Everybody else is doing it, so I thought I’d create my own tournament projections. Based on my current rankings, here are my projections based on the highest ranked team in each conference and then the 37 highest ranked teams left.
Here’s my list of the teams that would be in right now based on my rankings and who is ranked the highest in their conference:
| Rank | School | Conference | Berth | W | L | PF | PA | Rating | SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MICHIGAN | Big Ten | Automatic | 26 | 2 | 2496 | 1923 | 117.656 | 110.765 |
| 2 | DUKE | ACC | Automatic | 26 | 2 | 2325 | 1761 | 117.376 | 109.821 |
| 3 | ARIZONA | Big 12 | Automatic | 26 | 2 | 2441 | 1929 | 117.370 | 110.266 |
| 4 | UCONN | Big East | Automatic | 26 | 3 | 2290 | 1888 | 116.145 | 109.666 |
| 5 | PURDUE | Big Ten | At-large | 22 | 5 | 2239 | 1870 | 115.463 | 110.488 |
| 6 | IOWA ST. | Big 12 | At-large | 24 | 4 | 2319 | 1818 | 115.435 | 109.115 |
| 7 | HOUSTON | Big 12 | At-large | 23 | 5 | 2146 | 1744 | 115.357 | 109.900 |
| 8 | GONZAGA | West Coast | Automatic | 28 | 2 | 2606 | 1984 | 115.291 | 108.018 |
| 9 | ILLINOIS | Big Ten | At-large | 22 | 6 | 2384 | 1933 | 115.112 | 110.262 |
| 10 | KANSAS | Big 12 | At-large | 21 | 7 | 2146 | 1909 | 115.089 | 111.253 |
| 11 | MICHIGAN ST. | Big Ten | At-large | 22 | 5 | 2118 | 1786 | 115.067 | 110.044 |
| 12 | NEBRASKA | Big Ten | At-large | 24 | 4 | 2197 | 1831 | 115.055 | 109.134 |
| 13 | FLORIDA | SEC | Automatic | 22 | 6 | 2416 | 1994 | 114.911 | 110.067 |
| 14 | VIRGINIA | ACC | At-large | 25 | 3 | 2305 | 1897 | 114.826 | 108.427 |
| 15 | TEXAS TECH | Big 12 | At-large | 21 | 7 | 2297 | 2021 | 114.638 | 110.826 |
| 16 | ALABAMA | SEC | At-large | 21 | 7 | 2601 | 2340 | 114.609 | 110.869 |
| 17 | ARKANSAS | SEC | At-large | 21 | 7 | 2527 | 2199 | 114.040 | 110.063 |
| 18 | BYU | Big 12 | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2393 | 2104 | 114.018 | 110.536 |
| 19 | VANDERBILT | SEC | At-large | 22 | 6 | 2443 | 2070 | 113.995 | 109.435 |
| 20 | NORTH CAROLINA | ACC | At-large | 22 | 6 | 2257 | 1981 | 113.879 | 109.460 |
| 21 | VILLANOVA | Big East | At-large | 22 | 6 | 2181 | 1963 | 113.439 | 109.360 |
| 22 | TENNESSEE | SEC | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2253 | 1936 | 113.431 | 109.591 |
| 23 | LOUISVILLE | ACC | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2418 | 2015 | 113.367 | 109.612 |
| 24 | SAINT MARY’S (CA) | West Coast | At-large | 26 | 4 | 2361 | 1931 | 113.094 | 107.434 |
| 25 | UCF | Big 12 | At-large | 20 | 7 | 2214 | 2090 | 113.060 | 109.527 |
| 26 | IOWA | Big Ten | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2126 | 1815 | 112.841 | 109.026 |
| 27 | UTAH ST. | Mountain West | Automatic | 23 | 5 | 2341 | 1953 | 112.683 | 107.885 |
| 28 | WISCONSIN | Big Ten | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2316 | 2132 | 112.678 | 109.828 |
| 29 | UCLA | Big Ten | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2183 | 2000 | 112.571 | 109.721 |
| 30 | SAINT LOUIS | Atlantic 10 | Automatic | 25 | 3 | 2495 | 1916 | 112.547 | 105.784 |
| 31 | MIAMI (FL) | ACC | At-large | 22 | 6 | 2322 | 1977 | 112.542 | 107.837 |
| 32 | NC STATE | ACC | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2352 | 2082 | 112.492 | 109.602 |
| 33 | KENTUCKY | SEC | At-large | 18 | 10 | 2265 | 2028 | 112.490 | 109.789 |
| 34 | SMU | ACC | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2413 | 2167 | 112.265 | 109.562 |
| 35 | CLEMSON | ACC | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2087 | 1837 | 112.169 | 108.653 |
| 36 | SANTA CLARA | West Coast | At-large | 23 | 7 | 2504 | 2173 | 111.905 | 107.871 |
| 37 | GEORGIA | SEC | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2515 | 2205 | 111.813 | 108.711 |
| 38 | OHIO ST. | Big Ten | At-large | 17 | 11 | 2227 | 2048 | 111.773 | 109.906 |
| 39 | TCU | Big 12 | At-large | 18 | 10 | 2193 | 2016 | 111.748 | 109.090 |
| 40 | AUBURN | SEC | At-large | 15 | 13 | 2338 | 2232 | 111.704 | 110.879 |
| 41 | CALIFORNIA | ACC | At-large | 20 | 8 | 2198 | 2032 | 111.697 | 108.382 |
| 42 | SAN DIEGO ST. | Mountain West | At-large | 19 | 8 | 2141 | 1892 | 111.583 | 108.286 |
| 43 | TEXAS A&M | SEC | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2484 | 2211 | 111.552 | 108.454 |
| 44 | MISSOURI | SEC | At-large | 19 | 9 | 2241 | 2101 | 111.469 | 108.547 |
| 45 | INDIANA | Big Ten | At-large | 17 | 11 | 2221 | 2020 | 111.458 | 109.544 |
| 52 | MIAMI (OH) | Mid-American | Automatic | 28 | 0 | 2566 | 2075 | 111.046 | 103.158 |
| 59 | BELMONT | Missouri Valley | Automatic | 26 | 4 | 2531 | 2166 | 110.428 | 105.067 |
| 60 | SOUTH FLA. | AAC | Automatic | 20 | 8 | 2470 | 2162 | 110.355 | 107.054 |
| 71 | LIBERTY | Conference USA | Automatic | 23 | 4 | 2136 | 1876 | 109.730 | 104.330 |
| 78 | YALE | Ivy League | Automatic | 21 | 4 | 2074 | 1786 | 109.343 | 104.316 |
| 83 | MCNEESE | Southland | Automatic | 23 | 5 | 2265 | 1858 | 109.055 | 103.884 |
| 88 | UNCW | Colonial | Automatic | 24 | 4 | 2155 | 1880 | 108.868 | 103.698 |
| 89 | UTAH VALLEY | WAC | Automatic | 20 | 7 | 2169 | 1803 | 108.852 | 104.681 |
| 97 | HIGH POINT | Big South | Automatic | 26 | 4 | 2733 | 2110 | 108.315 | 102.329 |
| 99 | HAWAII | Big West | Automatic | 19 | 7 | 2067 | 1788 | 108.269 | 104.705 |
| 120 | NORTH DAKOTA ST. | Summit | Automatic | 23 | 6 | 2367 | 2042 | 107.504 | 103.121 |
| 136 | MARSHALL | Sun Belt | Automatic | 19 | 11 | 2436 | 2316 | 106.792 | 104.988 |
| 137 | AUSTIN PEAY | Atlantic Sun | Automatic | 21 | 7 | 2281 | 2008 | 106.785 | 103.160 |
| 148 | PORTLAND ST. | Big Sky | Automatic | 18 | 8 | 1998 | 1808 | 106.515 | 103.269 |
| 151 | MERRIMACK | Metro Atlantic | Automatic | 20 | 9 | 2013 | 1958 | 106.485 | 104.209 |
| 156 | ETSU | Southern | Automatic | 21 | 9 | 2349 | 2055 | 106.316 | 103.295 |
| 158 | WRIGHT ST. | Horizon | Automatic | 19 | 11 | 2394 | 2192 | 106.248 | 104.243 |
| 161 | NAVY | Patriot | Automatic | 24 | 6 | 2234 | 1894 | 106.170 | 101.422 |
| 199 | LIU | Northeast | Automatic | 19 | 10 | 2150 | 2101 | 104.954 | 103.187 |
| 206 | UT MARTIN | Ohio Valley | Automatic | 20 | 9 | 2076 | 1838 | 104.853 | 101.966 |
| 213 | BETHUNE-COOKMAN | SWAC | Automatic | 15 | 13 | 2110 | 2160 | 104.700 | 104.543 |
| 237 | UMBC | America East | Automatic | 18 | 8 | 1945 | 1777 | 103.960 | 101.252 |
| 240 | HOWARD | MEAC | Automatic | 18 | 10 | 2150 | 1907 | 103.793 | 101.616 |
First Four Out
These are the next four at-large schools after the final at-large selection (i.e., at-large ranks 38–41).
| Rank | School | Conference | W | L | PF | PA | Rating | SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | VIRGINIA TECH | ACC | 18 | 10 | 2206 | 2073 | 111.334 | 109.055 |
| 47 | NEW MEXICO | Mountain West | 21 | 7 | 2258 | 1944 | 111.327 | 107.353 |
| 48 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | Big Ten | 18 | 10 | 2229 | 2149 | 111.268 | 109.248 |
| 49 | TEXAS | SEC | 17 | 11 | 2369 | 2119 | 111.223 | 108.824 |
I’ll try and keep this updated daily between now and the end of the conference tournaments. Just click on the tournament projections link.