Bracketology: Tennessee jumps up to a No. 1 seed after North Carolina falls off top line

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There has been another change to the top line of the updated bracket. It took a couple of weeks, but North Carolina and Kansas finally lost enough games to open the door for Tennessee to ascend to the fourth overall seed. Purdue, UConn and Houston hold on to their places as the top three seeds. 

The SEC and Big 12 lead the way with nine teams each in the bracket. The Mountain West is third with six teams. It has been a banner year for the conference to be sure. San Diego State made a run to the Final Four last season as a No. 5 seed. The Aztecs and a couple of other teams will likely be positioned to try to repeat that feat.

The Big East is the smallest conference of the Big Six with 11 teams and has five teams in the latest bracket. The league has nine teams ranked 66th or higher in the NET, so there is still time for some others to make a move.

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It has been a particularly down year for the Big Ten and ACC by their standards. The Big Ten has five teams in the field with Michigan State bouncing in and out from bracket to bracket. The Spartans are the first team out today. Nebraska and Northwestern are still waiting to find that big win away from home to boost their stock. Everyone else is basically just muddling along except for Michigan, which has fallen flat this season.

The ACC has been North Carolina, Duke and Clemson well ahead of a pile of teams unable to separate from each other. Lately, Virginia has made a move thanks to a seven game winning streak that features a win at Clemson. Outside of those four teams, only Pitt and Virginia Tech have been able to manage to muster even a three-game winning streak since the start of conference play. The Panthers’ streak is current as they go to Virginia on Tuesday.

Unlike its football teams, Pac-12 basketball is not exactly going out with a bang. No. 2 seed Arizona is the only team among the four in the bracket seeded above a No. 7. Oregon is among the “First Four Out” and is the only other team with a realistic shot of putting together an at-large quality tournament resume.

Dayton, Indiana State and Saint Mary’s are currently comfortably enough in the field as their conference’s only representatives that we may have the opportunity for some bid stealers this season. This bracket has one in South Florida, the current leader of the AAC. The Bulls are alone in first place after FAU lost in overtime at UAB Thursday night.