currently on an eight-game winning streak.
  • The annual NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview is Saturday at 12:30 PM ET on CBS.
  • Baylor could wind up with a pseudo home court advantage if it winds up with a high seed in the South Region and advances deep in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The site for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in the South Region? American Airlines Center in Dallas, which is just 87 miles away from the Bears’ campus in Waco.
  • Nebraska needs to win at least one of its final three road games to truly cement its place as an-large team. The Huskers will play at Indiana, Ohio State, and Michigan before the conclusion of the regular season and have won only one true road game in 2023-24.
  • Nevada currently has five Quad 1 wins. The only teams in college basketball who have more are Purdue, UConn, Houston, Arizona, North Carolina, Baylor, and Wisconsin.

Leftovers