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Bracketology update: Who’s in and who’s out ahead of Selection Sunday

By Mike Phillips

TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Uros Plavsic #33 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 69-62 in the Semifinal game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 12, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Uros Plavsic #33 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 69-62 in the Semifinal game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 12, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 12: Kansas Jayhawks players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 74-65 during the finals of the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship at T-Mobile Center on March 12, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 12: Kansas Jayhawks players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 74-65 during the finals of the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship at T-Mobile Center on March 12, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

A wild Championship Week has shaken up Bracketology reports, so who’s in and who’s out at the start of Selection Sunday action?

Selection Sunday is upon us and the state of the NCAA Tournament field is still in flux. The top of the bracket appears to be settled with a race for the final No. 1 seed still in play but there has been a ton of shuffling on the bubble since our last update on Tuesday.

There are still a few potential bid thieves in play on Sunday, including Texas A&M in the SEC and Richmond in the A-10, but earlier results have thrown the bubble half of the mix into absolute chaos. We’ll get to the bubble in a second but first let’s start at the top of the bracket.

NCAA Tournament Bracketology – The 4 No. 1 Seeds

Note: Automatic qualifier status has been conferred to teams that have won their conference tournaments or were the highest remaining seed entering Sunday’s action.

Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas, Baylor

The top two teams in this category, Gonzaga and Arizona, have been locked in for a while. Kansas secured its spot on the top line by knocking off Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament final on Saturday, adding another nifty notch to their belt to go along with the regular-season title.

The last spot currently is in the hands of Baylor, which put together a 10-5 record against Quadrant 1 foes and has a share of the Big 12 regular-season title to its name. The issue is that the Bears lost to Oklahoma in their first Big 12 tournament game on Thursday, opening the door for Baylor to get dropped to the next line by the selection committee.

NCAA Tournament Bracketology – The 4 No. 2 Seeds

Kentucky, Tennessee, Purdue, Auburn

The 2-line is filled with SEC flavor as Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn all have claims to this group as of right now. The Volunteers knocked out Kentucky to advance to the SEC Tournament final against Texas A&M tomorrow and a win would give Tennessee a compelling case to surpass Baylor to be the top seed in the East Region.

The separation between the rest of this line and the 3-line will be intense as the separators between teams 7-10 on the S-curve is razor-thin. Auburn is now in this group after stumbling down the stretch while Purdue can lock up a No. 2 seed by knocking off Iowa in the Big Ten title game on Sunday afternoon.

NCAA Tournament Bracketology – The 4 No. 3 Seeds

Duke, Villanova, Texas Tech, UCLA

Losing to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament final will cost the Blue Devils a seed line but they are still more than capable of winning it all. Villanova could end up on the No. 2 line if the committee favors their resume after a Big East Tournament crown but being a No. 3 could be more beneficial if they end up playing de facto home games at the Wells Fargo Center during the second weekend by landing in the East Region.

Texas Tech’s ferocious defense helped it get to the Big 12 Tournament final and positions them well for a deep March run. The last spot in this group goes to UCLA, which played well in the Pac-12 Tournament and is a forgotten national title contender after some mid-season struggles in conference play.

NCAA Tournament Bracketology – The 4 No. 4 Seeds

Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Providence

Illinois and Wisconsin each lost their first game at the Big Ten Tournament, which will put them on the 4-line on Selection Sunday. Considering the fact that each team has a National Player of the Year candidate, it won’t be a shock to see them make noise in March.

Arkansas has been trending up for a while and did good work to land on this line in a rugged SEC. The Big East regular-season title helps Providence hold onto the final No. 4 seed but the fact they got blown out by Creighton on Friday night raises alarm bells about their potential to get upset early.

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