NCAA Tournament projections: ESPN updates top seeds, bubble picture after big upsets

This time of year is when ESPN’s Joe Lunardi gets to shine. Nearly daily updates on the NCAA Tournament are provided via Bracketology. Not just about who is on the bubble and getting in but the top seeds as well.

Wednesday provided the latest from Lunardi with two major upsets taking place the previous night. Both took place on the road as Florida dropped one to rival Georgia while Iowa State shockingly lost to Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Projections have been updated by Lunardi heading into another slate of action in late February.

Joe Lunardi shakes up top seeds after Florida, Iowa State losses

Heading into Tuesday, Florida was Lunardi’s No. 5 overall seed while Iowa State was at No. 8. Both have fallen down one spot, resulting in the Cyclones now being a three-seed. Fellow SEC school, Tennessee, has overtaken Florida heading into the final stretch.

Concerning the one-seeds, there was no movement between them. Three have already played their midweek games and gotten wins. Auburn is the last but does not appear to be in danger of losing the top spot if Ole Miss can beat Bruce Pearl‘s group.

No. 1 seeds: Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Houston
No. 2 seeds: Tennessee, Florida, Michigan State, Texas A&M
No. 3 seeds: Iowa State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Texas Tech
No. 4 seeds: St. John’s, Arizona, Michigan, Purdue

Arkansas, Texas set to play Wednesday as ‘Last Four In’ members

Maybe the biggest bubble game of the week will take place in Fayetteville. Arkansas is set to host Texas, two teams Lunardi has in the “Last Four In” spots. Lunardi says “Loser will be hanging by a thread by the end of the night.” Certainly a huge matchup between two rivals.

Despite not playing Tuesday, Nebraska jumped Texas into “Last Four Byes.” Maybe the winner of Arkansas-Texas can overtake the Huskers and have a little more comfortability heading into the weekend.

Last Four Byes: Vanderbilt, San Diego State, Oklahoma, Nebraska
Last Four In: Texas, Arkansas, Ohio State, Wake Forest

Georgia win over Florida propels them to ‘First Four Out’

As things stand, Georgia is currently one of three SEC teams not projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Getting back to winning ways was a must for Mike White‘s squad, hoping to make a late-season push. Taking down Florida is a great way to get the ball rolling.

Georgia is now a part of the “First Four Out” group after previously being “Next Four Out.” Based on Lunardi’s projections, there are still seven teams to overtake for an at-large bid — two of which are from the SEC.

First Four Out: North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, SMU
Next Four Out: Xavier, Boise State, Cincinnati, George Mason