2024 NCAA Tournament projections: Purdue vs. Kentucky in the Sweet 16?

College Basketball

Updated Mar. 14, 2024 1:47 p.m. ET

We are only three days away from Selection Sunday, which means it’s time for FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy‘s updated NCAA Tournament projections.

Purdue (Midwest), UConn (East), Houston (South) and Tennessee (West) remain the No 1 seeds in DeCourcy’s latest bracket forecast. The Huskies and Cougars take the court Thursday in their respective conference tournament openers, while the Boilermakers and Volunteers will be in action Friday.

North Carolina, Arizona, Marquette and Iowa State make up the No. 2 seeds, while Kentucky made a jump up to the 3-line, joining Creighton, Baylor and Duke.

Following an ugly 20-point loss in its conference tourney opener, Kansas fell to the 4-line. The Jayhawks have lost four of their past five games and join Illinois, Alabama and BYU as the No. 4 seeds in DeCourcy’s latest projections.

The following programs have secured automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament: Morehead State (Ohio Valley), Longwood (Big South), Drake (Missouri Valley), Stetson (Atlantic Sun), James Madison (Sun Belt), Samford (Southern), Wagner (Northeast), Oakland (Horizon), Charleston (CAA), Saint Mary’s (West Coast), South Dakota State (Summit), McNeese (Southland), Colgate (Patriot), Montana State (Big Sky).

As for teams on the bubble, DeCourcy has Wake Forest, Colorado, Indiana State and Texas A&M as his last four teams in the tournament. Villanova, Providence, Pitt and New Mexico are listed as the first four out, while Iowa, Kansas State, South Florida and Richmond are the next four out.

The Big 12 has the most representatives in DeCourcy’s compilation, with nine teams. The SEC has eight teams represented, while the Big Ten has six teams in the tournament, according to DeCourcy’s latest projections. The Big East, Mountain West and ACC have five teams, while the Pac-12 has three teams. The West Coast Conference and Missouri Valley Conference follow with two teams represented.