2024 NCAA Tournament projections: Iowa State reaches No. 2, Clemson climbing

Last updated: 2024/02/16 at 8:46 PM

BigP Published February 16, 2024

As we inch closer to the month of March, the madness throughout college basketball is at an all-time high, with four teams ranked in the top 10 dropping games this week.

FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy is here to help fans sort through the madness. He released his updated NCAA Tournament projections on Friday morning, with plenty of changes at the top.

UConn (East), Houston (South), Purdue (Midwest) and Arizona (West) remain on the top line. The Wildcats have won five in a row and seven of their last eight heading into a matchup against in-state rival Arizona State on Saturday.

Tennessee, Marquette and Kansas remain on the 2-line but are now joined by Iowa State, which rose one spot. Sitting on the 3-line is Alabama and Baylor, which are now joined by North Carolina, which fell one spot after their second loss in three tries, and Auburn — which blew out South Carolina this past Wednesday, 101-61.

Meanwhile, Illinois and Creighton are joined by Duke, which fell one spot, and Clemson as the No. 4 seeds in DeCourcy’s latest projections.

As for teams on the bubble, DeCourcy has Ole Miss, Butler, Nevada and Wake Forest as his last four teams in the tournament. Seton Hall, Villanova, Cincinnati and St. John’s are the first four teams out, while Utah, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Kansas State are the next four out.

The Big 12 and SEC are tied for the most representatives in DeCourcy’s compilation with nine teams apiece. The Big Ten and Mountain West each have six teams in the tournament, according to DeCourcy’s latest projections, while the Big East and ACC each have five teams, and the Pac-12 and WCC each have two teams represented.

Here are the complete brackets from DeCourcy: