Latest news with #JoeLunardi
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State basketball gets favorable seed in Joe Lunardi's updated early bracketology
Ohio State basketball gets favorable seed in Joe Lunardi's updated early bracketology We are still months away from the next college basketball season, and with the way things ended for Ohio State, we can't blame folks for being laser-focused on football instead of looking ahead to basketball. However, there are those whose sole purpose is to project college hoops so we check in from time to time. One of those folks is ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who is really the one who popularized the term "bracketology," which generally means projecting and predicting the NCAA Tournament bracket early and often until things are set. To say that OSU is a bit of an unknown coming into the next season would be an understatement. It has veteran players like Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal back, but there was also a lot of turnover via the transfer portal. Still, Lunardi must think enough about where things stand with the current roster reconstruction and the coaching on board because he has Ohio State as a No. 4 seed. These things can and will change a thousand different ways from here until March, but right now Lunardi has the Buckeyes coming out of the Midwest Region in Chicago and playing Charleston. Buyer beware. Lunardi and many other bracketologists had Ohio State firmly in the NCAA field most of last season before the Buckeyes trailed off and ended up missing their third-straight March Madness. Let's hope that big turnaround we've all been hoping for happens this winter. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's latest bracketology for 2026 NCAA Tournament has Florida basketball seeded here
ESPN's latest bracketology for 2026 NCAA Tournament has Florida basketball seeded here The 2025-26 men's college basketball season is still just under six months away and the 2026 NCAA Tournament is even further, but ESPN's Joe Lunardi remains dedicated to his task of composing bracketology updates for the next installment of March Madness. Lunardi will be providing updates once a month until October as he navigates the various offseason topics that invariably affect his outlook. This time around, he is considering every transfer, portal maneuver and NBA draft entry in his projections as he fine-tunes his crystal ball. ESPN published the latest edition of his bracketology on Tuesday, which includes the NCAA national champion Florida Gators among the higher seeds. Take a look at where the Orange and Blue — as well as other programs — stand in the projections. Florida basketball's seeding in ESPN's 2026 bracketology In Lunardi's first installment of his bracketology, he had the Gators as a No. 3 seed in the South Region, matched up with the 14th-seeded Furman Paladins in Tampa, Florida. In his recent update, Florida remains a No. 3 seed but is now in the Midwest Region, where Todd Golden and Co. are projected to face off with the same Paladins, also played in Tampa. Keep in mind, the program made a huge wave by adding former Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland through the transfer portal on Tuesday after the bracketology was released. So expect a good boost in June when Lunardi releases the next one. Top seeds in ESPN's 2026 bracketology Two of the top four seeds in ESPN's second 2026 bracketology are the Houston Cougars, who moved from the West to the Midwest, along with the Duke Blue Devils, who also made a move from the East to the South. The Purdue Boilermakers shifted over to the East from the Midwest, while the UConn Huskies displaced the St. John's Red Raiders among the top seeds and took over the West. SEC schools in ESPN's 2026 bracketology The Southeastern Conference is once again represented by a nation-best 13 schools in Lunardi's second bracketology for 2026, headlined by the Kentucky Wildcats at the No. 2 seed in the South after landing in the Midwest last time. The Tennessee Volunteers (West) and Florida (Midwest) are the No. 3 seeds representing the league, followed by the Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 4, East), Auburn Tigers (No. 5, South), Missouri Tigers (No. 7, East), Oklahoma Sooners (No. 7, West), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 8, East), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 8, Midwest), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 8, West), Texas Longhorns (No. 9, South), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 10, Midwest) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 11, East). Note that the Rebels are among the Last Four In and are projected to participate in the First Four play-in round. UGA is listed among the Last Four Byes. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Spartans listed as top four seed in updated ESPN 'Bracktology' for next season
Spartans listed as top four seed in updated ESPN 'Bracktology' for next season Michigan State basketball holds a top four seed in the latest ESPN bracketology update for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. We are still months away from tipping off the 2025-26 college basketball season, and even further away from the 2026 NCAA Tournament. But that didn't stop Joe Lunardi from releasing an updated batch of bracketology on Tuesday, which of course included the Spartans. Lunardi has Michigan State as the No. 4 seed in the South Region in his latest update. In the projected NCAA Tournament bracket, Michigan State would face No. 13 seed Miami (OH) in a first round matchup in Buffalo. On the other side of their opening weekend pod is No. 5 seed Auburn playing against No. 12 seed Illinois State. Lunardi has 11 teams from the Big Ten in his updated bracket, with Purdue as the highest-seeded team from the league as the Midwest Region No. 1 seed. Here's the other Big Ten teams included in Lunardi's updated bracket: Michigan (No. 2 seed), UCLA (No. 4 seed), Ohio State (No. 4 seed), Illinois (No. 5 seed), USC (No. 5 seed), Wisconsin (No. 6 seed), Iowa (No. 8 seed), Oregon (No. 9) and Maryland (No. 10 seed). He also has Indiana, Nebraska and Washington as three of the first four teams outside the field of 68. Check out the complete updated bracket projection from Lunardi by clicking on the post below: Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts Alabama in debut 2025-26 'Bracketology'
Where ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts Alabama in debut 2025-26 'Bracketology' During the 2024-25 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide made a NCAA Tournament appearance for the fifth-straight year, while also reaching the Elite Eight for the second consecutive campaign under head coach Nate Oats. As the Crimson Tide now begin to look ahead to next season, Alabama is tasked with replacing a significant amount of production that includes essentially their entire starting lineup, as well as many prominent bench options. In this group are names such as Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, and Clifford Omoruyi, along with many others. So far this offseason however, Alabama has certainly been active in the transfer portal to help address some of the needs facing the roster, bringing in four players at the moment in Noah Williamson, Taylor Bol Bowen, Jalil Bethea, and Keitenn Bristow. In addition to this group, Alabama also has four players returning next season in Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Aiden Sherrell, and Houston Mallette, and will also add the nation's No. 13 recruiting class to that group. So, when taking a look at the names alone, it's clear that Alabama should have a talented team once again, one that could end up being among the best in the SEC next season. However, when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, just where do the Crimson Tide currently project? Well, according to the debut edition of 2025-25 "Bracketology" according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Alabama projects as a No. 6 seed in the East Region facing off against No. 11 seeded Memphis in San Diego for the first round. The Crimson Tide are also one of 13 SEC teams included. Yes, it is still a long way away from the 2025-25 college basketball season, but it already appears that Alabama may end up dancing into March once again next year. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where Michigan basketball seeds in ESPN too-early bracketology for 2025-26
Where Michigan basketball seeds in ESPN too-early bracketology for 2025-26 The hype behind Michigan basketball is rising in a big way after Dusty May led the worst team in the Big Ten to a Big Ten Tournament championship and a Sweet 16 berth. And with the recruiting class and transfer portal haul May is bringing in, expectations for the Wolverines are climbing through the roof. This week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi revealed his too-early 2025-26 bracket, therefore setting expectations for each team entering the upcoming season. Unsurprisingly, the Wolverines are one of his highest-seeded teams and his second-highest rated team in the Big Ten. Lunardi has the Michigan Wolverines as his 2-seed in the West region in San Jose, California. The maize and blue would open up tournament play against Youngstown State, and then could face Kansas or Miami (Florida) in the second round; Tennessee, Gonzaga, VCU, or McNeese State in the Sweet 16, Houston, UCLA, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Iowa, Yale, Charleston, or Southeast Missouri State in the Elite Eight, with Houston being the 1-seed of the region. The other 1-seeds include Purdue, St. John's, and Duke -- two of which the Wolverines play in the regular season this year. The other included Big Ten teams include 4-seeds UCLA, USC, and MSU, 5-seed Ohio State, 6-seed Wisconsin, 7-seed Illinois, 8-seed Oregon, 9-seed Iowa, and 10-seeds Maryland and Indiana.
