2024 NCAA Tournament Bracket Watch: North Carolina to be 4th No. 1 seed | Top Vip News

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the lead-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments).

It only took until the day before Selection Sunday, but we can finally say with certainty who the top eight seeds in the 2024 NCAA Tournament will be.

With Tennessee and Arizona losing on Saturday and North Carolina advancing to the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels will join Purdue, Houston and UConn on the front line. The only minor intrigue left is whether Houston overtakes Purdue for the No. 1 overall spot.

Tennessee and Arizona will be on the No. 2 line, along with Marquette and Iowa State. The Cyclones beat Baylor to reach the Big 12 title game and have more than made up for a mediocre non-conference roster, while Marquette reached the Big East final without All-America point guard Tyler Kolek. Given the Golden Eagles’ impressive resume and insistence that Kolek will return next week, a second seed is necessary.

Clarity reaches the top and the bubble continues to get closer as well. Mississippi State and Texas A&M clinched spots by beating Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. New Mexico beat Colorado State in the Mountain West semifinals and should be safe. Colorado finally clears the hump in our bracket by beating Washington State in the Pac-12 semifinals — the Buffaloes’ first win over a road team on the road. – and are now the projected winner of their league’s automatic bid. They can put all doubt to rest by beating Oregon in the Pac-12 title game on Saturday. However, if the Ducks win, they will steal a bid. Maybe…the Colorado offer. Craziness!

Someone had to leave the field to make room for the Buffs and we think it was Seton Hall. With others moving up after big wins, it highlights the Pirates’ shaky resume. We don’t think Virginia should feel 100 percent confident either, and even St. John’s, at 3-10 in Quad 1, has some reason to be nervous and root for Oregon and NC State in Saturday’s title games .

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(Photo by Kam Jones of Marquette: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)