Field of 68 Projection Welcomes 18 New Teams; Boise State, Indiana & TCU the New At-Large Invitees

[SelectionSunday]

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN – The completion of Week 9 brings 18 new teams to the Field of 68, largely due to the beginning of conference play and uneven conference records (i.e. 2-0 is better than 1-0, 1-0 is better than 0-0), etc. That now means more often in one-bid leagues the automatic qualifier won’t necessarily have the best NET ranking. Of those 18 new teams, only three are at-large selections, Boise State, Indiana, and TCU.

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 (1/5/26)
America East (1): Vermont (189)

American (1): Memphis (102)

ACC (8): *Duke (7), Louisville (14), North Carolina (22), SMU (24), Virginia (25), Clemson (34), NC State (37), Virginia Tech (56)

ASUN (1): Lipscomb (145)

Atlantic 10 (2): Saint Louis (29), *VCU (52)

Big East (4): *UConn (8), Villanova (17), Saint John’s (33), Seton Hall (40)

Big Sky (1): Montana State (138)

Big South (1): High Point (88)

Big Ten (9): *Michigan (1), Purdue (6), Illinois (10), Nebraska (11), Iowa (13), Michigan State (16), Indiana (30), USC (39), Ohio State (43)

Big XII (9): *Arizona (2), Iowa State (3), BYU (9), Houston (15), Kansas (18), Texas Tech (19), UCF (32), Baylor (42), TCU (47)

Big West (1): UC-Irvine (128)

Coastal (1): UNC-Wilmington (115)

Conference USA (1): Middle Tennessee (101)

Horizon (1): Wright State (129)

Ivy (1): Yale (59)

MAAC (1): Merrimack (246)

MAC (1): Miami (57)

MEAC (1): UMES (334)

Missouri Valley (1): Murray State (64)

Mountain West (2): *Utah State (20), Boise State (45)

NEC (1): LIU (169)

OVC (1): Lindenwood (200)

Patriot (1): Colgate (177)

SEC (9): *Vanderbilt (5), Alabama (12), Georgia (21), Tennessee (26), Florida (27), Arkansas (28), Kentucky (31), Auburn (35), Oklahoma (49)

SoCon (1): East Tennessee State (124)

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (98)

SWAC (1): Grambling (229)

Summit (1): North Dakota State (149)

Sun Belt (1): Georgia Southern (207)

WCC (2): *Gonzaga (4), Saint Mary’s (23)

WAC (1): Utah Tech (183)
---------------------------------
Last 4 In: Saint John’s (33), NC State (37), Boise State (45), Oklahoma (49)

First 4 Out: Miami-Florida (36), LSU (38), UCLA (41), Tulsa (44)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Lindenwood (200), Georgia Southern (207), Grambling (229), UMES (334)

8 to Watch: Butler (46), Creighton (51), Texas A&M (53), Illinois State (55), Cal (58), Kansas State (65), San Diego State (69), Stanford (75)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (3): Saint Mary’s (23), Saint Louis (29), Boise State (45)

Multiple-Bid Conferences (8): Big Ten (9), Big XII (9), SEC (9), ACC (8), Big East (4), Atlantic 10 (2), Mountain West (2), WCC (2)

Movin On ‘In (18): Boise State, East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Memphis, Merrimack, Miami-Ohio, Middle Tennessee, Montana State, Murray State, North Dakota State, TCU, UC-Irvine, UMES, UNC-Wilmington, Utah Tech, VCU, Wright State

Droppin’ Out (18): Akron, Arkansas State, Belmont, Hawaii, Howard, Liberty, LSU, Mercer, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Oakland, Oklahoma State, Quinnipiac, St. Thomas, Tulsa, UCLA, Utah Valley, William & Mary

Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, January 12, 2026

 

[SelectionSunday]

Heading into Week 10, we have 28 teams in the NET top 75 with 4 or more Quad 1 & 2 wins combined. The breakdown:

8
#1 Michigan (4/4)
#8 UConn (4/4)

7
#4 Gonzaga (3/4)
#5 Vanderbilt (4/3)
#11 Nebraska (3/4)

6
#2 Arizona (4/2)
#3 Iowa State (3/3)
#7 Duke (4/2)
#9 BYU (4/2)

5
#6 Purdue (4/1)
#10 Illinois (3/2)
#12 Alabama (2/3)
#15 Houston (2/3)
#16 Michigan State (4/1)
#24 SMU (1/4)
#34 Clemson (1/4)
#39 USC (2/3)

4
#14 Louisville (2/2)
#18 Kansas (2/2)
#23 Saint Mary's (0/4)
#25 Virginia (2/2)
#37 NC State (1/3)
#40 Seton Hall (2/2)
#45 Boise State (2/2)
#56 Virginia Tech (1/3)
#62 Santa Clara (0/4)
#65 Kansas State (1/3)
#75 Stanford (2/2)