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Notes:
- Auto bid holders in this section are noted by the conference names in parentheses.
- Arrows indicate movement up or down the seed list (down to the spot on the seed list).
- New entrants are marked with an asterisk.
- For at-large candidates only, the numbers in parentheses after the team’s name are as follows: record vs. D1 opposition/record in Group 1 and Group 2 games/record in Group 1 games only. This information reflects NET data as of Sunday, Feb. 24. I pulled the quality win info from WarrenNolan.com’s selection sheets.
No. 1 Seeds
(1) Duke Blue Devils (ACC) (24-3/15/8) - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Columbia 1
(2) Virginia Cavaliers (24-2/14/9) - LOUISVILLE - Columbus 1
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs (WCC) (27-2/11/4) - ANAHEIM - Salt Lake City 1
(4) Kentucky Wildcats (23-4/14/9) - KANSAS CITY - Columbus 2
No. 2 Seeds
(↑5) North Carolina Tar Heels (22-5/12/7) - KANSAS CITY - Columbia 2
(↑6) Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten) (23-5/14/11) - LOUISVILLE - Des Moines 1
(7) Tennessee Volunteers (23-3/10/5) - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jacksonville 1
(↓8) Michigan Wolverines (24-4/15/7) - ANAHEIM - Des Moines 2
The Spartans’ 77-70 road victory over the Wolverines pushed MSU up to the sixth spot overall, while Michigan slips behind Tennessee. If Sparty can sweep the season series on March 9th, they’ll even more set to challenge for a top seed.
No. 3 Seeds
(9) Houston Cougars (American) (26-1/14/4) - ANAHEIM - Tulsa 1
(10) LSU Tigers (SEC) (22-5/14/7) - LOUISVILLE - Tulsa 2
(11) Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East) (23-4/13/8) - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Hartford 1
(12) Kansas Jayhawks (20-7/13/9) - KANSAS CITY - Salt Lake City 2
No. 4 Seeds
(13) Purdue Boilermakers (20-7/14/8) - KANSAS CITY - Jacksonville 2
(14) Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12) (21-6/10/6) - LOUISVILLE - Hartford 2
(15) Wisconsin Badgers (19-8/11/7) - WASHINGTON, D.C. - San José 1
(16) Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-5/12/5) - ANAHEIM - San José 2
No. 5 Seeds
(17) Florida State Seminoles (21-6/10/5)
(18) Maryland Terrapins (21-7/12/6)
(19) Nevada Wolf Pack (MW) (25-2/8/0)
(20) Iowa Hawkeyes (21-6/11/4)
No. 6 Seeds
(21) Mississippi State Bulldogs (20-7/12/7)
(22) Virginia Tech Hokies (21-6/9/3)
(23) Cincinnati Bearcats (23-4/8/3)
(↑24) Washington Huskies (Pac-12) (22-5/6/1)
No. 7 Seeds
(↓25) Iowa State Cyclones (19-8/8/5)
(↑26) Buffalo Bulls (MAC) (23-3/6/2)
(↑27) Wofford Terriers (SoCon) (21-4/7/3)
(↓28) Villanova Wildcats (20-8/12/3)
No. 8 Seeds
(29) Baylor Bears (18-9/11/4)
(30) Louisville Cardinals (18-10/8/4)
(31) Syracuse Orange (18-9/8/3)
(32) St. John’s Red Storm (20-8/10/6)
No. 9 Seeds
(33) Mississippi Rebels (19-8/7/4)
(34) Auburn Tigers (17-9/9/2)
(35) VCU Rams (A 10) (21-6/5/3)
(36) Oklahoma Sooners (17-10/10/3)
No. 10 Seeds
(37) Texas Longhorns (15-12/8/4)
(38) Florida Gators (16-11/7/2)
(39) Ohio State Buckeyes (17-10/7/4)
(40) TCU Horned Frogs (18-9/7/2)
No. 11 Seeds
(41) Lipscomb Bisons (ASUN) (19-6/3/2)
(42) Arizona State Sun Devils (19-8/8/4)
(↑43) N.C. State Wolfpack (19-8/7/1)
(↑44) UCF Knights (20-6/6/0)
No. 12 Seeds
(↓45) Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-11/8/3)
(46 - First Four) Seton Hall Pirates (16-11/10/3)
(47- First Four) Alabama Crimson Tide (16-11/9/2)
(48) Belmont Bruins (OVC) (22-4/5/2)
(49 - First Four) Temple Owls (20-7/7/2)
(50 - First Four) Utah State Aggies (21-6/3/1)
The Golden Gophers continue to tumble down the seed list, as their Sunday loss at Rutgers Scarlet Knights makes them 1-6 in their last seven games. Minnesota really need to take care of Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston on Thursday because Purdue and Maryland loom after that one. Early wins over Washington and Wisconsin, along with a late January victory over Iowa are keeping Richard Pitino’s team afloat right now.
First Four Out (NIT No. 1 Seeds)
(69) Butler Bulldogs (15-12/7/2)
(70) Clemson Tigers (16-11/4/1)
(71) Georgetown Hoyas (16-11/7/3)
(72) Furman Paladins (19-6/4/1)
Next Five Out
(73) Saint Mary’s Gaels (19-10/3/1)
(74) Dayton Flyers (18-9/2/2)
(75) Davidson Wildcats (19-7/4/0)
(76) Liberty Flames (20-6/2/1)
(77) Murray State Racers (21-4/1/0)
No. 13 Seeds
(51) New Mexico State Aggies (WAC)
(52) Yale Bulldogs (Ivy)
(53) Old Dominion Monarchs (C-USA)
(54) Vermont Catamounts (America East)
No. 14 Seeds
(55) Hofstra Pride (CAA)
(56) South Dakota State Jackrabbits (Summit)
(57) UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West)
(58) Radford Highlanders (Big South)
No. 15 Seeds
(59) Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky)
(60) Texas State Bobcats (Sun Belt)
(*61) Missouri State Bears (MVC)
(62) Wright State Raiders (Horizon)
Thanks to the Loyola Chicago Ramblers’ loss at Southern Illinois on Sunday afternoon, there’s now a three-way tie for the Valley lead. The Bears get the nod because of their 2-1 record in games against the Ramblers (2-2 in top 3 games) and the Drake Bulldogs (1-2), the other co-leaders.
No. 16 Seeds
(63) Bucknell Bison (Patriot)
(64) Sam Houston State Bearkats (Southland)
(65 - First Four) Prairie View A&M Panthers (SWAC)
(66 - First Four) Norfolk State Spartans (MEAC)
(67 - First Four) St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash (NEC)
(*68 - First Four) Iona Gaels (MAAC)
Conference Ranking With Seeds
Note: Auto bid holders are denoted by asterisks.
ACC (8): 1. Duke*, 1. Virginia, 2. North Carolina, 5. Florida State, 6. Virginia Tech, 8. Louisville, 8. Syracuse, 11. N.C. State
Big 12 (8): 3. Kansas, 4. Kansas State*, 4. Texas Tech, 6. Iowa State, 8. Baylor, 9. Oklahoma, 10. Texas, 10. TCU
Big Ten (8): 2. Michigan State*, 2. Michigan, 4. Purdue, 4. Wisconsin, 5. Maryland, 5. Iowa, 10. Ohio State, 12. Minnesota
SEC (8): 1. Kentucky, 2. Tennessee, 3. LSU*, 6. Mississippi State, 9. Mississippi, 9. Auburn, 10. Florida, 12. Alabama (First Four)
American Athletic (4): 3. Houston*, 6. Cincinnati, 11. UCF, 12. Temple (First Four)
Big East (4): 3. Marquette*, 7. Villanova, 8. St. John’s, 12. Seton Hall (First Four)
MW (2): 4. Nevada*, 12. Utah State (First Four)
Pac-12 (2): 7. Washington*, 11. Arizona State
Auto Bid Selection Procedures
Now that we are three weeks away from Selection Sunday, when necessarily and applicable, I’m using each conference’s tiebreaker procedures to determine auto bid holders.
NET Viewing Guide for Tonight
With just four games involving at-large candidates on tonight’s schedule, this is short and sweet.
Top 30 at Top 75
Group 1 for both teams
No. 28 Kansas State Wildcats (21-6, 10-3) at No. 20 Kansas Jayhawks (20-7, 9-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN)
After Saturday’s blowout loss at now-second-place Texas Tech, this is basically the Jayhawks’ last chance at extending their Big 12 title streak, particularly if Bill Self’s team has any interest in a solo crown. If the Wildcats complete the season sweep, they’ll be three games up on KU with three to play.
31-75 at Top 75
Group 1 for the visitor only; Group 2 for the host (1/2)
No. 39 Oklahoma Sooners (17-10, 5-9) at No. 15 Iowa State Cyclones (19-8, 8-6), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
The Cyclones, 1-3 in their last four, have gone into a tailspin and are now out of the Big 12 race. Plus, their seed is starting to slip. They’ll attempt to get back on track against a Sooner team that’s getting back on track. OU has won two in a row to put a five-game skid behind them. Note that ISU won by just a point in the pair’s first meeting in Norman three weeks ago.
76-160 at Top 75
Group 1 for the visitor only; Group 3 for the host (1/3)
No. 105 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-14, 3-11) at No. 24 Florida State Seminoles (21-6, 9-5), 7 p.m. (ESPN)
The Seminoles have a favorable late-season schedule, as this matchup is the first of three in a row at home. Fellow at-large contenders N.C. State and Virginia Tech will travel to Tallahassee after the Irish, and while FSU’s final regular season game will be a road contest, it’s also at Wake Forest.
161-353 at Top 75
Group 1 for the visitor only; Group 4 for the host (1/4)
No. 179 NJIT Highlanders (20-9, 8-6) at No. 45 Lipscomb Bisons (21-6, 12-2), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
If the Bisons don’t complete the season sweep of the Highlanders (they won by 18 on January 16th), they will not only lose the ASUN auto bid to Liberty (again), they’ll also be off the board as an at-large.
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