Bracketology 12/2/2024

The first month of the season has been more turbulent than usual. Of the four teams I had as preseason 1 seeds, only Kansas remains on the top line. The others have disappointed to varying degrees- Duke has lost some close games (but will be fine), Houston is 4-3 but has plenty of quality win opportunities remaining, and UConn is an actual bubble team.

One thing that struck me putting together this bracket is how much of the field is filled with SEC and Big 12 teams. There’s two main factors behind this. First, both leagues have expanded from 14 to 16 teams. Second, the ACC and Big East are having awful starts to the season, so there are plenty of bids to go around.

I’ll look to update my seed list again in two weeks or so.

1: Auburn, Kansas, Tennessee, Gonzaga

2: Duke, Alabama, Marquette, Kentucky

3: Iowa State, Florida, Oregon, Purdue

4: Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, Pittsburgh

5: Illinois, Wisconsin, Baylor, Texas A&M

6; Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Texas

7: North Carolina, St. John’s, Michigan, Nevada

8: St. Mary’s, Utah State, Texas Tech, UCLA

9: Ohio State, Georgia, BYU, Michigan State

10: Clemson, Ole Miss, Nebraska, West Virginia

11: UC Irvine, New Mexico, (Louisville/Arizona), (Connecticut/San Diego State)

12: Dayton, Liberty, Drake, McNeese

13: Grand Canyon, Lipscomb, Arkansas State, Kent State

14: South Dakota State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Furman, High Point

15: UMass Lowell, Charleston, Columbia, Northern Coloardo

16: Norfolk State, Little Rock, (St. Peter’s/Grambling State), (American/Central Connecticut)

First Four Out: LSU, Butler, Maryland, Arkansas

Next Four Out: VCU, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State

Bids by Conference:

SEC: 11

Big 12: 10

Big Ten: 8

ACC: 5

Mountain West: 4

Big East: 3

West Coast: 2