Joe Lunardi names top-four overall seeds heading into conference tournaments

With the college basketball regular season nearly in the books and conference tournaments getting set to take place all across the country, there continues to be a better feel of the teams that will make up the NCAA Tournament.

As the season continues to progress, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi continues to update his projected NCAA Tournament field as Selection Sunday draws nearer. Focusing in on who the top four overall seeds in the Big Dance could be, Lunardi joined ESPN’s SportsCenter on Sunday and broke down the group – which includes Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas.

“We’re going to do this two and two,” Lunardi said. “We’ve got two dominant West Coast teams – Gonzaga and Arizona – one and two on the board, and I don’t anticipate that changing if both win their conference tournament titles. And then we’ve got two from the Big 12 – the co-champions of the regular season, Baylor and Kansas. Both have been here before, both have been here recently and maybe heading toward a rubber game in the Big 12 championship game next weekend.”

Gonzaga put together a 24-3 regular season with a 13-1 mark in the West Coast Conference, while Arizona went 28-3 overall and 18-2 in the Pac-12. Alongside that duo, Baylor and Kansas were neck-and-neck throughout the regular season – as the Bears and Jayhawks both went 14-4 in Big 12 play.

While Lunardi has Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas as his current top-four overall seeds, he was also asked who could be right behind that group heading into conference tournament play – focusing on a pair of SEC clubs.

“Just beyond them, another twosome from the SEC – Auburn and Kentucky,” Lunardi said. “I think you’ll see one of those two on the top line based on those SEC and Big 12 tourneys going forward.”

Auburn and Kentucky were two of the top SEC teams throughout the regular season, as the Tigers posted a 15-3 league record while the Wildcats went 14-4.

The NCAA Tournament bracket will officially be set on Sunday, March 13 as the Selection Show takes place at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.