Tag: Bracketology

Kentucky drops to four seed in ESPN Bracketology after SEC Tournament loss

Kentucky drops a spot in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology for ESPN

It was a tough Friday evening for Big Blue Nation, as the Kentucky Wildcats fell to the Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. It was the third straight loss in conference tournament play for the Cats.

The loss showed the weaknesses of the Wildcats, especially on the defensive end, and gives a blueprint for how to beat them. The NCAA Tournament is up next, and fans and players alike will wait to see where they’re seeded on Sunday.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his Bracketology report on Saturday, and now predicts the Wildcats to be a four seed in the Midwest Region. He has them facing Vermont in round one, and, if the seeding hold, San Diego State in round two.

The Purdue Boilermakers are the one seed in that region, with Iowa State as the second seed. Lunardi also has Mississippi State and Texas A&M in the Midwest Region. Both SEC foes gave Kentucky problems this season.

The conference tournaments will wrap up on Sunday, and the the field will be set Sunday evening. Wildcats fans will anxiously await news on where they’ll play.

Lunardi drops Kentucky instead of Duke after Friday upset

The Blue Devils were at risk of dropping out of Joe Lunardi’s top three seeds, but an SEC team handed them a favor with a Friday loss.

Duke fans will have a nervous wait for Selection Sunday.

The Blue Devils are right on the edge of the line between a No. 3 and No. 4 seed after a quarterfinal loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament. ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi had Duke as the 12th overall seed after the upset, the lowest No. 3 seed in the field.

With the pressure mounting and a number of teams able to potentially jump Duke up to the 3-seed line, the Blue Devils got a favor from the Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky, another No. 3 seed in Lunardi’s projections, got bounced from the SEC Tournament in a 97-87 quarterfinal loss to unranked Texas A&M.

After the Wolfpack beat Virginia to move on to the ACC title game, the ESPN expert voted to keep Duke over Kentucky.

The Blue Devils remained the 12th overall seed while Kentucky fell down to 14th. Illinois made the jump past Duke into the 11th overall spot, now firmly in line for a No. 3 spot in the ESPN expert’s eyes.

Despite the break, however, the new 13th overall team is still a threat. Auburn plays Mississippi State in the SEC semifinals on Saturday, and a win could still kick Duke down a line.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Bracket Update: Texas No. 9 seed in ESPN bracketology projection

The Texas Longhorns were solidly in the tournament as a No. 9 seed in a recent bracket prediction.

It’s that time of the year. College basketball fans across the country have their eye on bracket updates from leading NCAA tournament analysts.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his recent projections at 12:30 a.m. CT on March 15. It placed the Longhorns solidly in the tournament as a No. 9 seed.

The projection pits Texas against No. 8 seeded Nebraska, and in the same region as the reigning national champion UConn Huskies who defeated Texas earlier this season. Much has changed since the Longhorns faced the projected No. 1 seeded Huskies, but the matchup probably isn’t one Texas should relish.

On the other hand, anything can happen in March. It just takes a good weekend to reach the Sweet 16, and that’s what Texas hopes it can find in the early going of the NCAA tournament.

Other notable projections placed rivals in the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies into the field. The Aggies were noted as the last team in the tournament while Oklahoma was given one of the last four byes. Given the Sooners won 20 games in the Big 12, they should be a lock to make it into the tournament.

The Kansas State Wildcats (19-14) are likely out of contention despite defeating Texas on Wednesday. The team was eliminated from the Big 12 tournament in a loss to Iowa State, 76-57.

NCAA tournament predictions see changes as more teams add data points in conference tournament games. Even so, Texas looks to be safe heading into Sunday’s tournament announcement.

UNC, Tennessee battling for final No. 1 seed during conference tournament week

The UNC basketball program is battling Tennessee for the final No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

March Madness is officially underway as conference tournaments are off to a roaring start here this week.

For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they entered the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed and have made it to the semifinals after blowing past Pitt on Thursday. As other teams look to play themselves into the field, there are some teams that are playing to improve their seed.

And that includes North Carolina.

Going into this week, the Tar Heels are battling Tennessee for that final No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona is also in the running but would need both the Volunteers and Tar Heels to lose early and then win their conference tournament.

After North Carolina’s win over Florida State on Thursday, Joe Lunardi had the Tar Heels jumping Tennessee to occupy that No. 1 seed.

The Volunteers are facing off against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament on Friday and a win moves them past UNC until the Tar Heels play Pitt on Friday night. A loss? Well, UNC like stays in that No. 1 seed and is battling Arizona.

This is going to be a back-and-forth weekend until the committee decides.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Florida falls in CBS Sports bracketology despite UGA tournament win

The Gators lost a seed spot and moved to another region in Jerry Palm’s most recent update.

Todd Golden’s Gators made it past the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but it was not pretty. After a tug-of-war between the two rival schools, Florida ultimately prevailed, 85-80, but it was far from a pretty affair.

Following the Orange and Blue’s first win in the SEC Tournament, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm released his latest bracketology update, in which Todd Golden’s team fell a spot to No. 8 while shifting over to the South Region. They are now matched up with the No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers, with the top-seeded Houston Cougars and No. 15 Longwood Lancers also meeting up in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Southeastern Conference is also represented by the top team in the West Region, the Tennessee Volunteers, followed by the Kentucky Wildcats (No. 3, South), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 4, East), Auburn Tigers (No. 5, Midwest), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 5, West) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 11, West).

The Texas A&M Aggies are among the first four out while Mississippi State is among the first four.

The Gators will face Alabama in the final game of Friday’s third-round SEC Tournament slate with a tipoff time estimated around 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will once again be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Bracketology: CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has Clemson in No. 8 vs. 9 matchup in NCAA Tournament

In his Friday morning bracketology update, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm sees Clemson in a first-round No. 8 vs. 9 matchup against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament.

Where will Clemson land in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday?

It’s anyone’s guess after the Tigers suffered an embarrassing 21-point loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament at Washington’s Capital One Arena earlier this week. One thing is for certain: Clemson didn’t help its seeding chances any, and that shows in the latest NCAA Tournament bracketology predictions.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm updated his projections Friday morning and sees Clemson slipping into a No. 8 vs. No. 9 first-round matchup against Oklahoma.

The Sooners are 20-12 this season and finished ninth in a loaded Big 12 conference.

Palm forecasts the potential Tigers-Sooners matchup to be in the Midwest Region of the tournament in Indianapolis. That would be the toughest matchup Clemson could draw because a second-round date with No. 1 overall seed Purdue would await the Tigers in the second round if they managed to get past Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has Quadrant 1 wins over Iowa State, Cincinnati, Kansas State and BYU, plus five wins against Quad 2 teams. The Sooners are currently 44th in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Clemson is 36th in NET rankings.

Palm’s projected No. 1 seeds are Purdue, Houston, UConn, and Tennessee.

Bracketology: Joe Lunardi says Clemson will face this Big Ten school in NCAA Tournament

In Friday’s update, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi sees Clemson slipping from a No. 6 seed to a No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup against Michigan State in a 7 vs. 10 battle.

Clemson’s 21-point blowout loss to Boston College in Wednesday night’s ACC Tournament opener cost the Tigers any chance at improving their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers (21-11 overall) came out lifeless and never even cut the lead down to single digits after trailing 40-28 at halftime.

It was a disappointing end to an ACC season that saw many ups and downs for Clemson, which began the year 11-1 and ranked as high as No. 13 at one point, only to finish just one game over .500 in conference play.

While confidence may seem low, the NCAA Tournament is another beast and Clemson will have a chance to redeem itself beginning next week. To that end, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has updated his bracketology projections with who he sees as the complete list of NCAA Tournament teams and where they will land.

In Friday’s update, Lunardi sees Clemson slipping from a No. 6 seed to a No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup against Michigan State in a 7 vs. 10 battle.

The Spartans (19-13 overall) defeated Minnesota in their Big Ten Tournament opener on Thursday and are set to square off against projected No. 1 overall seed Purdue (28-3) Friday. Purdue won the Big Ten’s regular season championship.

Lunardi forecasts the Tigers-Spartans matchup to be in the South Region of the tournament at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. If that projection holds, it should give Clemson a significant home court advantage.

Michigan State finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten regular season standings They have Quadrant 1 wins over Baylor, Indiana State and Illinois, plus six wins against Quad 2 teams. Tom Izzo’s Spartans are currently 24th in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Clemson is 36th in NET rankings.

In Friday’s updated projections, Lunardi awards the most NCAA Tournament bids to the Big 12 with nine, followed by the SEC with eight. His projected No. 1 seeds are Purdue, Houston, UConn, and North Carolina.

The Tar Heels won the ACC regular season championship and are two wins away from winning the ACC Tournament entering Friday.

Joe Lunardi shares one last top-16 update before Duke’s ACC Tournament run begins

ESPN expert Joe Lunardi revealed his top 16 overall seeds before the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday morning. See where Duke sits before the conference bracket.

Selection Sunday is just a few days away, but teams still have their conference tournaments to move up (or down) in the national picture.

Duke’s ACC Tournament run begins on Thursday evening with a game against NC State. Ahead of the Blue Devils’ first postseason game, however, ESPN expert Joe Lunardi shared his updated top 16 overall seeds.

Duke finished as the 11th overall team in the longtime bracket expert’s rankings. Lunardi slotted the Blue Devils in as the No. 3 seed in the South region behind Houston and Creighton.

Head coach Jon Scheyer and his team would likely need to at least make the championship game to contend for a No. 2 seed, as the Blue Devils are behind Iowa State and Kentucky on the 3-seed line.

North Carolina, the only other ACC team in the top 16, came in as Lunardi’s fifth overall seed and the No. 2 in the East region. He wrote above his rankings that UNC remains in play for a top seed depending on the ACC Tournament.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Kentucky a three seed in ESPN’s newest Bracketology

Kentucky is up to a top three seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology

The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team’s recent winning streak has propelled them up the top 25 rankings. This week, they’re back inside the top ten in both polls. They also made an advancement in the newest Bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Kentucky has been mostly been seeded as a four or five seed in the recent projections, but have been moved up to a three seed in Lunardi’s latest prediction. He has them in the East Region.

In round one, Kentucky would face in-state foe Morehead State, and potentially Clemson in round two. It would get interesting from there. A rematch with North Carolina would loom in the Sweet Sixteen, and a very tough battle with Connecticut in the Elite Eight.

In this projection, the East Region is a difficult one. Not only do the Tarheels and Huskies stand in the way, but Kansas is the four seed, and South Carolina is at the five spot.

The Wildcats are talented enough to win the NCAA Tournament, but a good seed helps. They’re moving up, and if they can make a run in the SEC Tournament, they could still go even higher.

Where does Joe Lunardi have Duke in his bracket before the ACC Tournament?

With the postseason almost set to begin and less than a week between now and Selection Sunday, where will Duke end up?

With Duke’s regular season officially over and the ACC Tournament set to begin on Tuesday, there aren’t many chances remaining for NCAA Tournament seeding to improve.

With the clock almost on Selection Sunday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi revealed his latest bracket projections on Tuesday. The longtime bracket expert had the Blue Devils as his 11th overall seed and the No. 3 seed in the South region.

Duke shared their region of the bracket with Houston, the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll but Lunardi’s third overall seed, and Creighton.

Purdue, Connecticut, and Tennessee took the other three No. 1 seeds, with the Boilermakers serving as Lunardi’s top overall seed in the tournament.

North Carolina, fresh off beating the Blue Devils to claim the ACC regular-season title for themselves, barely missed out on the top line. The Tar Heels were Lunardi’s fifth overall seed and the No. 2 in the East region.