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.