2016 NCAA Tournament Bracket: Latest Projection of the Field of 68

They slipped from the top spot in the AP and coaches polls, but the Oklahoma Sooners are still our projected No. 1 overall seed for the 2016 NCAA tournament.

They are followed closely by Villanova, Virginia and...Oregon?

As is always the case for the final month or so of the season, that last spot on the top line is extremely fluid. Iowa, Kansas and North Carolina each have very good arguments for it. But for now, we'll take the team leading the nation in RPI Top 100 wins, please and thank you.

One important thing to note that's going to be different from most of the projections you'll find on other sites: The projected automatic bid for each conference does not automatically go to the team with the best conference record. (Sorry, LSU and Temple. That's just not how we roll.)

Other than that, it's business as usual.

The three primary computer metrics considered in this projection are ESPN's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), KenPom.com's pythagorean rankings (KP) and ESPN's strength of schedule (SOS). And, of course, the oft-mentioned, never-quantifiable eye test was a large part of the seeding process.

As always, we'll take a look at the last five teams to make the field, the first five out and a few on the horizon.

After that, we'll present each seeded region, including the subregional locations in which each pod would be played, and some commentary on which teams have moved the most in each region. Then we'll defend the rankings of the No. 1 seeds, followed by a summary of the entire field broken up by conference.

Last 5 In

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Last Team In: Washington Huskies (15-8, RPI: 58, KP: 81, SOS: 37)

Despite the home losses to UC Santa Barbara and Oakland, Washington's seven RPI Top 100 wins (including two versus RPI Top 25) were too many to ignore.

But with road games against Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State still to come, it's going to take at least a few more quality wins for the Huskies to dance.

Even if they ultimately fall short, though, it seems safe to assume that Lorenzo Romar has earned himself at least one more year as the team's head coach. Hell, to even be in this position with five freshmen averaging more than 20 minutes per game likely puts Romar neck and neck with Oregon's Dana Altman for Pac-12 Coach of the Year. 

Second-to-Last: Cincinnati Bearcats (18-7, RPI: 63, KP: 35, SOS: 99)

Cincinnati scored a crucial road win over Connecticut since our last update, but followed it up with a road loss to Memphis.

The Bearcats have four losses this season by a two-point margin, all against teams in the RPI Top 75. Close but no cigar for a bubble team still seeking its first RPI Top 30 win of the year. The season finale against SMU will be crucial.

Third-to-Last: Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-5, RPI: 64, KP: 34, SOS: 128)

Gonzaga was our second team out two weeks ago, but four straight wins against lackluster opponents was enough to push the Bulldogs back into the field in advance of Saturday's absolutely massive road game against SMU.

(It's kind of ironic that the ineligible Mustangs are going to play such a big role in how the bubble shakes out.)

Given that this team does not have a true road win over an RPI Top 125 team and "boasts" a record of 2-5 against the RPI Top 100, it's not even remotely hyperbolic to suggest that game against the Mustangs will make or break Gonzaga's season.

Fourth-to-Last: Michigan Wolverines (16-7, RPI: 56, KP: 46, SOS: 72)

At the end of January, Michigan was safely in the field. After getting blitzed at home by both Indiana and Michigan State, though, things have gotten significantly more uncomfortable.

Neither loss was bad in terms of RPI. In fact, Michigan has yet to lose a game to a team outside the KenPom Top 25. But all seven of its losses have come by a margin of at least 11 points, and it only has two wins (vs. Maryland, vs. Texas) of any real value.

The Wolverines desperately need Caris LeVert back, because they desperately need to win at least four or five of their remaining seven regular-season games.

Fifth-to-Last: Butler Bulldogs (16-7, RPI: 68, KP: 41, SOS: 119)

After a 2-5 start in Big East play, Butler has won three of its last four. Unfortunately, none of those four games came against a team in our projected tournament field, so the Bulldogs actually lost ground during that stretch.

They still play Seton Hall twice, get Xavier at home and play road games against Villanova and Georgetown. Like Michigan, they'll likely need to win at least four or five of these final seven games, which will be quite difficult, given the opponents.

First 5 Out

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First Team Out: Saint Joseph's Hawks (19-4, RPI: 30, KP: 48, SOS: 102)

Saint Joseph's is 0-4 versus RPI Top 50 teams and 19-0 against everyone else, resulting in the bubbliest resume in the country.

No big wins and no bad losses is usually a recipe for a spot in the NIT, but with two quality teams (SMU and Louisville) ineligible for the tournament and hardly any teams playing their way into the field, we're forced to dig deeper into the pool of candidates than usual.

The next two weeks should send the Hawks either up or down the seed chart, as they'll face George Washington, Dayton and Davidson during that time.

Second Team Out: Clemson Tigers (14-10, RPI: 87, KP: 57, SOS: 76)

Whereas Saint Joseph's has no quality wins and no terrible losses, Clemson is practically overflowing in both of those categories. The Tigers have three RPI Top 25 wins, six RPI Top 50 wins and five losses to teams outside the RPI Top 50.

Generally speaking, quality wins outweigh bad losses. So, if they hadn't played a nonconference strength of schedule that ranked 340th in the nation, the Tigers would probably be safely in the field. Unfortunately, their best nonconference win was a home game against Wofford, and the second-best was a neutral-court game against Rutgers—and when Rutgers is one of your best wins, you've got a huge problem.

Clemson is 7-5 in ACC play, though, which very much keeps this team in the conversation. And with two games remaining against Boston College, it's a safe bet they'll at least finish .500 in conference play. However, given how poorly the first seven weeks of their season went, the Tigers will likely need to at least put together an 11-7 ACC record to have a legitimate argument for inclusion.

Third Team Out: LSU Tigers (15-8, RPI: 74, KP: 53, SOS: 100)

Like Clemson, the nonconference portion of LSU's season was a total disaster. These Tigers lost six games and only faced one opponent in the RPI Top 85. Fortunately, that opponent was Oklahoma, which helped bring their nonconference SOS back from the dead to a national rank of 210.

Still, their only RPI Top 50 win came at home against Kentucky, and they already blew two huge opportunities on the road against Florida and Texas A&M. This team is clearly better than the short-handed version that lost back-to-back games to Marquette and NC State with the whole world watching, but LSU still needs to beef up its resume.

Wednesday's road game against South Carolina would be a great place to start, and following it up with a home win over Texas A&M on Saturday might even be enough to soar into position for a single-digit seed.

The 8-2 record in SEC play looks good, but anything short of 13-5 would likely leave the Tigers on the wrong side of the bubble heading into the SEC tournament.

Fourth Team Out: Vanderbilt Commodores (13-10, RPI: 57, KP: 36, SOS: 19)

Despite the 10 losses, Vanderbilt is still in decent shape to make the tournament, thanks to recent home wins over Florida and Texas A&M.

But let's put this pot on the back burner, because the Commodores' fate is unlikely to be decided until a few weeks from now.

Provided they win their next four games (vs. Missouri, at Auburn, at Mississippi State, vs. Georgia), they'll enter the home stretch with a 17-10 record and games to come at Florida, at Texas A&M, versus Kentucky and versus Tennessee. A 7-1 record from this point forward would likely do the trick, and 6-2 would at least keep things quite interesting heading into the SEC tournament.

Fifth Team Out: Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-9, RPI: 52, KP: 59, SOS: 5)

This is the resume that just refuses to die.

Though they have lost eight of their last 10 games, the Red Raiders are still on the tournament fringe, thanks in large part to wins over Texas, Arkansas-Little Rock, Hawaii and South Dakota State that are getting better with age.

At some point, though, they'll need to actually win some more conference games. Already saddled with a 3-7 Big 12 record, Texas Tech would need to find a way to win five of its final eight regular-season games, beginning with Wednesday's home game against Iowa State.

On the Horizon

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Wisconsin Badgers

Don't look now, but the Badgers have won five straight games to get to 14-9 overall with a 6-4 Big Ten record. Home wins over Michigan State and Indiana look great, and that road win over Syracuse looks significantly better now than it did a month ago.

Despite home losses to Western Illinois, Marquette and Milwaukee, Wisconsin still has a chance to dance. But it's going to take at least one win—maybe even two—in the remaining road games against Maryland, Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota.

Creighton Bluejays

With zero RPI Top 25 wins, only three RPI Top 125 wins and a hideous loss to Loyola-Chicago, Creighton wasn't even remotely on our radar at the start of the day.

Beating Xavier by a 14-point margin changed that in a hurry. The Bluejays still have an awful lot of work to do, but they're now 7-5 in Big East play with a reasonable shot at finishing the season 11-7. It might not be enough to dance, but it's still much better than we were expecting from them this year.

Saint Bonaventure Bonnies

This is definitely not a team we're used to considering for an at-large bid, but after last week's road win over Saint Joseph's, there's at least a case to be made for the 15-6 Bonnies. A road win over Dayton on Feb. 20 would vault this team into the bubble conversation, as St. Bonaventure only has two RPI Top 85 wins.

Georgia Bulldogs

Last week's home win over South Carolina finally gave them an RPI Top 75 win, but this is a nine-loss team whose only win away from home came against Missouri. There's not a bad loss in the bunch, but the Bulldogs have a lot to prove down the stretch.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama has three RPI Top 50 wins and nothing worse than a loss to Auburn on its resume. The Crimson Tide aren't tournament worthy at the moment, but that might be a different story if they can win two of their upcoming four games against Texas A&M, at Florida, at LSU and at Kentucky.

Pac-12 Bubble (UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State)

It was only a matter of time before the Pac-12 bubble chewed up and spit out a few teams, but there's still time for these three squads to right the ship.

UCLA (RPI: 69), Stanford (71) and Arizona State (73) are all hanging out right around the unofficial cut line with one RPI Top 25 win apiece. But they each still play at least three more games that could go down as impressive wins.

Let's put it this way: I wouldn't individually bet on any of them making the tournament, but I also wouldn't collectively bet on all three of them missing the tournament.

East Region (Philadelphia)

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Brooklyn, New York

No. 1 Villanova (21-3, RPI: 2, KP: 2, SOS: 3)
No. 16 Wagner / Norfolk State (First Four)

No. 8 Baylor (16-6, RPI: 26, KP: 30, SOS: 36)
No. 9 VCU (17-6, RPI: 39, KP: 33, SOS: 69)

Providence, Rhode Island

No. 4 Dayton (20-3, RPI: 12, KP: 32, SOS: 53)
No. 13 Stony Brook (America East auto bid)

No. 5 Kentucky (18-6, RPI: 20, KP: 21, SOS: 50)
No. 12 Cincinnati / Washington (Last 5 In)

Brooklyn, New York

No. 3 West Virginia (19-5, RPI: 10, KP: 7, SOS: 41)
No. 14 William & Mary (Colonial auto bid)

No. 6 Notre Dame (16-7, RPI: 22, KP: 29, SOS: 21)
No. 11 Monmouth (20-5, RPI: 31, KP: 52, SOS: 126) 

Raleigh, North Carolina

No. 2 North Carolina (20-4, RPI: 9, KP: 5, SOS: 56)
No. 15 North Florida (Atlantic Sun auto bid)

No. 7 Florida (16-8, RPI: 23, KP: 28, SOS: 7)
No. 10 Pittsburgh (17-6, RPI: 41, KP: 56, SOS: 68)

Stock Up: Dayton Flyers (Climbed seven spots)

What's perhaps most impressive about Dayton's computer profile is that the Flyers have been able to put together a strong resume despite a down year for the A10.

Rhode Island and Davidson were supposed to be two of the best teams in this conference, but they've both been disappointing. VCU and Saint Joseph's are two of the league's top three teams right now, and the only RPI Top 40 win between them came when the Rams beat the Hawks.

And yet, thanks in large part to early wins away from home against Iowa, Vanderbilt and Monmouth, Dayton could legitimately get into position for a No. 2 seed if it keeps taking care of business against its conference foes.

Stock Down: Baylor Bears (Fell 10 spots)

It was a little over a week ago that Baylor was alone in first place in the Big 12 and looking like a team destined for a spot among the top four seed lines. But after consecutive losses to Texas and West Virginia, the Bears have fallen into a tie for fifth place and have a resume that features a lot of not-so-close losses to quality teams.

They do have the marquee win at Iowa State, but the only other RPI Top 50 win came at home against Kansas State. All six of their losses came by a margin of at least seven points, and their only nonconference wins against teams in the RPI Top 120 were home games against Vanderbilt and Georgia—neither of which is in our projected field.

They still have five games remaining against the RPI Top 25, and it would be in their best interest to win at least two of them.

Stock Stable: Kentucky Wildcats (dropped one spot)

For the past several weeks, the Wildcats have been straight up lurking in the No. 4 or 5 seed range of projected brackets. That mid-January loss to Auburn hurt their resume mightily, but outside of the atrocious letdown in the final 24 minutes of the loss at Tennessee, they have been consistently playing some of their best basketball of the season over the past seven games.

Skal Labissiere is still a nonfactor, but Derek Willis has been playing well for more than a month, while Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis are doing ridiculous things over and over again in the backcourt.

The home blowouts of Florida and Georgia were good statements, but upcoming road games against South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt will provide an opportunity to announce to the world that Kentucky is still a threat to win it all this year.

Midwest Region (Chicago)

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

No. 1 Oklahoma (20-3, RPI: 1, KP: 6, SOS: 18)
No. 16 UNC-Asheville (Big South auto bid)

No. 8 Connecticut (17-6, RPI: 47, KP: 22, SOS: 70)
No. 9 Oregon State (13-8, RPI: 33, KP: 82, SOS: 12)

Spokane, Washington

No. 4 Duke (18-6, RPI: 21, KP: 13, SOS: 31)
No. 13 South Dakota State (Summit League auto bid)

No. 5 USC (18-5, RPI: 15, KP: 27, SOS: 57)
No. 12 Saint Mary's (West Coast auto bid)

St. Louis, Missouri

No. 3 Miami (19-4, RPI: 14, KP: 12, SOS: 64)
No. 14 Belmont (Ohio Valley auto bid)

No. 6 Utah (16-7, RPI: 18, KP: 43, SOS: 20)
No. 11 Michigan/Gonzaga (Last 5 In)

Des Moines, Iowa

No. 2 Iowa (19-4, RPI: 8, KP: 1, SOS: 16)
No. 15 New Mexico State (WAC auto bid)

No. 7 Seton Hall (17-6, RPI: 38, KP: 31, SOS: 80)
No. 10 Kansas State (14-9, RPI: 37, KP: 39, SOS: 8)

Stock Up: Seton Hall Pirates (New to the field)

Seton Hall barely missed the cut as the first team out in our last bracket projection, and the Pirates have merely won four consecutive games since then, climbing to 7-4 in Big East play.

Thanks to a nonconference strength of schedule that ranks 263rd in the country, they aren't quite out of the woods yet. But for an offense that oftentimes can't hit water in the ocean, it's incredible what Seton Hall has been able to accomplish thus far.

The Pirates have already played both their toughest and least difficult Big East games, leaving a bunch of coin-flip affairs like home games against Providence and Xavier as well as road games against Butler and DePaul. These last seven games could go in either direction, but it would probably take at least three losses for them to slip into the danger zone.

Stock Down: Saint Mary's Gaels (Fell eight spots)

We don't usually discuss projected auto bids in our stock sections, but since Saint Mary's is a half-game behind Gonzaga in the WCC standings with a trip to the Kennel still upcoming, it seems apropos to mention the Gaels here.

Last Thursday's loss at BYU wasn't individually a bad one, but it was one of their final two chances during the regular season to win a game away from home against a team in the RPI Top 200. The 18-3 record looks nice at first glance, but the Gaels are 0-1 against the RPI Top 50 and 4-3 versus the RPI Top 150.

If they don't win at Gonzaga on Feb. 20, they can kiss any notion of securing an at-large bid goodbye. At that point, the Gaels' options would be to win the WCC tournament or forget about the NCAA tournament.

Stock Stable: Miami Hurricanes (No change)

Despite an ugly loss at NC State in their final January game, the Hurricanes have broken even since the last update because of subsequent wins over Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.

They're now 8-3 in conference play and smack dab in the middle of the herd of six teams jostling for the regular-season conference title.

If they're still in the mix for the ACC crown three weeks from now, they might also be in the mix for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, because four of their next five games are at Florida State, at North Carolina, versus Virginia and versus Louisville.

A 3-1 record in those games would give them 10 RPI Top 50 wins and 15 RPI Top 100 wins. Considering there are only two teams in the country right now with more than seven RPI Top 50 wins, getting to 10 would make that resume pop.

South Region (Louisville)

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Raleigh, North Carolina

No. 1 Virginia (20-4, RPI: 4, KP: 3, SOS: 22)
No. 16 Bucknell / Texas Southern (First Four)

No. 8 South Carolina (19-3, RPI: 27, KP: 44, SOS: 195)
No. 9 Colorado (16-7, RPI: 28, KP: 54, SOS: 44)

Denver, Colorado

No. 4 Texas A&M (18-5, RPI: 16, KP: 20, SOS: 49)
No. 13 Akron (MAC auto bid)

No. 5 Texas (16-8, RPI: 19, KP: 25, SOS: 4)
No. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt auto bid)

Des Moines, Iowa

No. 3 Michigan State (20-5, RPI: 16, KP: 4, SOS: 79)
No. 14 Hawaii (Big West auto bid)

No. 6 Arizona (19-5, RPI: 29, KP: 14, SOS: 121)
No. 11 Valparaiso (18-4, RPI: 49, KP: 23, SOS: 188)

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

No. 2 Kansas (19-4, RPI: 5, KP: 10, SOS: 11)
No. 15 Stephen F. Austin (Southland auto bid)

No. 7 Providence (18-6, RPI: 32, KP: 50, SOS: 55)
No. 10 George Washington (18-5, RPI: 34, KP: 70, SOS: 116)

Stock Up: South Carolina Gamecocks (Climbed six spots)

Finally!

South Carolina somehow made it all the way into the month of February without playing a single RPI Top 50 team. (All hail the SEC.) But on Feb. 6, the Gamecocks didn't just play a tournament team, they beat Texas A&M on the road.

That win alone was worth more than everything else they had done this season combined. Now they have their marquee win to buoy the gaudy 19-3 record, so we can stop dismissing them as a team that hasn't played anyone.

However, that strength of schedule is still absolutely disgusting, so they might want to win at least two of their three upcoming home games against LSU, Kentucky and Florida. Otherwise, South Carolina will be right back in serious bubble trouble.

Stock Down: Providence Friars (Fell 12 spots)

Credit to the Friars for scoring wins away from home against Villanova, Arizona, Butler and Georgetown, but their computer resume—and the eye test, for that matter—is getting uglier by the day.

Ben Bentil injury or not, you simply cannot lose at DePaul and expect to not be penalized.

Providence has now lost five of its last nine games and can't afford any more slip-ups. Losses at Xavier and Seton Hall in the next few weeks are both expected and reasonably forgivable, but a home loss to either Creighton or Georgetown or a road loss to Marquette or St. John's would put the Friars in hot water.

Stock Stable: Michigan State Spartans (Dropped one spot)

Outside of having no answer whatsoever for Purdue's Rapheal Davis in the first half on Tuesday night, Michigan State has been playing extremely well for the past several weeks.

Perhaps even more impressive than the blowout win at Michigan over the weekend was the 18-point comeback to force overtime at Purdue. That game was over, but nobody told Denzel Valentine, as he finished the night with 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the 82-81 loss.

Unfortunately, Michigan State has now been swept by both Iowa and Purdue and has just seven RPI Top 100 wins. With a nonconference strength of schedule rank of 141 to boot, it's getting difficult to envision a scenario where the Spartans get better than a low No. 2 seed.

This is still Tom Izzo's team we're talking about, though. No matter the seed, they're a threat to win it all.

West Region (Anaheim)

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Spokane, Washington

No. 1 Oregon (19-4, RPI: 3, KP: 11, SOS: 1)
No. 16 Weber State (Big Sky auto bid)

No. 8 Syracuse (16-8, RPI: 44, KP: 38, SOS: 46)
No. 9 Wichita State (17-6, RPI: 42, KP: 15, SOS: 90)

Denver, Colorado

No. 4 Iowa State (17-6, RPI: 13, KP: 17, SOS: 6)
No. 13 Chattanooga (Southern auto bid)

No. 5 Purdue (20-5, RPI: 25, KP: 16, SOS: 75)
No. 12 San Diego State (Mountain West auto bid)

Providence, Rhode Island

No. 3 Maryland (21-3, RPI: 6, KP: 8, SOS: 33)
No. 14 Yale (Ivy League auto bid)

No. 6 Florida State (16-7, RPI: 40, KP: 37, SOS: 81)
No. 11 Butler (Last 5 In)

St. Louis, Missouri

No. 2 Xavier (21-3, RPI: 7, KP: 18, SOS: 62)
No. 15 UAB (Conference USA auto bid)

No. 7 California (15-8, RPI: 35, KP: 42, SOS: 39)
No. 10 Indiana (19-5, RPI: 54, KP: 24, SOS: 178)

Stock Up: Florida State Seminoles (New to the field)

Taken individually, the wins over Clemson, NC State and Wake Forest in the past two weeks weren't all that special.

Taken collectively, it put the Seminoles at eight RPI Top 100 wins. They also have a massive win over Virginia, a road win over Florida and a neutral-court win over VCU.

That's not normally a resume that would be considered for a No. 6 seed, but there's nothing normal about this season. With major warts on almost every other resume on the seed list after this one, the Seminoles soared into the bracket with two RPI Top 25 wins and no bad losses.

(And before you mention the nonconference strength of schedule that ranks 233rd in the nation, I'd like to point out that Arizona's ranks 270th and the Wildcats only have one RPI Top 50 win all season. If you have a problem with Florida State here, you might also want to start having a problem with how highly everyone is projecting Arizona.)

Stock Down: Indiana Hoosiers (Fell nine spots)

We knew the tough part of Indiana's schedule was coming.

Nobody realized that the game against Penn State was part of that gauntlet, though.

After losing to the Nittany Lions, the Hoosiers have fallen outside the RPI Top 50 and have a tournament resume that can be summed up by one RPI Top 50 win and two RPI Sub 100 losses.

The 19-5 record looks good, and prior to that Penn State loss, Indiana had been playing a lot better over the last two months. But it will need to be much better down the stretch, as five of the final seven games come against Iowa (twice), Maryland, Michigan State and Purdue.

The anti-Tom Crean crowd is likely going to have a lot of fun with these last few weeks.

Stock Stable: Xavier Musketeers (dropped two spots)

Though they lost by 14 at Creighton, the X-Men picked a fairly acceptable night to suffer by far their worst loss of the season. Losses by both West Virginia and Michigan State on Tuesday night—while Maryland inexplicably played a game against D-II Bowie State—eliminated the possibility of a team jumping up and knocking Xavier off the No. 2 line.

Though the computer resume remains intact, it was an ugly sign for a team that has not been defending well at all as of late. Xavier used to dominate its opponents by owning the glass and hitting a fairly high percentage of three-pointers, but the Musketeers were 1-of-21 from beyond the arc and plus-one on the glass in a game that was never particularly close.

They might want to turn things around in a hurry, because if they continue to play like they have against St. John's, Marquette and Creighton, they're going to get slaughtered over the course of the next three weeks by Butler, Providence, Georgetown, Villanova and Seton Hall.

Ranking the No. 1 Seeds

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No. 4 Oregon Ducks (19-4, RPI: 3, KP: 11, SOS: 1)

You might think it's crazy for the Ducks to be rated this highly, but, if anything, it was tempting to put them even higher.

Granted, they don't have any wins over elite teams (if there is such a thing this season), but they have six RPI Top 30 wins and 13 RPI Top 75 wins, leading the nation in both of those categories. They have won nine of their last 10 games in a Pac-12 conference that was once projected to send nine teams to the NCAA tournament.

Seven of their wins have come by a single-digit margin, and their 15 RPI Top 125 wins have only come by an average margin of 11.3 points, so they don't score extremely well in margin-based metrics like KenPom, BPI or Sagarin. However, No. 3 in RPI against the toughest schedule in the country is good enough for a No. 1 seed, no matter if the team was unranked in the preseason.

No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (21-3, RPI: 2, KP: 2, SOS: 3)

For the first time in school history, Villanova is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

Head coach Jay Wright shared his thoughts on becoming the nation's top-ranked team with Terry Toohey of the Delaware County Daily Times:

"

It's a really nice honor. We appreciate the coaches voting for us and the sports writers. The respect is really nice. It feels good, but we also know that it brings on a new challenge. Every season has all kind of different challenges. We've never had the challenge of dealing with No. 1, so it's a good one to try out. Let's see how we do.

"

But the Wildcats weren't quite able to climb up to No. 1 in the projected bracket.

That's partially because Villanova went 0-2 against our top two teams and lost those games by a combined margin of 34 points, but it's mostly because the Wildcats simply haven't beaten any great teams. Their one marquee win comes with an asterisk, because Xavier played 95 percent of that game worried about the health of its hospitalized starting point guard.

Yet, they're in great shape for a spot on the top line with 12 RPI Top 100 wins and a two-game cushion in the Big East standings.

No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers (20-4, RPI: 4, KP: 3, SOS: 22)

For a while there, we were worried about Virginia's defense. The Cavaliers had been nearly impenetrable for the past two seasons, but from Dec. 19 through Jan. 26, they allowed 10 of 11 opponents to average at least 1.0 points per possession.

In the entire 2014-15 regular season, that only happened eight times. Even though they're still playing at nearly the slowest pace in the country, something wasn't right with the pack-line D.

But they're back on the right track, having now held four consecutive opponents to 50 points or less.

They'll need that defense down the stretch to hang on to this projected No. 1 seed, because they still play one game each against Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Louisville. It's outstanding that they have nine RPI Top 50 wins—more than any other team in the country—but now it becomes a question of whether they can avoid racking up too many losses to remain on the top line.

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (20-3, RPI: 1, KP: 6, SOS: 18)

Even with the loss to Kansas State on Saturday night, Oklahoma remains No. 1 in RPI and No. 1 overall in our projected field.

The Sooners now have four RPI Top 20 wins after Monday night's victory over Texas. They don't have anything resembling an ugly loss and are still the odds-on favorite to win the best conference in the country.

Aside from continuous Buddy Hield heroics, what more do you want?

Seeding by Conference

Ray Thompson/Associated Press

In case seeded regions aren't for you and you want to know where the "top" 68 teams stand in relation to one another, here is a list of each team's overall seed, broken down by conference. ("First Five Out" in italics.)

American: 31. Connecticut; 47. Cincinnati

Atlantic 10: 15. Dayton; 35. VCU; 40. George Washington; 69. Saint Joseph's

ACC: 2. Virginia; 7. North Carolina; 12. Miami; 16. Duke; 21. Notre Dame; 24. Florida State; 32. Syracuse; 37. Pittsburgh; 70. Clemson

Big 12: 1. Oklahoma; 5. Kansas; 10. West Virginia; 14. Iowa State; 18. Texas; 30. Baylor; 38. Kansas State; 73. Texas Tech

Big East: 3. Villanova; 8. Xavier; 27. Seton Hall; 28. Providence; 41. Butler

Big Ten: 6. Iowa; 9. Maryland; 11. Michigan State; 17. Purdue; 39. Indiana; 44. Michigan

Pac-12: 4. Oregon; 19. USC; 22. Arizona; 23. Utah; 26. California; 33. Oregon State; 34. Colorado; 48. Washington

SEC: 13. Texas A&M; 20. Kentucky; 25. Florida; 29. South Carolina; 71. LSU; 72. Vanderbilt

West Coast: 45. Saint Mary's; 46. Gonzaga

Other: 36. Wichita State; 42. Monmouth; 43. Valparaiso; 49. Arkansas-Little Rock; 50. San Diego State; 51. Stony Brook; 52. Akron; 53. Chattanooga; 54. South Dakota State; 55. Yale; 56. William & Mary; 57. Hawaii; 58. Belmont; 59. Stephen F. Austin; 60. UAB; 61. New Mexico State; 62. North Florida; 63. Weber State; 64. UNC-Asheville; 65. Bucknell; 66. Texas Southern; 67. Wagner; 68. Norfolk State

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com, Sports-Reference.com and KenPom.com. RPI, KP and SOS numbers are current through the start of play on Tuesday. Win-loss records include only games against D-I opponents and are current through the start of play on Wednesday.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @kerrancejames.