2022 NCAA Tournament bracketology: February 8 projection

Another week and more turbulence for teams competing for top seeds in the NCAA tournament — prosperity doesn’t last long this season.

Just ask UCLA, Baylor, Kansas and Duke, all of which suffered defeats recently. That’s reflective of the fluidity of the rankings this season. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas was spot on when he said this is the type of season that the national champion could be a team that is ranked in the teens in the top 25.

Last season, Gonzaga and Baylor were head-and-shoulders better than everyone else and ultimately met in the championship game. This season, Auburn and Gonzaga appear to be the best teams, but the gap separating them from more than a dozen capable teams is much smaller.

Expect more upheaval in the final few weeks of the regular season, perhaps starting tonight with two impactful Big Ten matchups: Wisconsin at Michigan State and Illinois at Purdue.

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” (which is March 13, by the way).

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

1 seeds

Gonzaga (West Coast)
Auburn (SEC)
Purdue (Big Ten)
Arizona (Pac-12)

2 seeds

Kansas (Big 12)
Baylor
Duke (ACC)
Kentucky

3 seeds

UCLA
Houston (American)
Texas Tech
Illinois

4 seeds

Providence (Big East)
Villanova
Wisconsin
Texas

5 seeds

Tennessee
Ohio State
Marquette
Michigan State

6 seeds

Alabama
UConn
LSU
USC

7 seeds

Iowa State
Xavier
Indiana
Saint Mary’s

8 seeds

Colorado State
Davidson (Atlantic 10)
Loyola Chicago (MVC)
Boise State (MWC)

9 seeds

Wake Forest
Wyoming
TCU
Arkansas

10 seeds

Iowa
Murray State (OVC)
Seton Hall
BYU

11 seeds

San Francisco
San Diego State
North Carolina
Oregon

12 seeds

Miami/Creighton
Notre Dame/Florida
Iona (Metro Atlantic)
North Texas (Conference USA)

13 seeds

Vermont (America East)
South Dakota State (Summit)
Chattanooga (Southern)
Ohio (MAC)

14 seeds

New Mexico State (WAC)
Oakland (Horizon)
Wagner (Northeast)
Liberty (Atlantic Sun)

15 seeds

Princeton (Ivy)
Colgate (Patriot)
Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Weber State (Big Sky)

16 seeds

Norfolk State (MEAC)/Southern (SWAC)
New Orleans (Southland)/Cal State Fullerton (Big West)
UNC-Wilmington (Colonial)
Longwood (Big South)

For those looking ahead, the first conference tournament game is February 28. Sites for the 2022 NCAA Tournament are listed here.