Houston is up and Florida drops down in a late-season shakeup of our No. 1 line, foreshadowing a frantic race among at least five teams for the top seeds in this year’s NCAA men’s tournament.
The Cougars join Auburn, Duke and Alabama, with the Crimson Tide fending off the Gators after rebounding from a two-game losing streak with recent wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Florida’s drop to the No. 2 line came down to this week’s 88-83 loss to Georgia, a borderline tournament contender thanks to an unimpressive 3-11 record against Quad 1 competition.
But the Gators can quickly rebound in the next week. Florida takes on Texas A&M this weekend and then travels to Tuscaloosa next Wednesday for a matchup with huge tournament implications.
Houston has been on a tear. The Cougars have won seven in a row, with three of the past four coming against Arizona, Iowa State and Texas Tech. That’s helped UH build a three-game lead on the Wildcats in the Big 12 standings.
Also near the top of the bracket, Wisconsin continues its climb by surging to a No. 2 seed. The Badgers are now two games back of Michigan State in the Big Ten.
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Last four in
San Diego State, Nebraska, Boise State, Oklahoma.
First four out
Indiana, North Carolina, Xavier, Georgia.
NCAA Tournament bids conference breakdown
Multi-bid leagues: SEC (13), Big Ten (10), Big 12 (8), Big East (4), Mountain West (4), ACC (3), West Coast (2).