5 SEC teams projected to make NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology

With March Madness just around the corner, college basketball fans are paying closer attention to the projections for the field of 68.

In ESPN expert Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, five SEC teams are bound for The Big Dance. With the midweek games in the book, Lunardi no longer has any other conference team on the bubble.

Here are his latest projections:

• Auburn — No. 3 seed (Midwest)
• Kentucky — No. 4 seed (South)
• LSU — No. 7 seed (South)
• Florida — No. 10 seed (East)
• Arkansas — No. 12 seed (West, play-in game)

The changes from Lunardi’s Feb. 11 projections include LSU and Arkansas moving down while Florida moved up. Arkansas’ drop is particularly noteworthy, as the hardwood Hogs were previously No. 10 in the East and given a bye for the “first round.” Now, the Razorbacks are projected to be one of the teams eight who will have to play their way into the “second round” when the field becomes 64 teams for the opening weekend. Now, Lunardi has Arkansas facing fellow No. 12-seed Stanford in the opening round.

UA is on a three-game losing skid, having fallen to Auburn, Missouri and Tennessee. The Razorbacks host Mississippi State on Saturday. Lunardi has Eric Musselman’s squad as one of the “last four in” along with Indiana, Arizona State and Stanford.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.