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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: March 15th

And Here. We. Go!

Between now and Selection Sunday, each day 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 won its league’s regular season will be listed as that league’s “automatic qualifier” until a team has clinched an “automatic qualifier” to the NCAA Tournament. Teams that have already earned automatic qualifiers will be listed in BOLD.

The Current Field

Atlantic Sun (1)
Stetson (AQ)

America East (1)
Vermont (regular season champion)

American Athletic Conference (2)
South Florida (regular season champion), Florida Atlantic

Atlantic 10 (2)
VCU (highest remaining seed in league tournament), Dayton

ACC (4)
North Carolina (regular season champion), Duke, Clemson, Virginia

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

Big East (5)
UConn (regular season champion), Marquette, Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John’s

Big Sky (1)
Montana State (AQ)

Big South (1)
Longwood (AQ)

Big Ten (6)
Purdue (regular season champion), Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State

Big West (1)
UC Irvine (regular season champion)

CAA (1)
Charleston (AQ)

Conference-USA (1)
Sam Houston (regular season champion)

Horizon League (1)
Oakland (AQ)

Ivy League (1)
Princeton (regular season champion)

MAAC (1)
Quinnipiac (regular season champion)

MAC (1)
Akron (highest remaining seed in league tournament)

MEAC (1)
Norfolk State (regular season champion)

Missouri Valley (1)
Drake (AQ)

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

NEC (1)
Wagner (AQ)

OVC (1)
Morehead State (AQ)

Pac-12 (3)
Arizona (regular season champion), Washington State, Colorado

Patriot League (1)
Colgate (AQ)

SEC (7)
Tennessee (regular season champion), Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida

Southern (1)
Samford (AQ)

Southland (1)
McNeese (AQ)

SWAC (1)
Grambling (regular season champion)

Summit (1)
South Dakota State (AQ)

Sun Belt (1)
James Madison (AQ)

WCC (2)
Saint Mary’s (AQ), Gonzaga

WAC (1)
Grand Canyon (regular season champion)

First Four Out

Texas A&M, Pitt, Providence, Ohio State

Top 16 Seeds

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

Five Things To Know

  • Since Lou Carnesecca retired in 1992, UConn is 28-13 against St. John’s. During that time, the Huskies have won five national titles while the Red Storm have won just five NCAA Tournament games. The two programs will meet tonight at MSG in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
  • New Mexico cemented its place in the NCAA Tournament with Friday’s win over Boise State. The Lobos — who will play in March Madness for the first time since 2014 — are 7-7 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents and ranked 23rd in the NET. Richard Pitino’s team will play Colorado State tonight in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament. Tip off is at Midnight on CBS Sports Network.
  • All bubble teams should root for Florida Atlantic to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament. If that happens, another at-large bid will open for a team that’s currently on the bubble. The Owls are the only team from the American Athletic Conference that’s capable of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
  • Ohio State is now 6-1 under interim head coach Jake Diebler. The Buckeyes will face Illinois today in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
  • Duquesne hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977. The Dukes — who will play St. Bonaventure on Saturday in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament — are two wins away from returning to March Madness for the first time in 47 years.

Leftovers