Four wins in five games has Texas A&M climbing the bracket all the way onto the No. 2 line, giving the SEC five of the eight top seeds in our updated tournament picture.
Two of the wins during this five-game span have come against projected tournament teams in Mississippi and Oklahoma. Things will only get more difficult from here for the Aggies, beginning with Saturday’s road trip to Missouri. That’s the first of four games still to come against teams ranked in this week’s USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.
A&M is up to No. 13 in the NET rankings thanks to seven Quad 1 wins, tied for the second-most in the country behind top-seeded Auburn.
Another team on the move is St. John’s. In his latest rebuild, coach Rick Pitino has the Red Storm up to a No. 4 at 20-3 overall and a Big East-leading 11-1 in conference play. The team’s three losses (Baylor, Georgia and Creighton) have come by a combined five points.
The Red Storm still have two games to play against two-time defending national champion Connecticut — one in Storrs, the other at Madison Square Garden — and a road trip to Marquette. St. John’s beat the Golden Eagles 70-64 on Tuesday night.
STARTING FIVE: Top-10 showdown in SEC leads best games of weekend
Bracketology: NCAA Tournament bracket projection
Last four in
Georgia, Nebraska, Brigham Young, Wake Forest.
First four out
Virginia Commonwealth, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Arkansas.
NCAA Tournament bids conference breakdown
Multi-bid leagues: SEC (13), Big Ten (10), Big 12 (8), ACC (4), Big East (4), Mountain West (3), West Coast (2).