Men's Bracketology: 2024 NCAA Tournament

By Joe Lunardi Updated: 2/16/2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET

Bracketology is in its 30th season on ESPN.com. From now until Selection Sunday on March 17, we'll keep you up to date on the postseason chances and projection of your favorite teams. Our brackets will update Tuesday and Friday during conference play. We will culminate with daily updates throughout Championship Week in March, all with an eye toward the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Bracket Watch

It's well past time for a word or two about Houston. The Cougars' success under Kelvin Sampson has included a 1-seed, a 2-seed and a 3-seed in the past five seasons. It has also included a Final Four, an Elite Eight and two Sweet 16s. But the joyride was supposed to end, or at least slow down, with this season's entry into the Big 12. Surely the grind of the nation's top conference would wear them down. Instead, the Cougars sit at a tidy 21-3. Their only losses have come at Kansas, Iowa State and TCU -- all NCAA tournament teams. They are No. 1 in the NET, No. 1 in KenPom and a clear-cut No. 1 seed. It's not a manipulation of the numbers, either. Houston has the wins (7-3 in Q1, third-best in the country in that all-important category). Yet somehow, few are talking about the Cougars as national championship contenders. And it says here that's a big mistake.

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (DETROIT)

Indianapolis

Spokane

Omaha

Charlotte

WEST (LOS ANGELES)

Salt Lake

Memphis

Omaha

EAST (BOSTON)

Brooklyn

Pittsburgh

Salt Lake

Charlotte

SOUTH (DALLAS)

Memphis

Spokane

Pittsburgh

Indianapolis

Conference Breakdown

Conference

Team

Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, USA TODAY Sports, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock

RULES

ESPN's Bracketology efforts are focused on projecting the NCAA tournament field just as we expect the NCAA Division I basketball committee to select the field in March. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi uses the same data points favored by the committee, including strength of schedule and other season-long indicators, including the NET and team-sheet data similar to what is available to the NCAA, in his projections of the field. Visit the NCAA's website for a fuller understanding of NCAA selection criteria.

68-Team Bracket

The 68-team bracket is the standard version of the NCAA tournament field that has been in place since 2011. If the 2021 field is comprised of 68 teams, there will be some key differences to past years, however.

The primary adjustment from a normal year is, of course, the playing of the entire NCAA tournament at a single site. This eliminates the need for geographical considerations in seeding. Additionally, there will be at least one fewer automatic qualifier this season, as the Ivy League's decision to forgo the 2020-21 season reduces the number of AQ entries to 31 for this season.

48-Team Bracket

In this projection, a condensed selection process would reduce the field by 10 at-large teams and 10 automatic qualifiers (the latter of which still receive a revenue unit). The top four seeds in each region would receive a bye into the second round, with four first-round games per region - 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9 - being played without fans on the higher seed's home court.

To minimize travel, first-round pairings will be guided by geography to the greatest extent possible. And the reduced field results in only 32 teams competing at the central site. All participants must post a minimum .500 conference record - the "Lunardi Rule" - for at-large consideration.

16-Team Bracket

In this projection, the committee selects and seeds the 16 best available teams. There are no automatic qualifiers, although all non-competing conference champions receive the designated revenue unit.

To maintain some sense of national balance, conference participation is capped at four teams. And no region shall have more than one team from the same conference.

ESPN

Bracket Watch

Top Overall Seed

First Team Out

Last Team In

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (DETROIT)

Indianapolis

Spokane

Omaha

Charlotte

WEST (LOS ANGELES)

Salt Lake

Salt Lake

Memphis

Omaha

EAST (BOSTON)

Brooklyn

Pittsburgh

Salt Lake

Charlotte

SOUTH (DALLAS)

Memphis

Spokane

Pittsburgh

Indianapolis

Conference Breakdown

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