Field of 68 Projection: TCU Joins Field as At-Large; Championship Week Two Weeks Away

[SelectionSunday]

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN – The countdown to the beginning of Championship Week(s) is down to two weeks, when the Horizon League kicks off conference tournament play Monday, March 2, with a first-round (#10 vs. #11) game.

As we enter Week 16 there are four new teams in the “Field of 68 projection. The only new at-large is TCU, which won a pair of resume-enhancing games vs. Iowa State (home) and Oklahoma State (road). New automatic bid placeholders are South Florida (American), UNC-Wilmington (CAA), and South Alabama (Sun Belt).

Automatic qualifiers in multiple-bid conferences (noted with an *) hold the best conference record or, in the event of a tie, best NET ranking (in parentheses).

FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (2/16/26)
America East (1): NJIT (301)

American (1): South Florida (57)

ACC (8): *Duke (2), Louisville (12), Virginia (19), North Carolina (25), NC State (29), Clemson (31), Miami (35), SMU (36)

ASUN (1): Austin Peay (134)

Atlantic 10 (1): Saint Louis (17)

Big East (3): *UConn (10), Saint John’s (24), Villanova (30)

Big Sky (1): Portland State (130)

Big South (1): High Point (75)

Big Ten (10): *Michigan (1), Illinois (5), Purdue (7), Nebraska (11), Michigan State (15), Iowa (27), Wisconsin (33), Indiana (34), UCLA (40), USC (48)

Big XII (8): *Arizona (3), Iowa State (8), Kansas (14), Texas Tech (16), BYU (20), TCU (45), UCF (50)

Big West (1): Hawaii (98)

Coastal (1): UNC-Wilmington (96)

Conference USA (1): Liberty (74)

Horizon (1): Wright State (139)

Ivy (1): Yale (65)

MAAC (1): Merrimack (185)

MAC (1): Miami U (51)

MEAC (1): Morgan State (353)

Missouri Valley (1): Belmont (55)

Mountain West (2): *Utah State (23), San Diego State (41)

NEC (1): LIU (195)

OVC (1): UT-Martin (179)

Patriot (1): Navy (150)

SEC (11): *Florida (9), Vanderbilt (13), Arkansas (18), Alabama (21), Tennessee (22), Kentucky (28), Auburn (32), Texas (37), Georgia (39), Texas A&M (43), Missouri (66)

SoCon (1): East Tennessee State (129)

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (78)

SWAC (1): Bethune-Cookman (251)

Summit (1): North Dakota State (123)

Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (168)

WCC (2): *Gonzaga (6), Saint Mary’s (26)

WAC (1): Cal Baptist (109)
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Last 4 In: UCLA (40), San Diego State (41), Texas A&M (43), Missouri (66)

First 4 Out: Santa Clara (42), New Mexico (44), Seton Hall (49), Cal (61)

Next 5 Out: Ohio State (38), VCU (46), Virginia Tech (58), Stanford (70), Oklahoma State (72)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: LIU (195), Bethune-Cookman (251), NJIT (301), Morgan State (353)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (2): Saint Mary’s (26), San Diego State (41)

Multiple-Bid Conferences (7): SEC (11), Big Ten (10), ACC (8), Big XII (8), Big East (3), WCC (2), Mountain West (2)

Movin On ‘In (4): South Alabama, South Florida, TCU, UNC-Wilmington

Droppin’ Out (4): Charleston, Santa Clara, Troy, Tulsa
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Big Ten & Summit League Projected NCAA Tournament Seed & Opponent
#1 Michigan vs. #16 NJIT/#16 Morgan State First Four winner
#2 Purdue vs. #15 Wright State
#2 Illinois vs. #15 South Alabama
#3 Nebraska vs. #14 North Dakota State
#4 Michigan State vs. #13 Stephen F. Austin
#7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Georgia
#9 Iowa vs. #8 Auburn
#9 USC vs. #8 Clemson
#10 Indiana vs. #7 North Carolina
#11 UCLA vs. #11 San Diego State (First Four)
#14 North Dakota State vs. #3 Nebraska

Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, February 23