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After quite the roller coaster for the Tennessee Volunteers, the ride, at least in the regular season, ended with Tennessee being upset by Auburn and, coupled with LSU’s thrashing of Vanderbilt, cost the Volunteers the SEC Championship and along with it, their spot on the top line of the seed list. Tennessee is now a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are also the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
Even though they landed as the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, Kentucky is actually No. 3 overall on the NCAA seed list, behind Virginia and Gonzaga. And on the heels of their season-sweep of Duke, North Carolina is the last No. 1 seed in this projection. Duke, Tennessee, Michigan State and Michigan make up the second line with LSU also in play for a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs.
As for that mess of a bubble, Florida and Alabama both find themselves in the field, with the Gators among the last four byes and the Tide among the last four in. Minnesota, Clemson and Indiana are also currently slated for Dayton.
Texas, Creighton, North Carolina State and Belmont are the first four out, followed by Saint Mary’s, Providence, Xavier and Butler.
There’s a lot of chatter about whether Belmont should get an at-large bid after losing the Ohio Valley championship to Murray State (represented with bold text in the field, as will all teams who officially clinch their conference’s automatic bid). And yes, the Bruins did beat Lipscomb twice and won at Murray State and have a NET ranking of 41. But being a mid-major, you know the committee will pick them apart because of them being swept by Jacksonville State and also losing at Green Bay (220 NET ranking). That, plus all the time between now and Selection Sunday could ultimately doom Belmont to the NIT.
Here’s the full field.
Bracketology: March 10th
| East Region (Washington, D.C.) | West Region (Anaheim) |
|---|---|
| East Region (Washington, D.C.) | West Region (Anaheim) |
| Columbia (Mar. 22/24) | Salt Lake City (Mar. 21/23) |
| 1. Virginia (ACC) | 1. Gonzaga (West Coast) |
| 16. Norfolk St (MEAC) / St. Francis (PA) (NEC) | 16. Iona (MAAC) / Prairie View A&M (SWAC) |
| 8. Ohio State | 8. Oklahoma |
| 9. Ole Miss | 9. Utah State |
| San Jose (Mar. 22/24) | San Jose (Mar. 22/24) |
| 5. Virginia Tech | 5. Nevada (Mountain West) |
| 12. Alabama / Minnesota | 12. Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun) |
| 4. Kansas State | 4. Florida State |
| 13. Hofstra (Colonial) | 13. New Mexico State (WAC) |
| Jacksonville (Mar. 21/23) | Tulsa (Mar. 22/24) |
| 6. Cincinnati | 6. Mississippi State |
| 11. Arizona State | 11. TCU |
| 3. LSU (SEC) | 3. Houston (AAC) |
| 14. Harvard (Ivy) | 14. UC Irvine (Big West) |
| Des Moines (Mar. 21/23) | Des Moines (Mar. 21/23) |
| 7. Iowa State | 7. Louisville |
| 10. Seton Hall | 10. Temple |
| 2. Michigan State | 2. Michigan |
| 15. Radford (Big South) | 15. Sam Houston State (Southland) |
| Midwest Region (Kansas City) | South Region (Louisville) |
| Columbia (Mar. 22/24) | Columbus (Mar. 22/24) |
| 1. North Carolina | 1. Kentucky |
| 16. Omaha (Summit) | 16. Bradley (Missouri Valley) |
| 8. Iowa | 8. VCU (Atlantic 10) |
| 9. Washington (Pac-12) | 9. UCF |
| Hartford (Mar. 21/23) | Salt Lake City (Mar. 21/23) |
| 5. Buffalo (MAC) | 5. Marquette |
| 12. Clemson / Indiana | 12. Murray State (Ohio Valley) |
| 4. Wisconsin | 4. Kansas |
| 13. Vermont (America East) | 13. Old Dominion (C-USA) |
| Tulsa (Mar. 22/24) | Hartford (Mar. 21/23) |
| 6. Villanova (Big East) | 6. Auburn |
| 11. Florida | 11. Baylor |
| 3. Texas Tech (Big 12) | 3. Purdue |
| 14. Georgia State (Sun Belt) | 14. Montana (Big Sky) |
| Jacksonville (Mar. 21/23) | Columbus (Mar. 22/24) |
| 7. Maryland | 7. Wofford (Southern) |
| 10. Syracuse | 10. St. John's |
| 2. Tennessee | 2. Duke |
| 15. Wright State (Horizon) | 15. Colgate (Patriot) |
- Last Four Byes: Baylor, Florida, TCU, Arizona State
- Last Four In: Minnesota, Alabama, Clemson, Indiana
- First Four Out: Texas, Creighton, North Carolina State, Belmont
- Next Four Out: Saint Mary’s, Providence, Xavier, Butler
Conference Breakdown
Big Ten - 9
ACC - 8
SEC - 8
Big 12 - 7
American - 4
Big East - 4
Mountain West - 2
Pac-12 - 2
One-bid leagues - 24
Three more championships will be decided today, starting in the Big South as Radford takes on Gardner-Webb at 1:00 on ESPN. At 2:00 on CBS, it’s the Missouri Valley final between Bradley and Northern Iowa. Unfortunately, no Sister Jean in this year’s field. She’ll have to settle for the NIT. And finally, at 4:00 on ESPN, it’s Lipscomb vs. Liberty for the Atlantic Sun crown.
With Championship Week now upon us, the goal is to update the field every day this week as tickets are punched and bubble teams either play their way in or play their way out. We’ll dig into the bubble as the week goes on. Enjoy the week, folks.