Week 14 Field of 68 Projection: Slim At-Large Pickings Seem Imminent for Selection Committee

[SelectionSunday]

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN -- As we begin college basketball’s penultimate month, the Field of 68 at-large pool is trimming down to the bones. There just aren’t enough teams worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration, yet the NCAA is likely to expand the field to 76 teams for the 2026-27 season. Go figure.

As we enter Week 14, there are only six changes to the Field of 68 projection from last week. They are (number of weeks projected into the field in parentheses): Austin Peay (3), High Point (11), Indiana (6), Texas (2), UC-Irvine (4), and Utah Valley (10).

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 (2/2/26)
America East (1): Vermont (214)

American (1): Tulsa (46)

ACC (8): *Duke (1), Louisville (17), Virginia (18), North Carolina (25), NC State (27), Clemson (31), SMU (34), Miami (38)

ASUN (1): Austin Peay (148)

Atlantic 10 (1): Saint Louis (16)

Big East (3): *UConn (7), Saint John’s (24), Villanova (33)

Big Sky (1): Portland State (135)

Big South (1): High Point (82)

Big Ten (10): *Michigan (3), Illinois (6), Purdue (8), Nebraska (10), Michigan State (11), Iowa (20), Indiana (30), Wisconsin (41), UCLA (44), USC (48)

Big XII (7): *Arizona (2), Iowa State (4), Houston (9), Kansas (14), BYU (15), Texas Tech (19), UCF (37)

Big West (1): UC-Irvine (113)

Coastal (1): UNC-Wilmington (98)

Conference USA (1): Liberty (74)

Horizon (1): Wright State (124)

Ivy (1): Yale (63)

MAAC (1): Merrimack (210)

MAC (1): Miami (53)

MEAC (1): UMES (337)

Missouri Valley (1): Belmont (58)

Mountain West (3): *Utah State (26), New Mexico (42), San Diego State (45)

NEC (1): LIU (183)

OVC (1): UT-Martin (166)

Patriot (1): Navy (169)

SEC (10): Florida (12), Vanderbilt (13), Tennessee (21), Alabama (22), Arkansas (23), Kentucky (28), Auburn (29), *Texas A&M (35), Georgia (36), Texas (39)

SoCon (1): East Tennessee State (119)

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (84)

SWAC (1): Bethune-Cookman (243)

Summit (1): North Dakota State (118)

Sun Belt (1): Troy (138)

WCC (3): *Gonzaga (5), Saint Mary’s (32), Santa Clara (43)

WAC (1): Utah Valley (88)
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Last 4 In: Miami-Florida (38), Texas (39), Santa Clara (43), San Diego State (45)

First 4 Out: Seton Hall (49), Cal (51), Oklahoma State (67), Missouri (70)

8 to Watch: Ohio State (40), Washington (47), Akron (50), VCU (52), TCU (54), Virginia Tech (55), Baylor (56), George Mason (65)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Merrimack (210), Vermont (214), Bethune-Cookman (243), UMES (337)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Saint Mary’s (32), New Mexico (42), Santa Clara (43), San Diego State (45)

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

Movin On ‘In (6): Austin Peay, High Point, Indiana, Texas, UC-Irvine, Utah Valley

Droppin’ Out (6): Hawaii, Lipscomb, Ohio State, TCU, UT-Arlington, Winthrop
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Big Ten & Summit League Projected NCAA Tournament Seeds
#1 Michigan
#2 Illinois
#3 Purdue
#3 Nebraska
#4 Michigan State
#7 Wisconsin
#8 Iowa
#10 Indiana
#10 USC
#11 UCLA
#15 North Dakota State

Next Field of 68 Projection: Monday, February 9