March is here and in the world of basketball that means it's March Madness season. To start the month, krikya18.com correspondent Andy Katz has updated his projections for the 2022 men's basketball tournament.
Here's how Katz projects the 68-team field to look to start March.
First, here's the bracket in table form (scroll to the right to view the full bracket.
March Madness bracket predictions
| Seed | WEST | EAST | MIDWEST | SOUTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga | Baylor | Kansas | Arizona |
| 16 | Texas Southern/New Orleans | UNC Wilmington | Cleveland State | Norfolk State/Bryant |
| 8 | Boise State | Seton Hall | Marquette | Iowa State |
| 9 | TCU | Wake Forest | Notre Dame | Wyoming |
| 5 | UCLA | UConn | Ohio State | Houston |
| 12 | Xavier/SMU | Indiana/San Diego State | Chattanooga | South Dakota State |
| 4 | Texas | Arkansas | Providence | Illinois |
| 13 | Toledo | Vermont | Iona | Northern Iowa |
| 6 | Iowa | Alabama | Saint Mary's | Southern California |
| 11 | Memphis | North Texas | Creighton | San Francisco |
| 3 | Tennessee | Villanova | Purdue | Texas Tech |
| 14 | Montana State | Princeton | Texas State | New Mexico State |
| 7 | Colorado State | LSU | Michigan State | Murray State |
| 10 | North Carolina | Michigan | Davidson | Miami (FL.) |
| 2 | Wisconsin | Duke | Kentucky | Auburn |
| 15 | Long Beach State | Colgate | Longwood | Jacksonville State |
RANKINGS: Click here for the latest NET rankings | AP Top 25
Let's take a closer look at Katz's bracket.
The Big 12 makes its presence known at the top
Gonzaga takes the top overall seed once again, followed by Arizona. The Big 12 rounds out the one seeds, with Kansas and Baylor.
Kansas and Baylor on the one line marks the third time since the season started that a conference has had two No. 1 seeds in Katz's projections. The Jayhawks and Bears fill out the top of the bracket after Baylor beat Kansas 80-70 just a few days ago to split the season series.
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Number of bids by conference
| Conference | Total Teams | Teams (Automatic Qualifier in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ten | 8 | Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana |
| Big East | 7 | Villanova, Providence, UConn, Seton Hall, Marquette, Creighton, Xavier |
| Big 12 | 6 | Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas, Iowa State, TCU |
| SEC | 6 | Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, LSU |
| ACC | 5 | Duke, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Miami (FL.), North Carolina |
| Mountain West | 4 | Colorado State, Boise State, Wyoming, San Diego State |
| Pac-12 | 3 | Arizona, UCLA, Southern California |
| AAC | 3 | Houston, Memphis, SMU |
| WCC | 3 | Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco |
The depth of the Big Ten reigns supreme in yet another Katz bracket projection as the conference has eight teams. The Big East leapfrogs the Big 12 in total teams, with Big 12 school Oklahoma falling out of the field.
Despite the Big 12 dropping to the third-most teams in the latest bracket projections, the conference remains strong at the top, having two No. 1 seeds, three top-10 overall teams and the most teams among the top-16 overall teams.
PAST BRACKETS: Post top-16 reveal | One month before selections | 50 days out | New Year's | Opening Night | Preseason
Teams on the outside looking in
Here are Andy Katz's first four teams out.
First four out
1. Oregon2. Loyola Chicago
3. Rutgers
4. VCU
In Katz's latest bracket, Oregon remains the first team left out of this year's tournament. Elsewhere, Loyola-Chicago and Rutgers each fall from the tournament field; both teams earned 10 seeds in the previous bracket projection.
Loyola Chicago lost to Northern Iowa on Feb. 26, knocking them out. Rutgers has lost three straight games to Purdue, Michigan and Wisconsin, respectively; all three opponents are projected tournament teams.
Here are the next teams to miss the cut.
Next four out
5. Virginia Tech
6. BYU
7. Florida
8. Mississippi State
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Andy Katz's automatic qualifiers
Here are Katz's 32 automatic qualifier predictions.
| Conference | Automatic qualifier |
|---|---|
| America East | Vermont |
| American | Houston |
| Atlantic 10 | Davidson |
| ACC | Duke |
| ASUN | Jacksonville State |
| Big 12 | Kansas |
| Big East | Providence |
| Big Sky | Montana State |
| Big South | Longwood |
| Big Ten | Wisconsin |
| Big West | Long Beach State |
| CAA | UNC Wilmington |
| Conference USA | North Texas |
| Horizon | Cleveland State |
| Ivy | Princeton |
| MAAC | Iona |
| MAC | Toledo |
| MEAC | Norfolk State |
| Missouri Valley | Northern Iowa |
| Mountain West | Boise State |
| NEC | Bryant |
| OVC | Murray State |
| Pac-12 | Arizona |
| Patriot | Colgate |
| SEC | Auburn |
| Southern | Chattanooga |
| Southland | New Orleans |
| SWAC | Texas Southern |
| Summit League | South Dakota State |
| Sun Belt | Texas State |
| WCC | Gonzaga |
| WAC | New Mexico State |
Andy Katz's field of 68
Here is Katzโs full seed list in order, 1-68:
| RANK | SEED | TEAM | CONFERENCE |
|---|
| 1. 1 -- Gonzaga | WCC (AQ) |
| 2. 1 -- Arizona | Pac-12 (AQ) |
| 3. 1 -- Kansas | Big 12 (AQ) |
| 4. 1 -- Baylor | Big 12 |
| 5. 2 -- Auburn | SEC (AQ) |
| 6. 2 -- Duke | ACC (AQ) |
| 7. 2 -- Kentucky | SEC |
| 8. 2 -- Wisconsin | Big Ten (AQ) |
| 9. 3 -- Purdue | Big Ten |
| 10. 3 -- Texas Tech | Big 12 |
| 11. 3 -- Villanova | Big East |
| 12. 3 -- Tennessee | SEC |
| 13. 4 -- Providence | Big East (AQ) |
| 14. 4 -- Illinois | Big Ten |
| 15. 4 -- Arkansas | SEC |
| 16. 4 -- Texas | Big 12 |
| 17. 5 -- UCLA | Pac-12 |
| 18. 5 -- UConn | Big East |
| 19. 5 -- Houston | AAC (AQ) |
| 20. 5 -- Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 21. 6 -- Alabama | SEC |
| 22. 6 -- Southern California | Pac-12 |
| 23. 6 -- Iowa | Big Ten |
| 24. 6 -- Saint Mary's | WCC |
| 25. 7 -- LSU | SEC |
| 26. 7 -- Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 27. 7 -- Colorado State | MWC |
| 28. 7 -- Murray State | OVC (AQ) |
| 29. 8 -- Boise State | MWC (AQ) |
| 30. 8 -- Seton Hall | Big East |
| 31. 8 -- Marquette | Big East |
| 32. 8 -- Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 33. 9 -- Wyoming | MWC |
| 34. 9 -- Notre Dame | ACC |
| 35. 9 -- TCU | Big 12 |
| 36. 9 -- Wake Forest | ACC |
| 37. 10 -- Miami (FL.) | ACC |
| 38. 10 -- Davidson | A10 (AQ) |
| 39. 10 -- North Carolina | ACC |
| 40. 10 -- Michigan | Big Ten |
| 41. 11 -- San Francisco | WCC |
| 42. 11 -- Memphis | AAC |
| 43. 11 -- Creighton | Big East |
| 44. 11 -- North Texas | CUSA (AQ) |
| 45. 12 -- Xavier | Big East |
| 46. 12 -- SMU | AAC |
| 47. 12 -- Indiana | Big Ten |
| 48. 12 -- San Diego State | MWC |
| 49. 12 -- Chattanooga | Southern (AQ) |
| 50. 12 -- South Dakota State | Summit (AQ) |
| 51. 13 -- Iona | MAAC (AQ) |
| 52. 13 -- Northern Iowa | MVC (AQ) |
| 53. 13 -- Vermont | America East (AQ) |
| 54. 13 -- Toledo | MAC (AQ) |
| 55. 14 -- New Mexico State | WAC (AQ) |
| 56. 14 -- Princeton | Ivy (AQ) |
| 57. 14 -- Texas State | Sun Belt (AQ) |
| 58. 14 -- Montana State | Big Sky (AQ) |
| 59. 15 -- Jacksonville State | ASUN (AQ) |
| 60. 15 -- Colgate | Patriot (AQ) |
| 61. 15 -- Longwood | Big South (AQ) |
| 62. 15 -- Long Beach State | Big West (AQ) |
| 63. 16 -- UNC Wilmington | CAA (AQ) |
| 64. 16 -- Cleveland State | Horizon (AQ) |
| 65. 16 -- Norfolk State | MEAC (AQ) |
| 66. 16 -- Bryant | NEC (AQ) |
| 67. 16 -- Texas Southern | SWAC (AQ) |
| 68. 16 -- New Orleans | Southland (AQ) |
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