ESPN updates NCAA Tournament Top 16 teams, 16 on the bubble ahead of loaded Saturday slate

ESPN updated its NCAA Tournament top 16 teams and the 16 teams on the bubble, making for an exciting finish to the college basketball season.

That’s right folks, it’s March now so it’s no holds barred for the chaos of college basketball. Without further ado, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has his latest ahead of a loaded Saturday slate.

Let’s dive into Lunardi’s latest bracketology projections regarding the top 16 and the bubble teams.

1-Seeds

1. Purdue: Midwest
2. UConn: East
3. Houston: South
4. Arizona: West

Purdue remains the top dog in this race for the top overall seed. But as Lunardi breaks down each week and each day even, these top four are going to be tough to move. Perhaps Tennessee can make a move, but the top four are pretty solid.

2-Seeds

5. Tennessee: South
6. North Carolina: East
7. Marquette: Midwest
8. Iowa State: West

Tennessee has the best chance to move up into the next tier and that’s thanks to Dalton Knecht and the way he’s playing right now. UNC has been great for most of the season but doesn’t have as good of a chance to move to a No. 1 seed. Marquette and Iowa state will certainly battle to keep this position.

3-Seeds

9. Kansas: Midwest
10. Duke: South
11. Creighton: West
12. Baylor: East

Kansas would love to get Kevin McCullar Jr. back in the lineup for the stretch here. When it comes to the postseason, you want your best players on the floor. That could be the difference between a 2 or 3 seed. Duke seems pretty locked in right here unless it wins an ACC title over UNC, then perhaps a 2 seed is in play there.

4-Seeds

13. Kentucky: West
14. Alabama: East
15. San Diego State: Midwest
16. Illinois: South

The Wildcats and Crimson Tide represent more SEC basketball here. Could either of them make a jump to a 3 seed? Perhaps a good conference tournament could do it. San Diego State and Illinois are holding strong right now, although it’s going to be close as the Fighting Illini just moved up.

Last Teams In

Last Four Byes: Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Virginia, Gonzaga
Last Four In: Wake Forest, New Mexico, Seton Hall, Providence

The bubble! It seems like the top four on this section are safe for now while Wake through Providence fight for their postseason lives. Gonzaga just moved up while Wake Forest moved down in the latest Lunardi projections.

First Teams Out

First Four Out: St. John’s, Villanova, Colorado, Utah
Next Four Out: Kansas State, Drake, Iowa, Pittsburgh

And now come the unfortunate teams in bracketology. No one moved in the First Four Out by the next four have an interesting set of teams. Drake and Pittsburgh both moved up so perhaps a late-season miracle?

Conference tallies

Big 12: 9
SEC: 7
Big Ten: 6
Mountain West: 6
Big East: 5
ACC: 5
Atlantic 10: 2
Pac-12: 2
American: 2
WCC: 2

According to ESPN, the Big 12 leads the way once again with its incredible depth. The SEC can say the same with seven teams while the Big Ten and Mountain West come in tied for third. It’s pretty evenly spread out the rest of the way.