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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: Jan. 10th

This is ONLY January.

Between now and Selection Sunday, each Friday I’ll give a “BRACKET BREAKDOWN” with my 68 projected teams for the 2025 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)
Lipscomb (AQ)
America East (1)
UMass Lowell (AQ)
American Athletic Conference (1)
Memphis (AQ)
Atlantic 10 (1)
Saint Louis (AQ)
ACC (5)
Duke (AQ), Clemson, Pitt, North Carolina, Louisville
Big 12 (9)
Iowa State (AQ), Kansas, Houston, Arizona, Baylor, West Virginia, UCF, Texas Tech, Cincinnati
Big East (3)
Marquette (AQ), UConn, St. John’s
Big Sky (1)
Northern Colorado (AQ)
Big South (1)
High Point (AQ)
Big Ten (10)
Michigan (AQ), UCLA, Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, Oregon, Ohio State, Nebraska
Big West (1)
UC Irvine (AQ)
CAA (1)
Charleston (AQ)
Conference-USA (1)
UTEP (AQ)
Horizon League (1)
Youngstown State (AQ)
Ivy League (1)
Princeton (AQ)
MAAC (1)
Marist (AQ)
MAC (1)
Miami (Ohio) (AQ)
MEAC (1)
Norfolk State (AQ)
Missouri Valley (1)
Bradley (AQ)
Mountain West (2)
Utah State (AQ), San Diego State
NEC (1)
Central Connecticut (AQ)
OVC (1)
Tennessee Tech (AQ)
Patriot League (1)
Holy Cross (AQ)
SEC (13)
Auburn (AQ), Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri
Southern (1)
Samford (AQ)
Southland (1)
McNeese (AQ)
SWAC (1)
Southern (AQ)
Summit (1)
Omaha (AQ)
Sun Belt (1)
South Alabama (AQ)
WCC (2)
Gonzaga (AQ), Saint Mary’s
WAC (1)
Grand Canyon (AQ)

First Four Out

Dayton, Arizona State, Indiana, Penn State

Top 16 Seeds

1: Auburn, Iowa State, Tennessee, Duke
2: Alabama, Marquette, Florida, Kentucky
3: Mississippi State, Illinois, Oregon, Kansas
4: Texas A&M, Memphis, Michigan, Houston

Five Things To Know

  • Could three teams from the SEC be number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament? Don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility. Five of the top eight seeds in the bracket above — Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky — are currently from the SEC. The last time that a conference had three number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament? The ACC in 2019.
  • As of today, Gonzaga’s remaining road games at Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Oregon State, and Washington State will all be Quad 1 opportunities. The Bulldogs are currently 2-4 in Quad 1 games.
  • Dayton is using up most of the equity it built in November and December when it beat both UConn and Marquette. The Flyers took a Quad 4 loss on Wednesday night at UMass just days after losing by 20 at GW. There’s a very good chance that the Atlantic 10 only has one team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 
  • Mississippi State and Utah State are the only teams in college basketball that are still undefeated in Quad 1 games.
  • Oregon’s win on Thursday night at Ohio State was its sixth Quad 1 win of the season. Only Auburn — who has seven Quad 1 wins — has more.

Leftovers