Selection Sunday is getting closer by the day and Saturday provided the closest thing to Selection Sunday before the big day comes March 15. On Saturday, the NCAA DI Men's Basketball Selection Committee unveiled its top 16 teams in the fourth installment of its annual top-16 reveal, where the country learns which schools would earn top-four seeds if the season ended after Friday, Feb. 7.
Not only did the Big 12 produce two No. 1 seeds in the top-16 reveal, but two of the conference's member schools earned the top two overall seeds — Baylor earning the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Kansas.
krikya18.com's Andy Katz used the Top 16 reveal to fill out the first 16 teams in his latest projected NCAA tournament bracket, which we'll break down here. It features the top 16 seeds from the reveal, then Katz projects teams 17 through 68.
In Katz's previous predicted bracket on Super Bowl Sunday, Baylor, Kansas, Gonzaga and San Diego State earned the four No. 1 seeds. Katz's earlier brackets include a preseason bracket in September (50 days before opening night last fall), one in early December (100 days from Selection Sunday) and one in mid-January (about two months from Selection Sunday).
2020 NCAA tournament predictions: Projected bracket
Here's his latest bracket in table form.
| SEED | SOUTH | EAST | WEST | MIDWEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baylor | San Diego State | Gonzaga | Kansas |
| 16 | Texas Southern/ North Carolina A&T |
Monmouth/ Robert Morris |
Montana | Princeton |
| 8 | Cincinnati | Saint Mary's | Florida | Wisconsin |
| 9 | VCU | Texas Tech | Stanford | Rhode Island |
| 5 | Illinois | Kentucky | Penn State | Arizona |
| 12 | East Tennessee State | Memphis/ Arizona State |
Stephen F. Austin | Liberty |
| 4 | Auburn | Butler | Oregon | Michigan State |
| 13 | Charleston | Vermont | New Mexico State | North Texas |
| 6 | Iowa | Creighton | Colorado | LSU |
| 11 | Mississippi State | Virginia/ Wichita State |
BYU | Purdue |
| 3 | Seton Hall | Maryland | Villanova | Florida State |
| 14 | Bowling Green | UC Irvine | Colgate | Little Rock |
| 7 | Ohio State | Rutgers | Michigan | Marquette |
| 10 | Northern Iowa | Houston | Arkansas | Indiana |
| 2 | Louisville | Duke | West Virginia | Dayton |
| 15 | Murray State | Wright State | North Dakota State | Winthrop |
No. 1 seeds: Baylor, Kansas, Gonzaga, San Diego State
Just like Katz's previous 2020 NCAA Tournament bracket projections showed on Super Bowl Sunday, the four No. 1 seeds in the top-16 reveal are Baylor, Kansas, Gonzaga and San Diego State.
They are followed by No. 2 seeds Duke, Dayton, Louisville and West Virginia, giving the Big 12 three of the top eight teams overall. This is also the season of conference diversity with the WCC, Mountain West and A-10 each having a top-eight team through Feb. 7 games.
The No. 3 seeds are Maryland, Florida State, Seton Hall and Villanova, meaning the Big Ten and Big East's top-seeded teams are currently on the No. 3 seed line.
Lastly, the No. 4 seeds, according to the top-16 reveal, are currently Auburn, Oregon, Butler and Michigan State, which adds some SEC and Pac-12 flavor.
If you're curious how the in-season top-16 reveal compares to the NCAA tournament bracket on Selection Sunday, here's the historical breakdown.
Moving up
Among the schools that were included in both Katz's last bracketology on Super Bowl Sunday and his latest bracket projection, here are the teams that moved up at least three spots.
- Butler — nine spots
- Cincinnati — seven spots
- Northern Iowa — seven spots
- Houston — five spots
- Ohio State — four spots
- Seton Hall — four spots
- Penn State — three spots
- Virginia — three spots
Katz's Field of 68
| RANK | SEED | TEAM | CONFERENCE |
|---|
| 1. 1 — Baylor (AQ) Big 12 |
| 2. 1 — Kansas Big 12 |
| 3. 1 — Gonzaga (AQ) WCC |
| 4. 1 —San Diego State (AQ) Mountain West |
| 5. 2 — Duke ACC |
| 6. 2 — Dayton (AQ) A-10 |
| 7. 2 — Louisville (AQ) ACC |
| 8. 2 — West Virginia Big 12 |
| 9. 3 — Maryland Big Ten |
| 10. 3 — Florida State ACC |
| 11. 3 — Seton Hall (AQ) Big East |
| 12. 3 — Villanova Big East |
| 13. 4 — Auburn SEC |
| 14. 4 — Oregon (AQ) Pac-12 |
| 15. 4 — Butler Big East |
| 16. 4 — Michigan State Big Ten |
| 17. 5 — Kentucky SEC |
| 18. 5 — Arizona Pac-12 |
| 19. 5 —Illinois (AQ) Big Ten |
| 20. 5 — Penn State Big Ten |
| 21. 6 — Iowa Big Ten |
| 22. 6 — Creighton Big East |
| 23. 6 — Colorado Pac-12 |
| 24. 6 — LSU (AQ) SEC |
| 25. 7 — Ohio State Big Ten |
| 26. 7 — Marquette Big East |
| 27. 7— Michigan Big Ten |
| 28. 7—Rutgers Big Ten |
| 29. 8 — Wisconsin Big Ten |
| 30. 8 — BYU WCC |
| 31. 8 — Cincinnati (AQ) AAC |
| 32. 8 — Florida SEC |
| 33. 9 — Saint Mary's WCC |
| 34. 9 — Rhode Island A-10 |
| 35. 9 — Texas Tech Big 12 |
| 36. 9 — Stanford Pac-12 |
| 37. 10 — VCU A-10 |
| 38. 11— Northern Iowa (AQ) Missouri Valley |
| 39. 11 — Houston AAC |
| 40. 11 — Arkansas SEC |
| 41. 11 — Indiana Big Ten |
| 42. 11 – Purdue Big Ten |
| 43. 11 — Mississippi State SEC |
| 44. 11 —Virginia ACC |
| 45. 12 — Wichita State AAC |
| 46. 12 — Memphis AAC |
| 47. 11 — Arizona State Pac-12 |
| 48. 12 — East Tennessee State (AQ) Southern |
| 49. 13— Liberty (AQ) ASUN |
| 50. 13 — Stephen F. Austin (AQ) Southland |
| 51. 13 — Vermont (AQ) America East |
| 52. 13 — North Texas (AQ) C-USA |
| 53. 14 — New Mexico State (AQ) WAC |
| 54. 14 — Charleston (AQ) Colonial |
| 55. 14 — UC Irvine (AQ) Big West |
| 56. 14 — Bowling Green (AQ) MAC |
| 57. 14 — Little Rock (AQ) Sun Belt |
| 58. 15 — Colgate (AQ) Patriot |
| 59. 15 — Murray State (AQ) OVC |
| 60. 15 — Winthrop (AQ) Big South |
| 61. 15 — Wright State (AQ) Horizon |
| 62. 15 — North Dakota State (AQ) Summit |
| 63. 15 — Princeton (AQ) Ivy |
| 64. 16. — Montana (AQ) Big Sky |
| 65. 16 — Monmouth (AQ) MAAC |
| 66. 16 — Robert Morris (AQ) NEC |
| 67. 16 — Texas Southern (AQ) SWAC |
| 68. 16 — North Carolina A&T (AQ) MEAC |
First four out: Xavier, Oklahoma, USC, Tulsa
