We get the latest look at an estimated 68 from America's Best Bracketologists.
The first week of February is in the books and we're nearing the end of the regular season in college basketball. We're seeing some teams continually add to their resumes for the NCAA Tournament, while other teams that were previously locked in for the tournament now stand on shaky ground.
Analysts like ESPN's Joe Lunardi, CBS's Jerry Palm, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, and Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney are regularly updating their projected field of 68 and going to where the top shows will end mid-March. We'll discuss what experts are speculating as the rest of the season unfolds.
Number 1 seeds
As it stands, both Auburn and Gonzaga remain the consensus No. 1 seed across the board among experts. The Tigers entered the week on a nation-best 19-game winning streak and managed to avoid a few close calls in SEC play to stay on top. The Bulldogs are the top team in the net ratings and have been consistently supported by the West Coast Conference teams by 30+ points.
There are varying opinions on who should grab the other No. 1 seeds. Pam and Miller have tabbed Kansas for one of them and are backed by Javox, who owns a nation-high eight Quadrant 1 victory. Miller, Lunardi and Sweeney have a boiler in one of those places but it's starting to look unstable. The defending national champions have dropped two of their last three, but have seven Quad 1 victories to back them up. Meanwhile, Purdue has re-emerged as a potential one-seeded after five straight wins.
Other Notable Seeds
The Kansas, Purdue, and Boiler selections could very well end Sunday with the No. 2 seed and they'll have company. Teams such as Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Wisconsin are in talks for two-seeded, with the hope of elevating themselves into one-seeded territory. Providence, Houston, Michigan State and Texas Tech are also secretive.
who is inside/outside
The real tension comes from the bubble and it determining who will make their way into the tournament and who will be dropped.
Entering the month of February, the likes of Oregon, Creighton, San Francisco, North Carolina and Wyoming, are all completely on the bubble. Opinions vary on their respective fates with a team like Florida, for example, in a field of 68 for some experts, while others view them on the outside.
These teams still have a lot of time to improve their position but they have to move fast.
conference break
- ACC - 4 (Lunardi & Miller), 3 (Pam & Sweeney)
- Big 12 - 8 (Miller), 7 (Lunardi and Sweeney), 6 (Pam)
- Big East - 7 Lunardi, Pam & Sweeney), 6 (Miller)
- Big Ten - 7 (Lunardi, Miller, Pam and Sweeney)
- MWC - 4 (Lunardi, Miller, Pam & Sweeney)
- Pac-12 - 5 (Miller and Pam), 4 (Lunardi and Sweeney)
- SEC - 8 (Pam), 7 (Sweeney), 6 (Lunardi & Miller)
- WCC - 4 (Lunardi, Miller, Pam & Sweeney)