Where is Alabama in latest March Madness Bracketology?

Alabama remains a four seed in latest Bracketology!

Selection Sunday has arrived and although [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] and the Alabama men’s basketball team are not competing for the SEC Tournament Championship in Nashville, Crimson Tide fans can rest easy knowing their squad is firmly in the NCAA Tournament field.

Late Saturday night, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his famous bracketology, and Oats and the Tide are still on the No. 4 seed line, as the No. 15 overall seed.

Lunardi has Alabama in the West Region along with No. 1 seed North Carolina, No. 2 Arizona, and No. 3 Baylor.

Lunardi currently has eight SEC programs in the NCAA Tournament field, but it’s March and anything can happen.

Stay connected to Roll Tide Wire on Selection Sunday for more March Madness content!

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Texas A&M Basketball receives new NCAA Tournament first round matchup prediction

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Texas A&M is a predicted 10-seed to face the 7-seed Utah State Aggies in the first round

Texas A&M (20-13) has reignited what was once a lost season during the Aggies’ dismal five-game losing streak. The Aggies reeled off three wins in a row to end the regular season while adding two more significant victories this week during the SEC Tournament.

After defeating 2-seed Kentucky 97-87 on Friday night, the Aggies are back in the NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. While defeating Florida in the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon would further cement their seeding, last night’s victory over the Wildcats likely sealed their standing, listed as the second team in the “Last Four Byes” section of Lunardi’s bracket.

Looking ahead to Selection Sunday, a lot can still happen, but with A&M tentatively off the “Last Four In” line, Lunardi has now predicted the Aggies have a 10-seed facing the 7-seed Utah State Aggies, who last face each other in the NCAA Tournament back on March 19, 2010, resulting in a 69-53 Texas A&M win.

Due to the recent success of double-digit seeds making it through the tournament’s first two rounds, I doubt that this scrappy and physical squad wouldn’t thrive in the underdog role if given the chance.

7-seed Texas A&M will face 6-seed Florida on Saturday, March 16 at 2:30 CT. The game will air on ESPN. If the Aggies win, the potential to earn two more all-important Quad 1 victories is in reach, as A&M’s regular season win over the Gators would then elevate from a Quad 2 as they’ll likely move into the Top 30 in the NET rankings.

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.

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.

Texas A&M Basketball receives it’s final bracketology update ahead of the SEC Tournament

Ahead of the SEC Tournament this week, Texas A&M has received its final bracketology update via ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

For Texas A&M (18-13, 9-9 SEC), it’s now or never regarding a post-season appearance that’s not the NIT. This week’s SEC Tournament provides a significant opportunity to earn a spot in the 68-team field in the NCAA Tournament with one or possibly two wins to help solidify the Aggies’ resume.

Despite A&M’s lackluster end of the February slate, losing five games in a row, the Aggies reeled off a three-game winning streak to finish the regular season, as the emergence of junior guard Manny Obaseki has been the momentum boost head coach Buzz Williams had been searching for.

On Tuesday, just two days before A&M’s rematch with Ole Miss, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his final bracket update ahead of every conference tournament this week. He placed the Aggies as the top team in the “First Four Out” section while stating that if A&M were to lose to the Rebels on Thursday night, they would be out of the conversation for a tournament bid.

Sitting at 46th in the NET Rankings with five Quad 1 wins, Texas A&M’s current resume looks to be enough on its face, but defeating Ole Miss looks like a must-win while possibly winning a second game in the tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Quarterfinals is much more realistic.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

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.

Texas A&M Basketball rises in Joe Lunardi’s newest bracketology update

Texas A&M has finally risen in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology update after reeling off three consecutive wins to end the regular season

Texas A&M (18-13, 9-9 SEC) ended the regular season on the highest of notes, winning three consecutive SEC games, culminating with a blowout victory on the road vs. Ole Miss to the tune of 86-60.

Last week’s slew of performances was a far cry from where this team was late last month, losing five straight games while looking dreadfully below average. Still, changes to the lineup, including elevating guard Manny Obaseki as a key contributor off the bench, have provided a significant spark, as the junior scored 54 points during the Aggie’s win streak.

With the NCAA Tournament committee set to make their selections next Sunday afternoon, the upcoming SEC Tournament is Texas A&M’s last shot at earning a bid, as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has now given the program a massive boost within his newest bracket update, as the Aggies have risen from the “next team out” section to the “first four out” category ahead of this weeks tournament.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, this is big news before the Aggies tip off in a rematch with Ole Miss on Thursday night, as another win against the Rebels should be enough to garner a bid. However, if A&M succeeds, they will face red-hot Kentucky in the SEC Quarterfinals, and a potential upset over the Wildcats would more than guarantee a spot among the 68 teams.

No. 7-seed Texas A&M will play the 10-seed Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC tournament on Thursday, March 17, at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Oklahoma Sooners outlast Cincinnati 74-71 in overtime, secure win No. 20

Oklahoma Sooners outlast Cincinnati Bearcats 74-71.

Tuesday night was a messy affair in the Lloyd Noble Center, but the Oklahoma Sooners came out on top when the dust cleared. After a rough start, they clawed their way to a hard-earned 20th win.

Oklahoma hosted Cincinnati for what will go down as Oklahoma’s final Big 12 home game. While the game ended with a 74-71 win in overtime, it was not without its own challenges.

Before the game, it was announced that starter [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] would not be playing after injuring his shoulder during practice.

So before the game started, Oklahoma was down a starter as they got set to face a desperate Cincinnati team. The Bearcats, coached by Wes Miller, came out like the more hungry team as they played with more energy than the Sooners in the opening 20 minutes.

After falling behind 14-3 early, Oklahoma methodically worked its way back into the game. As he’s done many times this year, Rivaldo Soares paced the Sooners early with 10 points and was the only Sooner in double figures as OU put up a paltry 27 points at halftime.

The Sooners shot 40 percent from the field in the half, but the big story was the performance of sophomore Milos Uzan.

On a day when the Sooners needed him to up his contributions without McCollum in the lineup, Uzan was held scoreless in the first half. He also had two turnovers and sat a significant amount thanks to two fouls.

The Sooners entered the break down 28-27 and were fortunate to remain in the game after their poor start.

The second half was even worse offensively for the Sooners, as they shot 32% from the field. However, they shot a surprising 50% from long distance, and they cashed in on 21 of 23 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

A back-and-forth affair came down to the waning moments of the game.

While down two with 17.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Porter Moser drew up a crispy inbounds play to free Le’Tre Darthard in the corner for an open 3-pointer to give OU a one-point lead. Oklahoma fouled Darthard’s former Utah Valley teammate Aziz Bandaogo with mere seconds left, and Bandaogo hit one of two free throws to send the game to overtime.

Oklahoma found its defense in the extra period. Sam Godwin and Otega Oweh came through with clutch buckets, while Darthard went 3 of 4 from the free throw line to close things out. The Bearcats’ last attempt to tie the game clanged off the rim and Darthard secured teh rebound to seal the win for the Sooners on Senior Night.

Soares, Darthard, Godwin, and Maks Klanjscek were honored Tuesday night before the game.

Oklahoma found a way despite being without Javian McCollum and arguably the worst performance of his young career from Milos Uzan. Uzan shot 1 of 10 for 2 points and fouled out in the second half.

Le’Tre Darthard finished as the team leader in points with 18, while Soares and Jalon Moore dropped 16 a piece. Jizzle James, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Edgerrin James, had 16 to lead the Bearcats.

It wasn’t pretty and deserved zero style points, but Oklahoma found a way.

The Sooners were a 10 seed in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology update before the game, and this win should solidify their case as an NCAA tournament team.

If Tuesday’s win wasn’t enough, Oklahoma will have another chance to pad their resume as they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. They’ll have a chance for revenge in the final regular season iteration of the Red River Rivalry in the BIg 12 before both schools depart for the SEC.

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Blue Devils remain a No. 3 seed in the latest ESPN bracket projections

ESPN released another full-field bracket projection on Tuesday, and the Blue Devils remained where they’ve been for much of the last month.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released another full-field bracket projection on Tuesday, and the longtime expert still has Duke as a No. 3 seed in the latest model.

The Blue Devils occupied the third spot in the South region below Houston and Tennessee in the top two spots.

They drew 14-seed Akron in the opening round, with No. 6 Utah State or No. 11 Indiana State awaiting in the second round if they win.

Purdue, Connecticut, and Arizona slotted in as the other three top seeds. Marquette, North Carolina, and Iowa State took the other three No. 2 seeds, with the Tar Heels in the East region.

Clemson, the No. 5 seed in the Midwest, was the only other ACC team to make the full bracket, but both Virginia and Wake Forest were projected into one of the First Four games.

Duke almost a No. 2 seed in Lunardi’s top 16 ahead of Saturday’s game

With a few hours before Duke’s Saturday tipoff against Virginia, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi shared his top 16 overall teams and the Blue Devils are on the verge of a No. 2 seed.

Duke basketball could be a projected No. 2 seed as soon as Sunday morning.

Longtime ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi revealed his updated top 16 overall teams amid Saturday’s games, about two hours before Duke was scheduled to play Virginia.

The Blue Devils, currently ranked 10th in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, crept up to Lunardi’s ninth overall seed, the highest-ranked No. 3 in the bracket.

The 2-seeds, in order, were Tennessee, North Carolina, Marquette, and Iowa State, all of whom also play on Saturday.

Lunardi also had Virginia as one of the Last Four Byes, meaning a Saturday loss could demote them to the First Four games or even out of the tournament if the chips fall the wrong way.

Should any of the 2-seeds lose, or should Duke beat Virginia badly enough on their home court on Saturday evening, the Blue Devils would be next in line to take one of Lunardi’s top two seeds.

Lunardi’s projections aren’t the end-all, be-all for the NCAA Tournament, but with Duke 10th in the Coaches Poll and eighth in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metric, it sounds like the Blue Devils could easily be in the discussion for a No. 2 spot with a strong final week.