Tag: Bracketology

Kentucky is a number one seed in the latest Bracketology

Kentucky basketball receives a one-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology for ESPN.

On Saturday, Kentucky basketball defeated the Louisville Cardinals to advance the Wildcats to 10 – 1 on the season. They also jumped up to number four in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Now, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Cats as one of the four number one seeds in his latest Bracketology.

Lunardi has Kentucky as the top seed in the West Bracket, where they would play either American or Hampton in round one. The other number one seeds are Iowa State, the Auburn Tigers, and the Tennessee Volunteers.

Related: How the transfer from Kentucky in 2024 are doing

The number two seed out west is Gonzaga, and would be an interesting rematch down the line. Kansas is a very strong three-seed, with UCLA as the number four.

An interesting note this week is the potential second round matchup for Kentucky. The number nine seed is John Calipari and Arkansas, setting up a fun second round battle….if Coach Cal can get past round one.

It’s still early, but this would be a difficult bracket if things end up this way.

Notre Dame women’s basketball drops to No. 3 seed in ESPN bracketology

The Irish’s perception continues to suffer.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost both games it played in the Cayman Islands Classic to TCU and Utah. In doing so, it seriously hurt its perception among those who follow women’s basketball for a living.

Not only did the Irish drop seven spots in the latest AP Top 25 poll from third to 10th, further than any other team, but they fell in Charlie Creme’s latest bracketology for ESPN. After a road win over USC allowed them to ascend to a No. 1 seed, they have fallen to a No. 3 seed.

What’s more, the Irish are in the quadrant featuring UConn, the top overall seed in this bracketology. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs have been bumped up to a No. 2 seed.

While the Irish remain highly ranked, this past week has led many to believe they aren’t as good as previously thought. The good news is it’s early in the season still, and there’s plenty of time to convince people to come back around on them. But it might become harder if they don’t beat at least one of Texas or the Huskies in two of their next three games.

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How Kentucky fares in Joe Lunardi’s latest edition of Bracketology

Kentucky basketball is up another spot in the latest edition of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology.

Kentucky basketball is continuing to rise, setting the team up for strong positioning as they hurtle towards SEC play and March Madness.

The Kentucky Wildcats have risen to a two seed in ESPN college basketball expert Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projection, which dropped Tuesday morning.

Per Lunardi’s prediction, Kentucky is still slated to play in the Midwest region. However, the team has risen a slot from last week’s edition — now sitting as the second best team in that corner of the bracket.

The Wildcats are slated to open play in this edition against the fifteenth-seeded University of North Florida, who are 4-2 to start the year. The winner of that matchup would then play whoever advances between seventh-seeded Xavier and tenth-seeded Michigan.

It’s no surprise Kentucky has continued to rise, capitalizing off of a strong win against Duke. In the week since, they’ve dominated their two opponents — beating Lipscomb 97-68 and Jackson State 108-59.

With the trio of recent wins, plus an 87-68 thumping of Western Kentucky in the BBN Invitational after the poll dropped, the Wildcats are now 6-0 in head coach Mark Pope’s inaugural campaign. They’ve shot up to eighth in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll, and are absolutely rolling early in the year.

They’ll have a chance to continue shooting up the bracket this week, as they’ll only play Georgia State before Lunardi’s next prediction drops.

The next edition of Lunardi’s Bracketology will release next Tuesday, December 3.

How Kentucky fared in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections

Kentucky basketball is up to a three seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology prediction on Monday, featuring a surge upward from the Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky has moved up to a third seed, with Lunardi projecting the team as a  three seed. They’re set to play in the Midwest region, where they would face fourteen seed Vermont in the opening round.

The move can be directly attributed to the Wildcats’ 77-72 upset win over the Duke Blue Devils last week, with Kentucky showing off exactly the kind of winning basketball it takes to win major tournament games.

Related: Best photos of Kentucky’s win over Lipscomb

This is a sentiment Lunardi clearly agreed with, as he moved Mark Pope’s squad up in seeding.

“I might not always agree, but there’s a reason the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee insists November results mean just as much as late-season games. Let’s go back a week to the final media timeout of the Champions Classic. Kentucky had come from double digits down to tie Duke. The underdog Wildcats managed to win those last four minutes, not only notching the first major victory of the Mark Pope era but creating the kind of bracket disruption not normally seen this early in the season,” Lunardi said. “Former top-liner Duke drops all the way to a 3-seed in the shuffle, while Kentucky leaps three lines to join the Blue Devils.”

Lunardi’s next Bracketology will release next Tuesday, with the 4-0 Wildcats set to at least hold the line until that ensuing edition.

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in Joe Lunardi’s latest 2025 bracketology

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in Joe Lunardi’s latest 2025 Bracketology

Wisconsin men’s basketball program appeared in Joe Lunardi’s latest 2025 March Madness men’s field prediction on Wednesday. 

After being projected as one of the bubble teams in Lunardi’s May installation of his bracketology, the ESPN analyst now considers the Badgers a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin’s placement arrives on the heels of UW’s statement win over No. 17 Arizona on Nov. 15 at the Kohl Center. The win, fueled by 41 points from wing sensation John Tonje, rocketed Wisconsin up to No. 19 in the latest AP Poll.

If Lunardi’s forecast comes to pass, the Badgers will square off against Mississippi State, a program that holds the No. 8 seed in the Midwest cohort. The Bulldogs most recently dropped their first-round match as an eight-seed to No. 9 Michigan State in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, lost its opening round contest to No. 12 James Madison in the 2024 tournament. Shortly after, veteran point guard Chucky Hepburn and volume scorer A.J. Storr elected to transfer from the program.

Now, UW looks like it can compete once more in the postseason. The Badgers lead the nation in free throw percentage at 88.64% (117-of-132) and can turn to several playmakers for scoring contributions at all three levels.

Greg Gard’s program will return to the court for a bout against UCF on Nov. 22 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia.

Joe Lunardi projects Auburn as No. 1 seed in latest ‘Bracketology’

Auburn took the place of rival Alabama, who Lundardi dropped to a No. 2 seed following its loss to Purdue last week.

The Auburn Tigers have shot up polls since the basketball season tipped off earlier this month. Now the No. 4 ranked team in the AP Poll and top-ranked squad according to KenPom, the Tigers added another accolade to their early season success on Tuesday, as ESPN ‘Brackelogist’ Joe Lunardi shot Bruce Pearl’s Tigers up to a No. 1 overall seed in his projected NCAA Tournament bracket.

Auburn took the place of rival Alabama, who Lundardi dropped to a No. 2 seed following its loss to Purdue last week. Lunardi has the Tigers as the fourth and final No. 1 seed in the dance behind No. 1 overall seed Kansas, Gonzaga, and two-time defending champion UConn.

Lundardi’s projected field would have the Tigers hosting the ‘South Region’, which would host first-weekend games in Atlanta. In an interesting wrinkle, future non-conference opponents Iowa State (2), Duke (3), along with SEC rival Florida (6) would also be competition in the region.

While Lundardi’s projections should be taken with a grain of salt, especially this early in the season, it is important to note how Auburn’s early season success has translated to respect among most expert rankings, polls, and bracket projections. The Tigers have plenty of work, specifically in the non-conference schedule, ahead of them, but Bruce Pearl’s team has every opportunity in the world to compete for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As we saw last year with Auburn falling to No. 13 Yale,  the difference between a top-line ranking and a middle-of-the-pack seed could change the outlook of an entire program’s NCAA Tournament run. We’ll see if the Tigers can hold onto a No. 1 seed after a grueling Maui Invitational set to begin on Monday, Nov. 25.

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Notre Dame listed as No. 2 seed in first ESPN women’s bracketology

Hopefully, that can become a No. 1 seed.

Notre Dame got its season off to a proper start Monday with a blowout win over Mercyhurst. This occurred on the eve of ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme releasing his first bracketology of the season.

Given that the Irish are starting the season as the sixth-ranked team in the country, it should come as no surprise that they’re a No. 2 seed in this initial bracketology. While there surely are a few paths that could make them a No. 1 seed, one in particular would allow them to put their fate in their own hands.

In a separate story, Creme notes that the Irish play both USC and UConn this season. All three of them play each other this season, and one team going 2-0 against the other would lock in a No. 1 seed assuming there aren’t any losses to inferior opponents during the season. Creme also notes that the Irish must beat Texas to get that seed if they lose to both the Trojans and Huskies.

We have four months of this, people. Time to buckle up.

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Where ESPN’s final preseason bracketology has Florida seeded

Gators hoops is among 10 SEC schools in ESPN’s final bracketology ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

The 2024-25 college basketball campaign tips off in less than two weeks and ahead of the season opener, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his final preseason bracketology.

Florida basketball, which finished strong last season, enters the year ranked 21st in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the Associate Press Poll. The Gators also received a boost from Lunardi from his last update.

The Orange and Blue find itself a No. 7 seed in the West Region (San Francisco) where they are paired up with the 10th-seeded Maryland Terrapins in Seattle, Washington. That is an improvement over the August update when Florida was assigned a No. 9 seed in the East Region (Newark).

The Gators were a No. 6 seed in Lunardi’s way-too-early bracket and held on to that projection through the first update. He dropped Florida to a No. 7 seed in the mid-May update and again to a No. 9 seed before June.

After moving up to an 8-seed in the June update, Florida fell back down to the No. 9 to close out July.

Where does the rest of the SEC stand?

The Southeastern Conference has 10 teams in the bracketology, headlined by the Alabama Crimson Tide, who hold the top seed in the South Region, followed by the Auburn Tigers (2-seed, Midwest), Tennessee Volunteers (3-seed, West), Texas A&M Aggies (4-seed, East) and Texas Longhorns (5-seed, West).

Next up are the Arkansas Razorbacks (6-seed, South), Kentucky Wildcats (7-seed, East), Florida (7-seed, West), Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-seed, West) and Ole Miss Rebels (10-seed, South). That 10-pack of schools ties the Big Ten for the most teams representing a single conference.

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ESPN’s Charlie Creme highlights Notre Dame in big early-season games

Be sure to watch these games.

Notre Dame is expected to do well this season. Its No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll is evidence of that. Naturally, some of its early games will receive a lot of attention.

In light of the poll’s release, ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme has published a story that answers the question of what the biggest early-season game is for each team ranked in that poll.

Creme has the Irish’s ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge matchup against Texas as the Irish’s biggest game and gives the following reason:

“Both the Irish and Longhorns saw freshmen become stars a season ago with their team leaders out with injury. Rori Harmon is back for Texas to team up with Madison Booker, and [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] can now pair [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], returning from a knee injury. This is a dream backcourt matchup that could define which duo is meshing the best. This looks to be the best Irish team under Ivey. This game and one a week later against UConn, also in South Bend, should tell us just how good.”

The Irish also will face USC early in the season, and Creme has that game as the biggest for the Trojans, who rank third in the poll. Here’s the reason for that:

“A week before the two schools square off in football in Los Angeles, they do the same in basketball. Both the Trojans and the Irish should be in the mix for a No. 1 seed come March, and the winner of this game takes a massive advantage in that quest. One month before (JuJu) Watkins gets to go head-to-head with (Paige) Bueckers, she faces Hannah Hidalgo, the second-best freshman to Watkins a year ago.”

So yeah, there are a few game on the schedule you won’t want to miss. Simply put, don’t.

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Where Florida basketball falls in ESPN’s August bracketology update

Florida stayed put as a No. 9 seed in the latest bracketology update from ESPN’s NCAA Tournament expert Joe Lunardi.

The latest monthly bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Florida staying put as a projected 9-seed in the East (Newark) Region.

Lunardi has remained firm that Todd Golden has an NCAA Tournament-caliber team in Gainesville, but he’s wavered a bit on how strong that team truly is.

Florida was a No. 6 seed in Lunardi’s way-too-early bracket and held on to that projection through the first update. He dropped the Gators to a No. 7 seed in the mid-May update and again to a No. 9 seed before June.

After moving up to an 8-seed in the June update, Florida fell back down to the 9-seed to close out July.

Lunardi has Florida facing No. 8 Michigan in the first round, although it’s exceedingly unlikely that the matchup will come to fruition. Bracketology projections should be used as rough guides rather than taken as fact.

Golden has transformed the program in just a few short years to where the national expectation is a March Madness run. Gator Nation would like a deeper run this year, but it’s hard to deny the progress made over two seasons.

Where does the rest of the SEC stand?

The Southeastern Conference boasts 10 projected playoff teams and is tied with the Big Ten for the most. The Big 12 is close to that mark with nine followed by the ACC and Big East with six apiece.

Alabama leads the way as the projected No. 1 seed in the South (Atlanta) Region, but Auburn is a threat to overtake its in-state rival as a No. 2 in the Midwest (Indianapolis) Region.

should immediately establish itself as a conference power on the hardwood. Lunardi has SEC-newcomer Texas as a No. 4 seed in the West (San Francisco) and the Tennessee Volunteers also claim a 4-seed, in the Midwest Region.

Arkansas and Texas A&M are No. 5 seeds in the East and South, respectively, while Kentucky and Mississippi State are the No. 6 seeds in those regions. Ole Miss is the No. 9 seed in the Midwest, rounding out the projected Field of 64 teams in the conference.

Lunardi also included [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media] in his Next Four Out.

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