Bracketology 2024: Gonzaga and BYU surge in the first bracket projection for the field of 68 in March
It feels like it was just last week but so much has happened since the UConn Huskies took home the title in April. Once again, a deluge of schools, players, and coaches have changed places. That is all over now and the season is well underway and we now have enough data to start looking at teams and where they stand when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.
While there were still two and a half months until Selection Sunday when the first projection was released, it is now right around the corner. Some teams are building their resumes to be No. 1 seeds and national title contenders, while others are fighting to show they deserve an invitation. By this time in the season, while the guest list for the NCAA Tournament is far from finalized, it has been whittled down from the 350-plus hopefuls at which it started to an ever-shrinking number that is still hopeful.
The selection process is as transparent as it has ever been and because of that, we can gain insight into how the committee is thinking and what aspects of a team's resume they are valuing from year to year. Now that we are into the new year, there is enough of a baseline to begin building a field. With the New Year upon us, it is bracket time!
Twice a month leading up to Selection Sunday, I will give you a look at what I think the bracket could look like up to that point by looking at resumes and metrics that the committee will use such as KenPom, Sagarin, and Strength of Record among others. The results, rankings, and metrics included in this column will be through Sunday of the previous week and the automatic qualifiers will be a conference’s top team in the NET When I begin building the bracket. With all of that being said, it’s bracket time, here is the latest bracket of the season.
Just like that, everyone rejoices, we have reached March. Two weeks from Sunday all the debating, wondering and bubble talk will cease and we will have a tournament to prepare for. With that in mind, here is the latest bracket projection and how things might look if the field was announced today.
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