Here’s my latest projected NCAA tournament field of 68 (* = conference champion).
| Seed | Team | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syracuse* | Big East |
| 2 | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 3 | Baylor | Big 12 |
| 4 | Florida | SEC |
| 5 | Temple* | Atlantic 10 |
| 6 | Florida State | ACC |
| 7 | Gonzaga | West Coast |
| 8 | Harvard* | Ivy |
| 9 | Kansas State | Big 12 |
| 10 | Connecticut | Big East |
| 11 | Mississippi State | SEC |
| 12 | Northwestern/Miami | Play-in |
| 13 | Iona* | MAAC |
| 14 | Drexel* | CAA |
| 15 | Bucknell* | Patriot |
| 16 | Long Island* | Northeast |
| Seed | Team | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky* | SEC |
| 2 | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 3 | Marquette | Big East |
| 4 | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 5 | New Mexico* | Mountain West |
| 6 | Murray State* | Ohio Valley |
| 7 | Creighton | Missouri Valley |
| 8 | Virginia | ACC |
| 9 | West Virginia | Big East |
| 10 | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 11 | Alabama | SEC |
| 12 | Cincinnati | Big East |
| 13 | Middle Tennessee* | Sun Belt |
| 14 | Davidson* | Southern |
| 15 | Belmont* | Atlantic Sun |
| 16 | Savannah State*/UNC Asheville* | Play-in |
| Seed | Team | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State* | Big Ten |
| 2 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 3 | Georgetown | Big East |
| 4 | Wichita State* | Missouri Valley |
| 5 | Notre Dame | Big East |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| 7 | San Diego State | Mountain West |
| 8 | Saint Louis | Atlantic 10 |
| 9 | Memphis | Conference USA |
| 10 | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 11 | Washington | Pac-12 |
| 12 | Arizona/Colorado State | Play-in |
| 13 | Oral Roberts* | Summit |
| 14 | Akron* | MAC |
| 15 | Valparaiso* | Horizon |
| 16 | Stony Brook*/Miss. Valley State | Play-in |
| Seed | Team | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke* | ACC |
| 2 | Kansas* | Big 12 |
| 3 | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 4 | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 5 | Louisville | Big East |
| 6 | UNLV | Mountain West |
| 7 | Saint Mary's* | West Coast |
| 8 | Southern Mississippi* | Conference USA |
| 9 | California | Pac-12 |
| 10 | Seton Hall | Big East |
| 11 | Xavier | Atlantic 10 |
| 12 | BYU | West Coast |
| 13 | Long Beach State* | Big West |
| 14 | Nevada* | WAC |
| 15 | Weber State* | Big Sky |
| 16 | Texas-Arlington* | Southland |
Top seeds
Kentucky: Opponents shoot just 38.1 percent inside the three-point arc against the Wildcats.
Syracuse: The Orange has just one player – Kris Joseph – averaging more than 28 minutes per game.
Michigan State: No one has more RPI top 50 wins than the Spartans, who have nine.
Duke: One of the problems with the RPI is that Duke is ranked second. The Blue Devils are good, but not that good this season.
Rising
Washington: A shallow pool of qualified bubble teams means that the Huskies remain in contention despite no top 50 wins.
Arizona: Not a banner year for the Pac-12, but the league could get three bids because of nationwide mediocrity.
Cincinnati: Give Mick Cronin credit for salvaging the Bearcats’ season following the brawl against rival Xavier.
Wichita State: The Shockers, one of the nation’s most experienced teams, should not shock anyone should they reach the Final Four.
Falling
Alabama: Suspensions have changed the tenor and direction of the season for AnthonyGrant’s team.
Mississippi State: The ill-fated Renardo Sidney era expected to be coming to an end the next few weeks.
UNLV: Inconsistent in conference play, Dave Rice’s team played its best basketball before New Year’s.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers have been sputtering since beating Georgetown on Jan. 7.
Sleepers
New Mexico: Emerging from a strong MWC, you won’t find too many better defensive teams than Steve Alford’s squad.
Kansas State: The Wildcats have their deficiencies, but offensive rebounding is not one of them.
Murray State: The Racers shoot 42 percent from three-point range while holding opponents to 28.5 percent three-point shooting.
Drexel: Unlikely to be rewarded with a strong seed, Bruiser Flint’s team could give a No. 3 seed fits in the first round.
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