March Madness 2024: Men's 68-Team NCAA Tournament Field Revealed on Selection Sunday

At long last, Selection Sunday has arrived after an upset-filled Championship Week capped by the reveal of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament field.

Defending national champion UConn should be the clear favorite after going 31-3 capped by a Big East title.

After that, it's anyone's guess. As fans have learned time and time again, chaos typically reigns in March. Three of college basketball's top teams this season (Purdue, UNC and Houston) lost in the semifinals or finals of their conference tournaments, perhaps a sign of further madness yet to come.

Purdue's Zach Edey appears on track for a second straight National Player of the Year award with averages of 24.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, although the Boilermakers will first need to overcome last year's first-round loss to No. 16 seed FDU.

Houston, which went 30-4 in its first year in the Big 12, lost in the Sweet 16 last year as a No. 1 seed.

Here's a look at the entire field, alongside quick notes on three potential bracket-busting teams.

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East Region (Boston)

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South Region (Dallas)

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Midwest Region (Detroit)

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West Region (Los Angeles)

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Sleepers To Watch

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New Mexico

The Lobos won the Mountain West Conference tournament despite entering as a No. 6 seed. They accomplished that feat thanks to a deep offense in which four players average 12 or more points per game.

One of those players is Jamal Mashburn Jr., the son of ex-NBA star Jamal Mashburn. The younger Mashburn dropped 21 points against San Diego State in the championship game.

Jaelen House leads the team with 16.1 PPG and 2.3 SPG, and he just averaged 23.0 PPG in the conference tournament. He can put this team's offense on his back at a moment's notice and carry them to a deep run.

First-year big man JT Toppin dominates down low with 12.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 1.9 BPG. He's a serious problem for opponents on the glass and averaged 11.0 RPG in the MWC tourney.

New Mexico plays fast (eighth in tempo, per KenPom.com) and sits 23rd overall in adjusted efficiency margin. On the flip side, the Lobos could run into trouble behind the three-point line, where the team shot just 33.4 percent.

Still, this is a tough and battle-tested team that just proved itself after taking down great competition in the MWC. The Lobos could easily keep that momentum going.

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McNeese

Led by former LSU head coach Will Wade, the McNeese Cowboys ride into the tournament with a 30-3 record.

McNeese is one of the best shooting teams in the nation, with its 49.27 percent rate ranking 10th in Division I. Their top five scorers all shoot 44 percent or better, with Shahada Wells leading the team with 17.8 PPG. He's also their defensive leader with 3.0 SPG.

Granted, the team has not played a challenging schedule, with KenPom.com ranking its SOS as 337th overall among 362 teams.

But the team's dominance can't be ignored. The Southland Conference champions have won their last five games by an average of 19.8 PPG.

The keys to their success may be down low. Wells should pour in the points, but can big men Antavion Collum and Christian Shumate do well enough for McNeese to upset teams? The guess here is that they absolutely can.

Shumate is a rebounding machine at 6'6", with 9.5 RPG per game. Collum does the dirty work down low and provides size needed in March at 6'9" and 245 pounds.

Ultimately, McNeese may end up being a trendy March Madness pick given its 30-win season, but the love is warranted.

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Colgate

Yes, the Patriot League champions have been in the NCAA tournament four times since 2019 and come up empty on every occasion. But this team has the talent, depth and experience in place to finally come through in its fifth opportunity under head coach Matt Langel.

Point guard Braeden Smith does a little of everything (12.5 PPG, 5.8 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG) and averaged 18 PPG and 10 RPG over his last two Patriot League tournament contests.

A pair of big men (6'10" Keegan Records and 6'11" Jeff Woodward) give the team size down low to compete in the paint and on the glass. Ryan Moffatt, who is headed to his fourth NCAA tournament, brings the toughness needed on the wing. He's one of six members of the rotation who shoot 36.0 percent or better from three.

And then the Raiders have some exciting first- and second-year players led by starting guard Jalen Cox, whose 15-point, three-steal performance helped Colgate overcome a 15-point deficit to beat Bucknell 68-65 in the PLT semifinals. Sophomore Brady Cummins was the hero in the final versus Lehigh, with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

A win won't be easy, but Patriot League champs have picked off high seeds before, most notably Lehigh when C.J. McCollum led the Mountain Hawks to a win over Duke. Perhaps Colgate continues that tradition this week.