THE ROAD TO INDIANAPOLIS – It appears the NCAA Selection Committee is sticking with a 68-team field for the upcoming season (thank goodness, hallelujah!). So back we go to a 68-team projection. My most notable omissions? North Carolina and San Diego State. The next and final preseason projection will come sometime in October, when I’ll drop my Final 4 and national champion picks (among others).
In the offseason, team rankings (in parentheses) use Bart Torvik’s current preseason projections. Once the season starts, we’ll use NET rankings. An * denotes the automatic qualifier in a multiple-bid conference.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (7/31/25)
America East (1): Vermont (182)
American (2): *USF (62), Memphis (73)
ACC (5): *Duke (2), Louisville (11), Virginia (35), NC State (39), SMU (45)
ASUN (1): Queens (245)
Atlantic 10 (2): VCU (50), *Loyola-Chicago (90)
Big East (4): Saint John’s (8), *UConn (10), Creighton (23), Marquette (51)
Big Sky (1): Idaho (181)
Big South (1): Winthrop (179)
Big Ten (10): Michigan (3), *Purdue (4), Illinois (7), UCLA (9), Ohio State (19), Michigan State (22), USC (25), Oregon (27), Wisconsin (30), Iowa (38)
Big XII (8): *Houston (1), BYU (6), Arizona (12), Iowa State (15), Kansas (17), Texas Tech (28), Cincinnati (32), Baylor (34)
Big West (1): UC-Irvine (108)
Coastal (1): UNC-Wilmington (120)
Conference USA (1): Liberty (81)
Horizon (1): Wright State (207)
Ivy (1): Yale (91)
MAAC (1): Siena (166)
MAC (1): Miami-Ohio (107)
MEAC (1): Norfolk State (291)
Missouri Valley (1): Illinois State (96)
Mountain West (2): *Boise State (48), Utah State (64)
NEC (1): LIU (296)
OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (162)
Patriot (1): Navy (202)
SEC (11): Florida (5), *Tennessee (13), Kentucky (14), Arkansas (16), Alabama (20), Vanderbilt (21), Auburn (26), Missouri (29), Oklahoma (31), Texas (36), Ole Miss (47)
SoCon (1): East Tennessee State (177)
Southland (1): McNeese (103)
SWAC (1): Jackson State (184)
Summit (1): School Thou Shall Not Mention Here (133)
Sun Belt (1): James Madison (139)
WCC (2): *Gonzaga (24), Saint Mary’s (55)
WAC (1): Utah Valley (121)
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Last 4 In: Missouri (29), Cincinnati (32), SMU (45), Saint Mary’s (55)
Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Wright State (207), Queens (245), Norfolk State (291), LIU (296)
First 4 Out: Georgia (33), Nebraska (43), Notre Dame (66), San Francisco (65)
A Dozen to Watch: North Carolina (18), Texas A&M (37), Mississippi State (40), Maryland (41), Indiana (42), San Diego State (44), Villanova (49), Clemson (52), Kansas State (56), Providence (59), Grand Canyon (77), Saint Louis (79)
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): VCU (50), Saint Mary’s (55), Utah State (64), Memphis (73)
Multiple-Bid Conferences (9): SEC (11), Big Ten (10), Big XII (8), ACC (5), Big East (4), American (2), Atlantic 10 (2), Mountain West (2), WCC (2)