2022 NCAA Tournament bracketology: January 4 projection

Welcome to the first week of January, which means we can see the faint outline of March on the horizon. That means it’s time to dive into On3’s first projected field for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

I cover the sports business scene for On3 but also possess a master’s degree in bracketology from my long tenure at The Washington Post and USA Today covering college basketball. I used to regularly assemble mock NCAA tournament brackets and had quite a bit of success in accurately projecting the 68-team field and seeding. 

So let me dust off the old bracketology playbook and start doing blind team résumé tests, comparing Quad 1 victories and examining nitty gritty reports. As the season continues to take shape, come back each Tuesday for our latest projection of what the 2022 NCAA Tournament field will look like on “Selection Sunday” (March 13, by the way).

Note: Teams projected to be conference champs are in bold type, with the conference listed.

Let the debates ensue.

1 seeds

Baylor (Big 12)
Duke (ACC)
Gonzaga (West Coast Conference)
Kansas

2 seeds

Purdue (Big Ten)
Arizona (Pac-12)
UCLA
Auburn (SEC)

3 seeds

Michigan State
Houston (American)
USC
Ohio State

4 seeds

Villanova (Big East)
Alabama
LSU
Tennessee

5 seeds

Kentucky
Iowa State
Xavier
Providence

6 seeds

Seton Hall
Texas
Wisconsin
UConn

7 seeds

Texas Tech
West Virginia
Colorado State (Mountain West)
Illinois

8 seeds

Loyola (Missouri Valley)
Iowa
BYU
North Carolina

9 seeds

Indiana
San Francisco
Michigan
Oklahoma

10 seeds

Florida
Minnesota
Virginia Tech
Saint Mary’s

11 seeds

San Diego State
UCF
Iona (Metro Atlantic)
Davidson (Atlantic 10)

12 seeds

Murray State (Ohio Valley)
UAB (Conference USA)
Wake Forest/Mississippi State
Creighton/Belmont

13 seeds

South Dakota State (Summit)
Ohio (MAC)
Wagner (Northeast)
Chattanooga (Southern)

14 seeds

Vermont (America East)
Towson (Colonial)
Oakland (Horizon)
New Mexico State (WAC)

15 seeds

Princeton (Ivy)
Louisiana (Sun Belt)
UC Irvine (Big West)
Navy (Patriot)

16 seeds

Liberty (Atlantic Sun)
Campbell (Big South)
Texas Southern (SWAC)/Southern Utah (Big Sky)
Nicholls State (Southland)/Norfolk State (MEAC)

Sites for the 2022 NCAA Tournament are listed here.