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Jan. 18—Men’s college basketball and Illini beat writer Scott Richey projects his top four seeds for each region of the NCAA tournament. This week? A mix of Big Ten and SEC teams at the top.
➜ 1. Iowa State
➜ 2. Tennessee
➜ 3. Michigan State
➜ 4. Oregon
The predictive metrics don’t exactly love Oregon. Mostly because of the Ducks’ defense, which was proven out when Illinois beat them by 32 earlier this month in Eugene, Ore. But from a results standpoint? Few teams can match Oregon’s résumé. In fact, only Auburn (nine) has more Quad I wins than the Ducks’ eight. Oregon next plays Purdue in Eugene in a Top 25 game on Saturday.
➜ 1. Alabama
➜ 2. Kansas
➜ 3. Illinois
➜ 4. Purdue
Seven consecutive seasons without an NCAA tournament appearance between the end of John Groce era and the beginning of Brad Underwood’s tenure as Illinois coach was the longest stretch of postseason irrelevancy for the program since the 1970s. Now, the Illini are looking at a fifth straight berth and fourth with a top four seed given how the field currently projects.
➜ 1. Duke
➜ 2. Florida
➜ 3. Kentucky
➜ 4. Michigan
The combination of Auburn forward Johni Broome going down with an ankle injury and Cooper Flagg’s continued rise for Duke has made the national player of the year race a bit more interesting. Flagg is showing exactly why he’s long been the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and is averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 stocks (combined steals and blocks).
➜ 1. Auburn
➜ 2. Marquette
➜ 3. Houston
➜ 4. Gonzaga
Marquette sits alone atop the Big East standings as the last unbeaten team in conference play. While fourth-year coach Shaka Smart has leaned into a now old-fashioned program-building approach of recruiting high school prospects and keeping them, it’s paid off. The Golden Eagles have another potential All-American in Kam Jones leading a homegrown roster.
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Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2025-01-18 15:47:00
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