The full NCAA Tournament bracket has been released with UConn leading the way as No. 1 overall
(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)
Monday was a quiet day in terms of bracket impact — unless you’re a fan of James Madison and Samford, in case it was one of the loudest days in recent memory.
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James Madison, which opened the season with a win at Michigan State, started 14-0 and now has the nation’s longest winning streak at 13. The 31-3 Dukes were flirting with single-digit seeding territory back in early January, when they also cracked the top 20 of the AP poll. We’ve got them as a No. 12 seed — 22 of those wins were in Quad 4, and another came against a non-Division I team — and if that’s the case, the Dukes could end up being one of the trendiest first-round upset picks of all time. Right now we have James Madison matchup with Clemson; other teams on the No. 5 line who wouldn’t want to see the Dukes include South Carolina, Auburn and Utah State.
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Samford is another team that’s won a lot of games. The Bulldogs are 29-5 and have lost just three times since Nov. 10. They’re also coming out of the SoCon, which has been frisky in the NCAA Tournament many years. That’s the league that produced Furman, which upset Virginia in the first round last year, and Wofford, which gave Kentucky a second-round test in 2019, among many others. Samford’s pressing, fast-paced Bucky Ball isn’t the type of style that usually powers Cinderellas in March, but this team could be a very confident No. 13 seed.
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Monday was also a happy day for bubble teams like Indiana State and others. James Madison’s outside chance at an at-large bid is moot, and there will be no bid thieves out of the WCC. Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga will meet for the title there for what feels like the 97th consecutive season. Both teams are in the field regardless, of course, but Gonzaga could continue to improve its seeding.
Four other leagues besides the WCC will award their bids on Tuesday: the CAA, the Horizon, the Summit and the NEC. And we get afternoon power-conference basketball as both the ACC and Big 12 begin their tournaments.
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Bracket Watch will appear daily between now and Sunday, with a short update before the 6 p.m. ET selection show if warranted.
| First Four Out | Next Four Out | Last Four In | Last Four Byes |
|---|---|---|---|
Villanova | Providence | Virginia | Florida Atlantic |
New Mexico | Pitt | St. John's | Seton Hall |
Colorado | Kansas State | Indiana State | Michigan State |
Wake Forest | Iowa | Texas A&M | TCU |
| League | Bids |
|---|---|
Big 12 | 9 |
SEC | 8 |
Big Ten | 6 |
Big East | 5 |
Mountain West | 5 |
ACC | 4 |
Pac-12 | 2 |
A10 | 2 |
AAC | 2 |
Missouri Valley | 2 |
WCC | 2 |
1 | Purdue | AQ |
2 | Houston | AQ |
3 | UConn | AQ |
4 | Tennessee | AQ |
5 | North Carolina | AQ |
6 | Arizona | AQ |
7 | Baylor | |
8 | Iowa State | |
9 | Marquette | |
10 | Creighton | |
11 | Kansas | |
12 | Duke | |
13 | Kentucky | |
14 | Illinois | |
15 | BYU | |
16 | Alabama | |
17 | Auburn | |
18 | South Carolina | |
19 | Utah State | AQ |
20 | Clemson | |
21 | Florida | |
22 | San Diego State | |
23 | Washington State | |
24 | Saint Mary's | AQ |
25 | Gonzaga | |
26 | Dayton | |
27 | Boise State | |
28 | Texas | |
29 | Nevada | |
30 | Texas Tech | |
31 | Wisconsin | |
32 | Northwestern | |
33 | Nebraska | |
34 | Colorado State | |
35 | Florida Atlantic | |
36 | Oklahoma | |
37 | Mississippi State | |
38 | Seton Hall | |
39 | Michigan State | |
40 | Drake | AQ |
41 | TCU | |
42 | Virginia | |
43 | St. John's | |
44 | Indiana State | |
45 | Texas A&M | |
46 | Richmond | AQ |
47 | South Florida | AQ |
48 | James Madison | AQ |
49 | Grand Canyon | AQ |
50 | McNeese Sate | AQ |
51 | Samford | AQ |
52 | UC Irvine | AQ |
53 | Princeton | AQ |
54 | Toledo | AQ |
55 | Vermont | AQ |
56 | Charleston | AQ |
57 | Oakland | AQ |
58 | Morehead State | AQ |
59 | Colgate | AQ |
60 | Sam Houston State | AQ |
61 | Montana | AQ |
62 | Longwood | AQ |
63 | Quinnipiac | AQ |
64 | South Dakota State | AQ |
65 | Stetson | AQ |
66 | Norfolk State | AQ |
67 | Grambling | AQ |
68 | Wagner | AQ |
The Bracket Central series is part of a partnership with E*TRADE.
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo of Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray: Kathy Kmonicek / AP)
