NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
The ink has barely run dry on the 2025-26 college basketball season, but that won’t stop the diehards from projecting how the NCAA Tournament field might look in March of 2027.
The window to enter the NCAA transfer portal closed on Tuesday, April 21, and while there are still thousands of unsigned players available, it’s a good time to take an early – very early – look at how programs are shaping up across the country.
Advertisement
Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s resident bracketologist, released his way too early NCAA Tournament field on Wednesday, forecasting the entire field of 68 based on current rosters, with expected NBA departures considered as well.
The end result for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs is quite promising, as Lunardi slotted them in as a No. 2 seed in the midwest region, meaning they would open up the Big Dance with a massive homecourt advantage, playing at the Spokane Arena for their first two games.
Lunardi has Gonzaga lined up against projected No. 15 seed Merrimack. The Warriors went 23-11 last year but lost in the MAAC Tournament championship to Siena, who nearly took down No. 1 Duke in the first round.
The projected No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup in Spokane includes the Indiana Hoosiers and LSU Tigers, respectively. Indiana is widely considered one of the biggest winners so far out of the transfer portal, landing four transfers ranked inside the top 275 at EvanMiya: No. 8 Aiden Sherrell from Alabama, No. 93 Markus Burton from Notre Dame, No. 120 Samet Yigitoglu from SMU, and No. 274 Bryce Lindsay from Villanova. The Hoosiers also bring in shooting guard Jaeden Mustaf from Georgia Tech and Duke guard and former Top 50 prosect Darren Harris as well.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, LSU is now coached (again) by Will Wade, who was with the Tigers before getting fired for recruiting violations. He ended up at McNeese State, where he led the Cowboys to multiple NCAA Tournament berths – including a blowout loss to No. 5 Gonzaga in 2024 – before moving to NC State last year and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gonzaga-earns-top-seed-joe-225046566.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-04-22 22:50:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
