SEC, Kansas lead NCAA Tournament seeds release winners and losers
SEC, Kansas lead NCAA Tournament seeds release winners and losers
Show Caption
Hide Caption
College basketball freshmen who are making a case to be lottery picks
Here are 3 freshmen who are playing their way into becoming lottery picks for the 2025 NBA Draft.
The Division I men's basketball committee's in-season top 16 seeds is a NCAA men's tournament roadmap directly from the source. A year ago, the committee's in-season list nailed all but two of the eventual top 16 tournament seeds, missing on only Creighton and Kentucky.
While there's enough time left in the regular season for this early bracket projection to fall apart before Selection Sunday, this year's top 16 seeds released Saturday indicates a few subtle and not-so-subtle ways the committee will approach the selection process.
One obvious takeaway from the top 16 is the committee's affinity for several major conferences and lack of affection for one purported basketball conference in particular — the ACC, as we'll touch on below.
BRACKETOLOGY: Michigan surges in NCAA tournament projection
STARTING FIVE: SEC, Big 12 lead biggest games of the weekend
Here are the biggest winners and losers from the in-season rankings:
Winners
The SEC
As expected, the conference dominated the top 16 with six teams, including five of the top six. The list is topped by Auburn, the top overall seed thanks to a Division I-best 13 wins against Quad 1 teams. The SEC has two more projected No. 1 seeds in Alabama and Florida. With this many teams scheduled to land on the top four lines, you can see why this year's SEC is on track to dominate March Madness and potentially have multiple teams deep in contention for the Final Four. And the committee's rankings don't include another seven teams projected to reach the tournament in our latest bracketology. You're beginning to see why this year's SEC is already being talked about in a historic context.
Kansas
Ranked No. 15 overall by the committee, Kansas is set to receive the committee's benefit of the doubt despite ranking fifth in the Big 12 standings, four games behind Houston, and owning a losing record in games against fellow Quad 1 competition. The Jayhawks do have some very good wins in Michigan State, Duke and Iowa State. They've also lost league games to West Virginia and Kansas State and are 3-5 overall in road games. KU has avoided any bad losses, though, with all seven defeats coming against teams currently slated for tournament play. That's probably the biggest asset in the Jayhawks' favor.
Michigan
The Wolverines have been on a tear under new coach Dusty May, taking five in a row and six of seven to edge a half-game ahead of Purdue and into first place in the Big Ten. The committee is paying attention: Michigan is a No. 4 seed in the in-season rankings, edging out rival Michigan State. The Wolverines' postseason credentials are polished by a 6-3 mark in Quad I games and a 5-2 record away from home. Five of Michigan's final eight games before the conference tournament come at home, though the three road games are against projected tournament teams in Ohio State, Nebraska and Michigan State.
Losers
The ACC
With just projected No. 1 seed Duke representing the conference in the top 16, the rankings reflect the committee's perception of the ACC as several rungs below the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten. While that wouldn't prevent the Blue Devils from landing on the No. 1 line should they continue to dominate league play, the ACC has none of the depth those three rival conferences will bring into March Madness. As of now, the only ACC teams projected to join Duke in tournament play are Louisville and Clemson.
Michigan State
A recent slide has dropped Michigan State down the Big Ten ladder and out of the top four lines. After beating Minnesota to end January, the Spartans were sitting pretty at 18-2 overall and possibly in contention for a No. 1 seed should they have continued to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the Big Ten's top tier. But Michigan State has lost three of four this month, including losses to non-tournament teams in Southern California and Indiana. With a brutal stretch ahead – Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan again – things might get worse as we inch toward Selection Sunday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Josh Pate isn't sleeping on Oklahoma's John Mateer
Josh Pate isn't sleeping on Oklahoma's John Mateer The Oklahoma Sooners made a major upgrade at starting quarterback this winter. With former starter Jackson Arnold off to play for the Auburn Tigers, OU had a hole to fill under center. Not only did they fill it, they did so with a player, John Mateer, who is better than any QB the Sooners had on the roster a year ago. In fact, Mateer was the transfer portal's top overall player this year. Oklahoma beat out Miami and North Carolina to land the former Washington State star. After OU was atrocious offensively in 2024, Mateer's arrival gives the Sooners a chance to rebound back to their winning ways in 2025. At least that's what Josh Pate, the host of "Josh Pate's College Football Show", thinks. Because of familiarity with his play-caller and the help of players from multiple top-ten recruiting classes over the past few years, he has Mateer right alongside the best quarterbacks in the entire SEC. "I'm putting John Mateer in the top five," Pate said. "If I'm right, Oklahoma's gonna be a contender in the SEC. I believe in the OC-quarterback approach, bringing both of them in, not just one of them, especially when they're both qualified, and Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer are. I also think it greatly helps that John Mateer is not being brought into Norman, Oklahoma, and then being looked at by everyone down on their knees with their hands clasped praying, 'Please save us John, save us.' No, you don't need to save anyone. You need to go in there and play solid football and execute, make good decisions, because you know what you've got around you? You've got a top-ten roster around you. You've got a really good defense. You don't have to score 42 a game to win, and you've got guys calling plays for you that you're very familiar with. I think he's gonna be really good this year. That's why I've got Oklahoma top ten in the preseason." Sooner Nation has long clamored for complementary football in Norman. For years, OU fans had to watch incredible offenses, led by Heisman Trophy-level quarterbacks, be ultimately let down by bad defenses. The trio of Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts combined for four College Football Playoff appearances in five seasons from 2015 to 2019, and it was the inability to get stops on defense that, for the most part, sunk those excellent Oklahoma teams in the semifinal round each time. When Brent Venables took over for Lincoln Riley, the hope was that he could change that. In the years since, Venables has built up a defense that looks like it can compete in the SEC. But, just as the defense was getting really good in 2024, Oklahoma's offense fell off a cliff with Seth Littrell and Jackson Arnold at the helm. Complementary football eluded OU yet again. With plenty of returning starters, the Oklahoma defense looks like it has the pieces to be good again. On the other side of the ball, the Arbuckle-Mateer combination hopes to finally bring high-level play on both offense and defense, at the same time, to Norman in 2025. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former USC guard Desmond Claude commits to Washington
Former USC guard Desmond Claude commits to Washington Back in April, USC men's basketball star guard Desmond Claude made headlines when he surprisingly entered the transfer portal. On Sunday, Claude found a new home: He is headed to the Pacific Northwest to join Big Ten foe Washington. Claude is not the first Trojan transfer to depart for the Huskies this offseason. In May, Washington hired away USC assistant coach Quincy Pondexter. Shortly following that move, another high-profile Trojan transfer, Wesley Yates III, also announced his commitment to the Huskies. Here is what Huskies Wire had to say about the addition of Claude: 'As the Huskies scoured the country for a seasoned, high-impact wing to round out the rotation, the 6-foot-6 senior, who was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention for the 2024-25 season, is the perfect fit. Although he shot just 30.7 percent from long range last season, which has been one of Sprinkle's biggest points of emphasis throughout the offseason, Claude led the Trojans with an average of 15.8 points and 4.2 assists per game, adding 3.5 rebounds per contest while bringing several much-needed aspects to the roster.' With Claude and Yates both departing Southern California for Seattle, next season's matchups between USC and Washington should certainly be interesting. The Trojans and Huskies are slated to face off twice next season—once at Galen Center, and once in the Pacific Northwest.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Inside Andrew Fischer's historic on-base streak at Tennessee in 2025
Inside Andrew Fischer's historic on-base streak at Tennessee in 2025 Tennessee's (46-19, 16-14 SEC) 2025 baseball season came to an end Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional. The Vols have appeared in five consecutive super regionals and six consecutive regionals under eighth-year head coach Tony Vitello. First baseman Andrew Fischer completed his first season at Tennessee after transferring from Ole Miss. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior appeared in all 65 games for the Vols in 2025, including 65 starts. Fischer reached base in every contest during the 2025 season. He walked during the first inning of Tennessee's season finale at Arkansas, extending his on-base streak to 68 games. Dating to the last three contests at Ole Miss in 2024, Fischer's on base streak stands at 68 games following the 2025 campaign at Tennessee. His last collegiate game to not reach base was with the Rebels at LSU on May 16, 2024. Fischer also tied Chase Headley's 2005 single-season record for walks (63) in Tennessee's program history. More: Top baseball photos from 2025 NCAA Tournament Knoxville Regional In 2025, he recorded a .341 batting average, 25 home runs, 65 RBIs, 70 runs, 74 hits, 16 doubles, 63 walks, four sacrifice flies, four stolen bases, 165 total bases, .760 slugging percentage, .497 on base percentage, 42 strikeouts and was hit by a pitch eight times in 217 at bats. In 30 SEC regular-season games, Fischer totaled a .340 batting average, .736 slugging percentage, .478 on base percentage, 11 home runs, 23 RBIs, 26 runs, 78 total bases, 36 hits, nine doubles, 27 walks, 23 strikeouts, one sacrifice fly and was hit by two pitches. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
