One week ago, there were five undefeated teams in men’s Division I college basketball. By Friday’s bracket, that number dropped to three—Arizona, Nebraska, and Miami (Ohio). There were also 12 one-loss
teams heading into the weekend. That club has now just eight members and does not include prior unbeatens Iowa State and Vanderbilt, both of whom dropped two games over the last seven days.
The Cyclones’ and Commodores’ bad weeks saw both tumble down to the 3 line, while the top line of Arizona, UConn, Duke, and Michigan just saw some shuffling, and Houston and Gonzaga jumped up to the 2 line—swapping places with Iowa State and Vandy. Virginia is the lone new team in the top 16, with the Cavaliers replacing Texas Tech.
After today’s full bracket, I’ll look ahead to what’s a rather underwhelming midweek slate.
NOTE: Changes since Friday’s projection are noted with (★) for new entrants, (▲) for teams moving up one or more seed lines, and (▼) for teams moving down one or more seed lines.
(1) West (San José, Thurs./Sat.)
San Diego (Fri./Sun.)
(1) Arizona (Big 12)
▲(16) LIU (NEC)
▼(8) Saint Mary’s
▼(9) Auburn
San Diego (Fri./Sun.)
(5) Arkansas
(12) Utah Valley (WAC)
▲(4) Virginia
(13) Hawai’i (Big West)
Tampa (Fri./Sun.)
▲(6) Louisville
(11) George Mason (A 10)
▼(3) Vanderbilt
▼(14) UNCW (CAA)
St. Louis (Fri./Sun.)
▼(7) Villanova
(10) Texas
(2) Nebraska (Big Ten)
(15) UT Martin (OVC)
(4) South (Houston, Thurs./Sat.)
Buffalo (Thurs./Sat.)
(1) Michigan
★(16) Navy (Patriot)
▼(8) UCF
▲(9) Georgia
Philadelphia (Fri./Sun.)
▲(5) St. John’s
(12) Miami (Ohio) (MAC)
(4) Illinois
★(13) Yale (Ivy)
Portland (Thurs./Sat.)
(6) SMU
★(11) San Diego State (MW)
(3) BYU
(14) Winthrop (Big South)
Portland (Thurs./Sat.)
▼(7) Tennessee
▼(10) TCU
▲(2) Gonzaga (WCC)
★(15) Queens (ASUN)
(2) East (Washington, D.C., Fri./Sun.)
Philadelphia (Fri./Sun.)
(1) UConn (Big East)
★/★(16) NJIT (AE)/Maryland-Eastern Shore (MEAC)
▲(8) Kentucky
▼(9) Wisconsin
Greenville (Thurs./Sat.)
▼(5) Texas Tech
(12) Liberty (CUSA)
(4) Alabama
★(13) Troy (Sun Belt)
Oklahoma City (Thurs./Sat.)
▲(6) Saint Louis
(11) Murray State (MVC)
▼(3) Iowa State
★(14) ETSU (SoCon)
St. Louis (Fri./Sun.)
(7) North Carolina
▼/★(10) Seton Hall/New Mexico
(2) Purdue
▼(15) North Dakota State (Summit)
(3) Midwest (Chicago, Fri./Sun.)
Greenville (Thurs./Sat.)
(1) Duke (ACC)
—/★(16) Saint Peter’s (MAAC)/Bethune-Cookman (MEAC)
▲(8) Texas A&M (SEC)
▲(9) Iowa
Tampa (Fri./Sun.)
(5) Kansas
▲(12) Florida Atlantic (AC)
(4) Florida
★(13) Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
Buffalo (Thurs./Sat.)
(6) Clemson
—/▼(11) Missouri/USC
(3) Michigan State
▼(14) Wright State (Horizon)
Oklahoma City (Thurs./Sat.)
▼(7) Utah State
▼(10) Miami (Fla.)
▲(2) Houston
▼(15) Portland State (Big Sky)
Rundown
Last Four Byes: Iowa, Miami (Fla.), Texas, TCU
Last Four IN: Seton Hall, New Mexico, Missouri, USC
First Four OUT: Baylor, Santa Clara, Indiana, Ohio State
Next Four Out: UCLA, NC State, LSU, Creighton
ARRIVALS (11): Bethune-Cookman (SWAC), ETSU (SoCon), Maryland-Eastern Shore (MEAC), Navy (Patriot), New Mexico, NJIT (AE), Queens (ASUN), San Diego State (MW), Stephen F. Austin (Southland),
Troy (SBC), Yale (Ivy)
DEPARTURES: Austin Peay (ASUN), Baylor, Colgate (Patriot), Creighton, Dartmouth (Ivy), Furman (SoCon), Georgia Southern (SBC), McNeese (Southland), NC Central (MEAC), Prairie View (SWAC), Vermont (AE)
Conference Breakdown
There are eight multi-bid conferences this week, with the Mountain West jumping from one bid to three, due in no small part to Utah State’s Saturday loss at Grand Canyon opening the door for San Diego State to take the conference’s auto bid. But the Aztecs visit Phoenix on Wednesday night. Watch this space.
SEC (11): Vanderbilt, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M (auto bid), Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn, Texas, Missouri (First Four)
Big 12 (8): Arizona (auto bid), Houston, Iowa State, BYU, Texas Tech, Kansas, UCF, TCU
Big Ten (8): Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska (auto bid), Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, USC (First Four)
ACC (7): Duke (auto bid), Virginia, Louisville, Clemson, SMU, North Carolina, Miami (Fla.)
Big East (4): UConn (auto bid), St. John’s, Villanova, Seton Hall (First Four)
MW (3): Utah State, New Mexico (First Four), San Diego State (auto bid)
Atlantic 10 (2): Saint Louis, George Mason (auto bid)
WCC (2): Gonzaga (auto bid), Saint Mary’s
Midweek Games To Watch
All times p.m. ET unless noted.
Tuesday
Seton Hall at St. John’s, 7 (FS1)
UCF at Iowa State, 7 (CBSSN)
Indiana at Michigan, 7 (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
LSU at Florida, 7 (ESPN2)
NC State at Clemson, 7 (ACCN)
Minnesota at Ohio State, 6:30 (BTN)
Florida State at Miami (Fla.), 7 (ESPNU)
Saint Louis at Duquesne, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
Oklahoma at South Carolina, 7 (SECN)
Miami (Ohio) at Kent State, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
DePaul at Butler, 7:30 (TruTV)
Seton Hall, Indiana, NC State, Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, and Butler all have opportunities to improve their bubble positioning. Meanwhile, Iowa State will look to snap its two-game skid against a tough UCF club, and Miami (Ohio) puts its perfect record on the line at Kent State. Remember that the RedHawks needed overtime to defeat Buffalo on Saturday.
Vanderbilt at Arkansas, 9 (ESPN)
Georgia at Missouri, 9 (SECN)
Texas Tech at Baylor, 9 (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
SMU at Wake Forest, 9 (ACCN)
Oklahoma State at TCU, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
Rutgers at Iowa, 8:30 (BTN)
Michigan State at Oregon, 9 (FS1)
Auburn at Mississippi, 9 (ESPNU)
UT Martin at Southeast Missouri State, 8:30 (ESPN+ ($))
Like the Cyclones in the earlier window, Vanderbilt will look to stop its skid—this time on the road against Arkansas. Missouri, Baylor, and Wake Forest all have big opportunities to improve their selection chances at home, while Michigan State and Auburn need to be up for their respective road trips to Eugene and Oxford.
Purdue at UCLA, 10 (Peacock ($))
Kansas at Colorado, 11 (ESPN)
San José State at Nevada, 10 (NSN/MWN)
UNLV at Utah State, 11 (FS1)
Purdue needs to be wary of UCLA, currently on the wrong side of the Cut Line, while Kansas could see its recent gains wiped away with a loss in Boulder.
Wednesday
Texas at Kentucky, 7 (SECN)
Notre Dame at North Carolina, 7 (ESPN2)
Xavier at Creighton, 7 (FS1)
Maryland at Illinois, 7 (BTN)
Georgetown at Villanova, 7 (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
Murray State at Drake, 7 (CBSSN)
Dayton at La Salle, 6:30 (ESPN+ ($))
Tulane at Florida Atlantic, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
ETSU at Chattanooga, 7 (ESPNU)
Cleveland State at Wright State, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
Colgate at American, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
Holy Cross at Navy, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
North Alabama at Queens, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
The biggest game of the early window is a bubble showdown in Lexington, but there are plenty of top of the table matchups in the mid-major ranks, with the American, SoCon, and MVC matchups the most intriguing.
Cincinnati at Arizona, 9 (FS1)
Washington at Nebraska, 9 (BTN)
Mississippi State at Texas A&M, 9 (SECN)
Virginia Tech at Syracuse, 9 (ACCN)
Fresno State at New Mexico, 9 (CBSSN)
Pepperdine at Gonzaga, 9 (KHQ/ESPN+ ($))
West Virginia at Arizona State, 9 (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
Liberty at Western Kentucky, 7:30 (ESPN+ ($))
Memphis at Tulsa, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
UTSA at North Texas, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
Surprisingly, Texas A&M has the SEC’s auto bid at the moment (due to having one fewer loss overall than Florida). The Aggies will stay there by defeating Miss. State in College Station. Elsewhere, Cincinnati will look to grab a second high-quality win in succession, but the Bearcats might find the going tough at the McKale Center. Nebraska, meanwhile, hosts Washington looking to remain perfect.
San Diego State at Grand Canyon, 11 (FS1)
Northwestern at USC, 11 (BTN)
Oregon State at Saint Mary’s, 11 (CBSSN)
Besides the aforementioned game in Phoenix, USC and Saint Mary’s will both to look to defend their home courts from opponents who are in the midst of difficult campaigns.
Thursday
Wisconsin at Penn State (at Rec Hall), 7 (FS1)
South Florida at UAB, 7 (ESPN2)
UNCW at William & Mary, 7 (MASN/FloCollege ($))
Vermont at UMass Lowell, 6 (ESPN+ ($))
NJIT at UMBC, 6 (ESPN+ ($))
Merrimack at Iona, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
Quinnipiac at Mount St. Mary’s, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
UC Irvine at UC Riverside, 10 (ESPN+ ($))
Cal State Bakersfield at Hawai’i, 10 (Spectrum Sports Hawai’i/ESPN+ ($))
North Dakota State at Denver, 9 (Altitude 2/Summit League Network ($))
Portland State at Eastern Washington 9 (SWX/ESPN+ ($))
FGCU at Austin Peay, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
Thursday is another big night for mid-major conference races, with the leader(s) of the America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big West, CAA, MAC, and Summit Leagues all in action. And that means there might be some new names in Friday’s update.
