The Bubble
Last four in
The four teams headed to Dayton for the first four is an interesting mix. Oregon takes on a Pittsburgh team that is looking for its second tournament berth in the last three seasons. The winner of this game will head to Cleveland to take on No. 6 Kentucky in the East region. The other match-up is a game between two high-profile bounce-back candidates when Louisville takes on Michigan under new head coaches Pat Kelsey and Dusty May respectively. The winner of this game gets No. 6 Clemson in the West region.
First four out
The first four teams out are Villanova, Mayland, Syracuse, and San Diego State. The Aztecs have had quite a run with four straight tournament appearances and back-to-back sweet sixteens, but the battle in the Mountain West this year could mean no tournament this year. The other three teams have combined for five tournament appearances since 2021 and are all looking to get back to when they were all consistently a part of the field.
Next four out
The next four out are an N.C. State team coming off a final four appearance, Washington under first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, UCF, and VCU.
With all the high-profile player movement, these four have fallen behind in the arms race so to speak, but teams don’t win or lose tournament berths in the summer and a lot can happen over the next five months that will change the course of these teams.