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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: March 1st

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 (2)
Richmond (AQ), Dayton

ACC (5)
North Carolina (AQ), Duke, Clemson, Virginia, Wake Forest

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

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

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)
Charleston (AQ)

Conference-USA (1)
Louisiana Tech (AQ)

Horizon League (1)
Oakland (AQ)

Ivy League (1)
Cornell (AQ)

MAAC (1)
Fairfield (AQ)

MAC (1)
Akron (AQ)

MEAC (1)
Norfolk State (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)
Little Rock (AQ)

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

Patriot League (1)
Colgate (AQ)

SEC (7)
Tennessee (AQ), Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida

Southern (1)
Samford (AQ)

Southland (1)
McNeese (AQ)

SWAC (1)
Grambling (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

Gonzaga, Villanova, Colorado, St. John’s

Top 16 Seeds

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

Five Things To Know

  • No highly seeded team should want to wind up in the East Region on Selection Sunday. Why? You’re likely going to have to beat UConn in Boston to go to the Final Four.
  • St. John’s quest to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament primarily hinges on how Villanova performs down the stretch. The Red Storm currently only have one win over a team that’s a lock for March Madness (Creighton), but swept the Wildcats during the regular season. Kyle Neptune’s squad was ranked 32nd in the NET as of Friday and is the second team OUT in the bracket above.
  • Nevada picked up its sixth Quad 1 win on Tuesday at Colorado State. Only Purdue, UConn, Houston, Arizona, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have more. The Wolf Pack are on track to be a single digit seed in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Something to remember for March Madness: A team from the First Four has won at least a game in the Round of 64 in 10 of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments.
  • Don’t be shocked if a bid stealer emerges out of the Pac-12. Arizona and Washington State are the only two locks from this league to hear their names called on Selection Sunday.

Leftovers