SelectionSunday
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ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN -- Week 5 of the college hoops season welcomes a whopping 25 new teams to the field. The Big XII (11 bids) makes the biggest gains with three newbies (Colorado, K-State & TCU), while the Big Ten drops four (Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA & Wisconsin) to go from 12 to 8 teams in the field. This projection reflects the Big XII – boasting a Power-5 best 32-16 record vs. Power 5/Gonzaga opponents -- has been the season's strongest conference.
The Atlantic 10 also is a winner this week, going from one to three tournament bids. George Mason is the A-10’s new automatic bid placeholder, and the Patriots are joined by at-large selections Saint Louis and VCU. The WCC also has three teams (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s & Santa Clara), giving non-Power 5 conferences four at-large spots in this week’s field, up two from last week.
Among 18 new automatic qualifiers this week is Tulsa, being led by St. Thomas transfer Miles Barnstable. The senior guard is scoring at a 14.4 points-per-game clip and is the Golden Hurricane’s second-leading rebounder at 5.1 per game. The American looks wide open, as preseason favorites Memphis and USF have struggled out of the gate.
Please note that with the initial release of the NET rankings today, I’ve made the switch from the Torvik rankings to the NET. That means we have a lot of new automatic qualifier placeholders this week. Automatic qualifiers in multiple-bid conferences (noted with an *) hold the best conference record or, in the event of a tie, best NET ranking (noted in parentheses).
Conference play begins in several conferences this week, including the Big Ten, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon, MAAC, and Southland. We also have the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Big Sky/Summit Challenge from Thursday-Sunday, so there’s a lot going on that will impact next week’s projection.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (12/1/25)
America East (1): Vermont (140)
American (1): Tulsa (27)
ACC (7): *Duke (2), Louisville (9), North Carolina (26), Virginia (31), Clemson (34), SMU (39), NC State (40)
ASUN (1): Austin Peay (89)
Atlantic 10 (3): *George Mason (43), Saint Louis (49), VCU (57)
Big East (4): *UConn (8), Butler (21), Saint John’s (23), Seton Hall (50)
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (85)
Big South (1): High Point (62)
Big Ten (8): *Michigan (1), Purdue (3), Michigan State (10), Indiana (11), Iowa (16), USC (20), Illinois (24), Nebraska (28)
Big XII (11): *Arizona (6), Iowa State (7), BYU (13), Kansas (17), Houston (18), Texas Tech (37), Colorado (46), Oklahoma State (53), TCU (54), Kansas State (55), Baylor (67)
Big West (1): UC-San Diego (41)
Coastal (1): William & Mary (71)
Conference USA (1): New Mexico State (70)
Horizon (1): Oakland (115)
Ivy (1): Yale (25)
MAAC (1): Quinnipiac (146)
MAC (1): Akron (42)
MEAC (1): Norfolk State (215)
Missouri Valley (1): Belmont (35)
Mountain West (1): Utah State (22)
NEC (1): Central Connecticut (151)
OVC (1): Tennessee State (129)
Patriot (1): Colgate (141)
SEC (8): *Vanderbilt (4), Tennessee (12), Alabama (14), Kentucky (15), Auburn (30), Florida (33), Arkansas (45), Missouri (51)
SoCon (1): Mercer (92)
Southland (1): McNeese (44)
SWAC (1): Alabama State (206)
Summit (1): St. Thomas (138)
Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (117)
WCC (3): *Gonzaga (5), Saint Mary’s (29), Santa Clara (32)
WAC (1): Cal Baptist (61)
---------------------------------
Last 4 In: Colorado (46), Seton Hall (50), Missouri (51), VCU (57)
First 4 Out: Georgia (36), George Washington (47), Northwestern (48), Cal (52)
Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Quinnipiac (146), Central Connecticut (151), Alabama State (206), Norfolk State (215)
8 to Watch: LSU (19), Miami-Florida (38), Wake Forest (56), Villanova (64), Wisconsin (69), Utah Valley (72), Northern Iowa (73), UCLA (76)
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Saint Mary’s (29), Santa Clara (32), Saint Louis (49), VCU (57)
Multiple-Bid Conferences (7): Big XII (11), Big Ten (8), SEC (8), ACC (7), Big East (4), Atlantic 10 (3), WCC (3)
Movin On ‘In (25): Alabama State, Austin Peay, Belmont, Cal Baptist, Central Connecticut, Colgate, Colorado, George Mason, Kansas State, Mercer, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Oakland, Quinnipiac, Saint Louis, St. Thomas, Seton Hall, South Alabama, Tennessee State, TCU, Tulsa, UC-San Diego, Virginia, VCU, William & Mary
Droppin’ Out (25): Creighton, East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, George Washington, Georgetown, Hawaii, Liberty, LIU, Navy, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Portland State, Siena, South Dakota State, Southeast Missouri State, Southern, Troy, UCLA, UNC-Wilmington, USF, Utah Valley, Wisconsin, Wright State
Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, December 8
The Atlantic 10 also is a winner this week, going from one to three tournament bids. George Mason is the A-10’s new automatic bid placeholder, and the Patriots are joined by at-large selections Saint Louis and VCU. The WCC also has three teams (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s & Santa Clara), giving non-Power 5 conferences four at-large spots in this week’s field, up two from last week.
Among 18 new automatic qualifiers this week is Tulsa, being led by St. Thomas transfer Miles Barnstable. The senior guard is scoring at a 14.4 points-per-game clip and is the Golden Hurricane’s second-leading rebounder at 5.1 per game. The American looks wide open, as preseason favorites Memphis and USF have struggled out of the gate.
Please note that with the initial release of the NET rankings today, I’ve made the switch from the Torvik rankings to the NET. That means we have a lot of new automatic qualifier placeholders this week. Automatic qualifiers in multiple-bid conferences (noted with an *) hold the best conference record or, in the event of a tie, best NET ranking (noted in parentheses).
Conference play begins in several conferences this week, including the Big Ten, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon, MAAC, and Southland. We also have the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Big Sky/Summit Challenge from Thursday-Sunday, so there’s a lot going on that will impact next week’s projection.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (12/1/25)
America East (1): Vermont (140)
American (1): Tulsa (27)
ACC (7): *Duke (2), Louisville (9), North Carolina (26), Virginia (31), Clemson (34), SMU (39), NC State (40)
ASUN (1): Austin Peay (89)
Atlantic 10 (3): *George Mason (43), Saint Louis (49), VCU (57)
Big East (4): *UConn (8), Butler (21), Saint John’s (23), Seton Hall (50)
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (85)
Big South (1): High Point (62)
Big Ten (8): *Michigan (1), Purdue (3), Michigan State (10), Indiana (11), Iowa (16), USC (20), Illinois (24), Nebraska (28)
Big XII (11): *Arizona (6), Iowa State (7), BYU (13), Kansas (17), Houston (18), Texas Tech (37), Colorado (46), Oklahoma State (53), TCU (54), Kansas State (55), Baylor (67)
Big West (1): UC-San Diego (41)
Coastal (1): William & Mary (71)
Conference USA (1): New Mexico State (70)
Horizon (1): Oakland (115)
Ivy (1): Yale (25)
MAAC (1): Quinnipiac (146)
MAC (1): Akron (42)
MEAC (1): Norfolk State (215)
Missouri Valley (1): Belmont (35)
Mountain West (1): Utah State (22)
NEC (1): Central Connecticut (151)
OVC (1): Tennessee State (129)
Patriot (1): Colgate (141)
SEC (8): *Vanderbilt (4), Tennessee (12), Alabama (14), Kentucky (15), Auburn (30), Florida (33), Arkansas (45), Missouri (51)
SoCon (1): Mercer (92)
Southland (1): McNeese (44)
SWAC (1): Alabama State (206)
Summit (1): St. Thomas (138)
Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (117)
WCC (3): *Gonzaga (5), Saint Mary’s (29), Santa Clara (32)
WAC (1): Cal Baptist (61)
---------------------------------
Last 4 In: Colorado (46), Seton Hall (50), Missouri (51), VCU (57)
First 4 Out: Georgia (36), George Washington (47), Northwestern (48), Cal (52)
Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Quinnipiac (146), Central Connecticut (151), Alabama State (206), Norfolk State (215)
8 to Watch: LSU (19), Miami-Florida (38), Wake Forest (56), Villanova (64), Wisconsin (69), Utah Valley (72), Northern Iowa (73), UCLA (76)
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Saint Mary’s (29), Santa Clara (32), Saint Louis (49), VCU (57)
Multiple-Bid Conferences (7): Big XII (11), Big Ten (8), SEC (8), ACC (7), Big East (4), Atlantic 10 (3), WCC (3)
Movin On ‘In (25): Alabama State, Austin Peay, Belmont, Cal Baptist, Central Connecticut, Colgate, Colorado, George Mason, Kansas State, Mercer, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Oakland, Quinnipiac, Saint Louis, St. Thomas, Seton Hall, South Alabama, Tennessee State, TCU, Tulsa, UC-San Diego, Virginia, VCU, William & Mary
Droppin’ Out (25): Creighton, East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, George Washington, Georgetown, Hawaii, Liberty, LIU, Navy, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Portland State, Siena, South Dakota State, Southeast Missouri State, Southern, Troy, UCLA, UNC-Wilmington, USF, Utah Valley, Wisconsin, Wright State
Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, December 8