Kentucky falls out, Alabama grabs top seed in latest bracketology

While Selection Sunday is less than a month away, there is still a lot that can change in men’s college basketball over these next few weeks. It should therefore go without saying that this latest version of bracketology will almost certainly not resemble the final pairings. It does, however, give an indication of what teams are in good shape and which others need to heat up in a hurry. One of those teams in the latter situations is one of the biggest programs in the country.

Purdue holds on to a No. 1 seed despite dropping two of its last three games. But Alabama now projects as the top overall seed in the field. Houston and UCLA claim the other two regional No. 1s, though we suspect that a representative from the Big 12, currently occupying three of the four No. 2 seeds, will move up in future updates given that pretty much every game in the league is an opportunity for a Quad 1 victory.

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Farther down the bracket, there’s good news for one blue-blood program but bad news for another. North Carolina remains in the field but falls into the play-in game with Monday’s miss against Miami (Fla.). The news wasn’t so good for Kentucky. A loss at Georgia over the weekend has the Wildcats on the outside, though Wednesday night’s date with fellow first-four candidate Mississippi State could help them climb back in.

Last four in

North Carolina, Clemson, Southern California, Memphis.

First four out

Kentucky, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Oregon.

Next four out

Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Seton Hall, Utah State.

Conference breakdown

Multi-bid conferences: Big 12 (8), Big Ten (8), ACC (7), SEC (7), Big East (5), Mountain West (3), Pac-12 (3), American Athletic (2), West Coast (2).