Missouri the Only New At-Large to Week 15 Field of 68 Projection

[SelectionSunday]

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN – There are six changes to the Field of 68 projection as we enter Week 15, suddenly it seems just three weeks away from the start of Championship Week. Only one of the six newbies is an at-large, Missouri, now one of the “last 4 in”. New automatic bid placeholders are NJIT (America East), Hawaii (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Morgan State (MEAC), and Cal Baptist (WAC).

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 (2/9/26)
America East (1): NJIT (306)

American (1): Tulsa (47)

ACC (8): *Duke (3), Virginia (16), Louisville (17), North Carolina (24), NC State (27), Clemson (30), SMU (34), Miami-Florida (37)

ASUN (1): Austin Peay (136)

Atlantic 10 (1): Saint Louis (15)

Big East (3): *UConn (8), Saint John’s (22), Villanova (32)

Big Sky (1): Portland State (120)

Big South (1): High Point (84)

Big Ten (10): *Michigan (1), Illinois (4), Purdue (10), Nebraska (11), Michigan State (12), Iowa (20), Indiana (33), UCLA (38), Wisconsin (43), USC (48)

Big XII (7): *Arizona (2), Iowa State (5), Houston (6), Kansas (13), BYU (18), Texas Tech (19), UCF (44)

Big West (1): Hawaii (90)

Coastal (1): College of Charleston (157)

Conference USA (1): Liberty (80)

Horizon (1): Wright State (130)

Ivy (1): Yale (65)

MAAC (1): Merrimack (197)

MAC (1): Miami-Ohio (50)

MEAC (1): Morgan State (355)

Missouri Valley (1): Belmont (56)

Mountain West (2): *Utah State (25), San Diego State (42)

NEC (1): LIU (187)

OVC (1): UT-Martin (177)

Patriot (1): Navy (159)

SEC (11): *Florida (9), Vanderbilt (14), Tennessee (21), Alabama (23), Arkansas (26), Kentucky (28), Auburn (31), Georgia (35), Texas (36), Texas A&M (39), Missouri (62)

SoCon (1): East Tennessee State (116)

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (76)

SWAC (1): Bethune-Cookman (235)

Summit (1): North Dakota State (129)

Sun Belt (1): Troy (115)

WCC (3): Gonzaga (7), Saint Mary’s (29), *Santa Clara (41)

WAC (1): Cal Baptist (110)
---------------------------------
Last 4 In: Missouri, UCLA, San Diego State, Miami-Florida (last team in)

First 4 Out: Cal (first team out), TCU, Virginia Tech, Ohio State

Next 7 Out (strongest to weakest): New Mexico, Boise State, VCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Stanford

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Merrimack (197), Bethune-Cookman (235), NJIT (306), Morgan State (355)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (3): Gonzaga (7), Saint Mary’s (29), San Diego State (42)

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

Movin On ‘In (6): Cal Baptist, College of Charleston, Hawaii, Missouri, Morgan State, NJIT

Droppin’ Out (6): New Mexico, UC-Irvine, UMES, UNC-Wilmington, Utah Valley, Vermont

Big Ten & Summit League Projected NCAA Tournament Seeds
#1 Michigan
#2 Illinois
#2 Nebraska
#3 Purdue
#3 Michigan State
#8 Iowa
#9 USC
#9 Wisconsin
#10 Indiana
#11 UCLA
#15 North Dakota State

Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, February 16

 

[SelectionSunday]

"Record vs. the projected field" for the five B1G squads I have at least marginally on or around the bubble:

Indiana (4-7) -- IN
Ohio State (1-6) -- OUT
UCLA (1-5) -- LAST 4 IN
USC (3-4) -- IN
Wisconsin (2-6) -- IN

 

[SelectionSunday]

Teams I overvalued this week:
Miami-Florida (1-3 vs. the projected field)
San Diego State (0-4 vs. the projected field)

Teams I undervalued this week:
Cal (4-4 vs. the projected field)
Oklahoma State (4-4 vs. the projected field)

 

[Slim Tubby]

St. Thomas hoops faces most important month in program history​

The Tommies have the opportunity to play in the Division I NCAA Tournament for the first time this March.

This season is the first time St. Thomas will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament since making the stunning jump from Division III to Division I before the 2021-22 season. The next month will determine whether or not they go dancing this March.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/st-thomas-hoops-faces-most-important-month-in-program-history

 

[SelectionSunday]

St. Thomas hoops faces most important month in program history​

The next month will determine whether or not they go dancing this March.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/st-thomas-hoops-faces-most-important-month-in-program-history

I would quibble with Tony on this statement. It's not the next month that will determine if they make the NCAA tourney. It's specifically March 5-8 that will determine that. 4 days in March for 1-bid leagues.

 

[Slim Tubby]

I would quibble with Tony on this statement. It's not the next month that will determine if they make the NCAA tourney. It's specifically March 5-8 that will determine that. 4 days in March for 1-bid leagues.

All ribbing aside, I think it would be great to see UST make the tourney. And yes...it almost assuredly will come down to those four (4) days. Hopefully, their success in the regular season will have prepped them for a successful conference tournament.