We're about two weeks away from Selection Sunday. The wait is almost over. With the 2020 NCAA tournament nearly here, krikya18.com's Andy Katz has new predictions for the bracket.
Though his No. 1 seeds are the same four teams as last time, the order has changed: Kansas, Baylor, Gonzaga and San Diego State. There are also some changes on the seed line, as teams such as Wisconsin and BYU moved up.
Baylor, Kansas, Gonzaga and San Diego State held the top seeds in Katz's post-Super Bowl bracket and in this bracket with the in-season top-16 reveal. His earlier projections 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).
NCAA predictions: Projections for the 2020 bracket by Andy Katz
Click or tap here to open the bracket in a new window.
And here is Katz's bracket in a table:
| SEED | MIDWEST | EAST | South | WEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | San Diego State | Baylor | Gonzaga |
| 16 | Prairie View A&M/ North Carolina A&T |
Eastern Washington | Siena/ St. Francis (PA) |
South Dakota State |
| 8 | Houston | Arizona State | Florida | LSU |
| 9 | Virginia | Texas Tech | Indiana | USC |
| 5 | Iowa | Auburn | Arizona | Wisconsin |
| 12 | Mississippi State/ Providence |
Cincinnati | Liberty | Yale |
| 4 | Louisville | Penn State | Michigan State | Oregon |
| 13 | Vermont | Stephen F. Austin | North Texas | New Mexico State |
| 6 | Ohio State | Marquette | Illinois | BYU |
| 11 | Rhode Island | Rutgers | Stanford | Oklahoma/ Xavier |
| 3 | Villanova | Duke | Creighton | Kentucky |
| 14 | Hofstra | Bowling Green | Wright State | Belmont |
| 7 | West Virginia | Michigan | Butler | Colorado |
| 10 | East Tennessee State | Northern Iowa | Utah State | Saint Mary's |
| 2 | Maryland | Dayton | Florida State | Seton Hall |
| 15 | Little Rock | Colgate | Radford | UC Irvine |
Projected No. 1 seeds: Kansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, San Diego State
It's the same four teams in the same locations: Kansas in the Midwest, Baylor in the South, Gonzaga in the West and San Diego State in the East.
But the order has changed.
Kansas is now Katz's No. 1 overall seed, with the Jayhawks taking that spot from Baylor. Last week, Kansas handed the Bears their first loss since Nov. 8. Baylor is now the second No. 1 seed.
Despite their losses last Saturday, Gonzaga and San Diego State remain the third and fourth seeds in the West and East.
Which teams could jump the Bulldogs and/or Aztecs for a top seed? Right now, Katz has Dayton, Maryland, Florida State and Seton Hall as the No. 2 seeds. In the NET rankings, Dayton is one spot ahead of San Diego State — No. 4 and No. 5.
Moving up in the 2020 NCAA tournament bracket predictions
A lot can change in a week.
Though most teams have played only two games, there has been some changes on Katz's field list of 68. Here are the teams that have made the biggest jumps in the last week:
- Wisconsin: Up seven spots on the seed list from 26 to 19 (now a No. 5 seed)
- Ohio State: Up six spots from 27 to 21 (now a No. 6 seed)
- BYU: Up six spots from 28 to 22 (now at No. 6 seed)
- USC: Up five spots from 40 to 35 (now at No. 9 seed)
- Florida State: Up four spots from 11 to 7 (now a No. 2 seed)
BYU's rise is notable for a huge reason — the Cougars upset Gonzaga by 13 points last Saturday. BYU has now won eight games in a row to improve to 23-7 overall and 12-3 in the WCC. Gonzaga had won 40 consecutive regular-season conference games.
Katz's field of 68
| RANK | SEED | TEAM | CONFERENCE |
|---|
| 1. 1 — Kansas (AQ) Big 12 |
| 2. 1 — Baylor Big 12 |
| 3. 1 — Gonzaga (AQ) WCC |
| 4. 1 — San Diego State (AQ) Mountain West |
| 5. 2 — Dayton A-10 (AQ) |
| 6. 2 — Maryland (AQ) Big Ten |
| 7. 2 — Florida State (AQ) ACC |
| 8. 2 — Seton Hall (AQ) Big East |
| 9. 3 — Creighton Big East |
| 10. 3 — Duke ACC |
| 11. 3 — Kentucky (AQ) SEC |
| 12. 3 — Villanova Big East |
| 13. 4 — Oregon (AQ) Pac-12 |
| 14. 4 — Louisville ACC |
| 15. 4 — Penn State Big Ten |
| 16. 4 — Michigan State Big Ten |
| 17. 5 — Auburn SEC |
| 18. 5 — Iowa Big Ten |
| 19. 5 — Wisconsin Big Ten |
| 20. 5 — Arizona Pac-12 |
| 21. 6 — Ohio State Big Ten |
| 22. 6 — BYU WCC |
| 23. 6 — Illinois Big Ten |
| 24. 6 — Marquette Big East |
| 25. 7 — Colorado Pac-12 |
| 26. 7 — Michigan Big Ten |
| 27. 7 — West Virginia Big 12 |
| 28. 7 — Butler Big East |
| 29. 8 — Arizona State Pac-12 |
| 30. 8 — Florida SEC |
| 31. 8 — Houston AAC |
| 32. 8 — LSU SEC |
| 33. 9 — Virginia ACC |
| 34. 9 — Texas Tech Big 12 |
| 35. 9 — USC Pac-12 |
| 36. 9 — Indiana Big Ten |
| 37. 10 — Saint Mary's WCC |
| 38. 10 — Northern Iowa (AQ) Missouri Valley |
| 39. 10 — Utah State Mountain West |
| 40. 10 — East Tennessee State (AQ) Southern |
| 41. 11 — Rhode Island A-10 |
| 42. 11 — Rutgers Big Ten |
| 43. 11 — Stanford Pac-12 |
| 44. 11 — Mississippi State SEC |
| 45. 12 — Oklahoma Big 12 |
| 46. 12 — Xavier Big East |
| 47. 12 — Cincinnati (AQ) AAC |
| 48. 12 — Providence Big East |
| 49. 12 — Liberty (AQ) ASUN |
| 50. 12 — Yale (AQ) Ivy |
| 51. 13 — Stephen F. Austin (AQ) Southland |
| 52. 13 — North Texas (AQ) C-USA |
| 53. 13 — Vermont (AQ) America East |
| 54. 13 — New Mexico State (AQ) WAC |
| 55. 14 — Hofstra (AQ) Colonial |
| 56. 14 — Bowling Green (AQ) MAC |
| 57. 14 — Wright State (AQ) Horizon |
| 58. 14 — Belmont (AQ) Ohio Valley |
| 59. 15 — UC Irvine (AQ) Big West |
| 60. 15 — Radford (AQ) Big South |
| 61. 15 — Colgate (AQ) Patriot |
| 62. 15 — Little Rock (AQ) Sun Belt |
| 63. 16 — South Dakota State (AQ) Summit |
| 64. 16 — Eastern Washington (AQ) Big Sky |
| 65. 16 — Siena (AQ) MAAC |
| 66. 16 — St. Francis (PA) (AQ) NEC |
| 67. 16 — Prairie View A&M (AQ) SWAC |
| 68. 16 — North Carolina A&T (AQ) MEAC |
First four out: UCLA, Wichita State, Memphis, Richmond.
