Joe Lunardi updates bracketology projection, puts 10 SEC teams in NCAA Tournament field
By David Wasson
Published:
As January starts evaporating into February, it is time to start thinking about the NCAA Tournament field – the 68-team free-for-all we have come to love as March Madness.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi maintains his beloved “bracketology” projections every year for the NCAA Tournament field, and Lunardi’s latest update places 10 teams from the Southeastern Conference into the field.
The SEC’s haul would match the Big Ten’s 10 teams in Lunardi’s projections, both one more than the ACC’s nine teams. Lunardi currently places Arizona as the overall No. 1 seed, with Duke, UConn and Michigan also earning top seeds.
Lunardi says Vanderbilt would be a No. 4 seed playing in the West Bracket. He includes Georgia as a No. 8 seed playing in the West Bracket, as well as Texas being a First Four team as a No. 11 seed that would slot into the first round with a win to play in the West Bracket.
Lunardi says Alabama would be a No. 5 seed playing in Portland in the South Bracket, and that Auburn would join the Crimson Tide as a No. 7 seed playing in the same bracket.
Lunardi slots Arkansas as a No. 5 seed in the East Bracket and also puts Tennessee as a No. 6 seed in the same bracket.
The Midwest Bracket would see three SEC teams according to Lunardi. Florida would earn a No. 4 seed, Kentucky would earn a No. 7 seed, and Texas A&M would earn a No. 8 seed.
Florida is college basketball’s defending national champion, but is not among the favorites to repeat in March, according to a variety of sports betting apps. The Gators are +1800 to win it all, per the latest odds from BetMGM.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
