Bracketology 2024:Houston, Purdue, UConn, and UNC land No. 1 seeds in the final field of 68 projection

South Region (Dallas)

1.) Houston vs. 16.) Grambling State/Stetson

8.) Nebraska vs. 9.) Mississippi State

5.) San Diego State vs. 12.) McNeese State

4.) Auburn vs. 13.) Vermont

6.) Clemson vs. 11.) Texas A&M/Oklahoma

3.) Illinois vs. 14.) Oakland

7.) Gonzaga vs. 10.) Drake

2.) Tennessee vs. 15.) Long Beach State

Moving to the Big 12 has been of little issue for the No. 1 seed in the South region, the Houston Cougars. The Cougars are now 30-4 entering the NCAA Tournament after getting blown out by Iowa State in the Big 12 title game and are now the tournament’s overall No. 3 seed. Houston is a top-5 team in every metric and heads into the tournament with 16 quad 1 wins and a 6-3 record in quad 1A. Houston is the best defensive team in the country and should be one of the favorites to reach Phoenix, despite how the Big 12 tournament ended.

The South region is the most defensive-minded region in the field led by the No. 1 seed Houston. Also in Houston’s way on their way to Phoenix are defensive stalwarts No. 2 Tennessee and No. 5 San Diego State. On the other end of the floor, one of the more explosive offensive teams in the country, Auburn also sits here as the No. 4 seed after reaching the SEC finals. If March is all about momentum, then one final team to watch is No. 3 Illinois who enters Selection Sunday playing in the Big Ten title game.

In the South region, that team may be the most dominant in the country relative to their conference, the No. 13 Vermont Catamounts. In winning the America East title they earned their third straight trip to the dance and 11th title since 2003. They have NCAA Tournament wins in 2005 and 2012 and in three of their last four appearances have been a No. 13 seed and lost by an average of seven points. The Catamounts have been on the cusp of another upset and will be a dangerous double-digit seed next week.