Ready, eligible for a fifth year or not, the return of men's college basketball is just around the corner.

Notre Dame and Villanova will square off in Rome on Sunday morning, followed about 12 hours later by the Field of 68's Opening Day 24-hour marathon.

In other words, it's time to start resting up for that beginning of the twisting, winding, loop-de-looping journey to crowning the 2027 national champion.

We cannot allow the season to begin without a projected bracket, though.

I won't lie to you, fine folks: As has been my tradition over the past six years, most of the research that went into the seeding for this bracket involved aggregating team rankings published by others.

While it's not exactly an average of team rankings from KenPom, BartTorvik, EvanMiya, Haslametrics, Matt Norlander's Top 100 And 1 for CBS Sports and Kevin Sweeney's ranking of all 365 teams for Sports Illustrated, the average of those six was our starting point, from which manual adjustments were made here and there.

On top of that, the projected automatic bid for each of the 32 conferences is simply the team that was picked to win the league in the respective preseason media polls. (Work smarter, not harder.)

We all know the goal of preseason bracket projections isn't to be as accurate as possible, though. (Especially this year.) It's just a fun way to get hyped for the next five months, while maybe giving a few teams some bulletin-board material to carry as a chip on their shoulder.

So, let's dive into this new 76-team world with some thoughts on the biggest wild cards in each of the major conferences and a preposterously early Cinderella pick.

Projected Bracket

Please forgive any possible first-round pairings that are rematches of scheduled nonconference games. I won't start accounting for that until later, after we've got this new 76-team format down to something resembling a science.

10 Words on Each of the 10 'Bubbliest' Teams

Fifth-to-Last In: Maryland Terrapins—If Buzz Williams gets D.J. Wagner to shine, look out.

Fourth-to-Last In: Utah State Aggies—MWC has to get two bids with 76 teams, right?

Third-to-Last In: Providence Friars—Bryan Hodgson's meteoric rise continues, getting the Friars dancing again.

Second-to-Last In: Saint Louis Billikens—If Robbie Avila actually plays, this is way too low.

Last Team In: LSU Tigers—If you have any clue where they belong, do tell.

***Cut Line***

First Team Out: San Diego State Aztecs—Average ranking of 62.7 feels like a pretty big oversight.

Second Team Out: NC State Wolfpack—A No. 11 seed for fourth time in five years?

Third Team Out: Ole Miss Rebels—Could bounce back in big way from 20 loss campaign.

Fourth Team Out: TCU Horned Frogs—Season could hinge on up-transfers Gavin Sykes and Trent Lincoln.

Fifth Team Out: Minnesota Golden Gophers—Year No. 2 under Niko Medved could be a breakthrough.

ACC Summary

6 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 1. Duke, 12. Louisville, 14. Virginia, 21. Miami (FL), 35. North Carolina, 43. Clemson

Also Considered: NC State, Virginia Tech, Florida State, SMU

Biggest Wild Card: The Michael Malone Experiment at North Carolina

Over the past two decades, we've lost Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, Fred Hoiberg (temporarily), John Beilein and now Dusty May to the NBA.

But who knew that was still a two-way street?

North Carolina hiring Michael Malone to replace Hubert Davis as head coach was a colossal stunner when it was announced during Final Four weekend, but he brings quite a coaching pedigree with him to Chapel Hill. The Denver Nuggets made the playoffs in each of his final seven seasons coaching there, including winning a title in 2023.

Nikola Jokic isn't walking through that door, though, and the Tar Heels have had to replace eight of their nine leading scorers from last season—stretch-4 Jarin Stevenson the lone returnee of the bunch.

As a result, Malone has rebuilt this roster via a little bit of every avenue possible.

Neo Avdalas (Virginia Tech) and Matt Able (NC State) were key players elsewhere in the ACC last season, but they figure to start alongside FDU/Utah transfer Terrence Brown in North Carolina's backcourt.

Freshman Sayon Keita and Maximo Adams will feature prominently in the frontcourt mix. The former is 7'1" with a knack for rejections (five blocks in the exhibition game vs. Indiana). The latter was a McDonald's All-American who may well be the ACC's sixth man of the year if he's not starting.

And watch out for 6'11" international prospect Alex Samodurov. Like Avdalas, Samodurov has been playing professionally in Greece for about half a decade at this point. If he hits the ground running, UNC's ceiling could be the roof.

Big 12 Summary

9 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 3. Arizona, 5. Houston, 8. Kansas, 10. Iowa State, 18. Texas Tech, 27. BYU, 30. Baylor, 38. Cincinnati, 45. West Virginia

Also Considered: TCU, Oklahoma State, UCF

Biggest Wild Card: Kansas' Three-Headed Eligibility Battle

In Tre White, Melvin Council Jr. and Trey Kaufman-Renn, Bill Self has a trio of veterans who could lead Kansas to the Final Four.

If they're allowed to play at all, that is.

White and Council were two of the four Jayhawks who scored at least 400 points last season, while TKR was racking up more than 500 points and 300 rebounds at Purdue. And they have all sued for one more year of eligibility.

At the moment, all three are considered eligible. TKR did not play in the exhibition game against Duke on Sunday, but did play in the previous one against Louisville. White and Council combined to play 55 minutes against the Blue Devils.

If all three play all season alongside 5-star freshmen Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney, Kansas might be the best team in the country. We'll see about the frontcourt, but if either Keanu Dawes (from Utah) or Christian Reeves (from College of Charleston) emerges as a legitimate 5, that team would be a certified problem.

Without White, Council and Kaufman-Renn, you almost had to squint to see a single-digit seed in this roster's future, even with Stokes' potential to be a superstar.

The Jayhawks are hardly alone in having an on-court outlook shaped by decisions in a different kind of court. But they might have the largest gap between their ceiling and their floor, depending on how those eligibility cases ultimately play out.

Big East Summary

6 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 6. Connecticut, 17. St. John's, 28. Villanova, 33. Marquette, 44. Creighton, 49. Providence

Also Considered: Xavier, DePaul, Seton Hall

Biggest Wild Card: Can Marquette Bounce All the Way Back?

On the one hand, Marquette has a total of nine players back from last season, including four crucial returnees in Nigel James Jr., Royce Parham, Adrien Stevens and Caedin Hamilton. (Though, Hamilton is recovering from a torn calf and could miss the entirety of nonconference play.) Each one started at least 17 games in 2025-26, and James, in particular, should be one of the best players in the Big East this year after averaging 16 points and five assists per game as a freshman.

On the other hand, last season was a disaster for Marquette, suffering at least 20 losses for just the second time in program history. (The other happened all the way back in 1963-64.)

Roster retention is usually a wonderful thing.

But bringing back most of that roster?

Shaka Smart did pick up a pair of crucial transfers in Sananda Fru (Louisville) and Nolan Minessale (St. Thomas), as well as a freshman in Alex Egbuonu who could play a huge role immediately. That trio of newbies combined for 31 points in Marquette's exhibition victory over Michigan State on Sunday, so it's much more than just the returnees.

Smart has coached his way back from worse, too. In his second season at Texas, the Longhorns went 11-22. But they were back in the NCAA tournament the following year. He also had the Golden Eagles in the dance as a single-digit seed in each of his first four years on the job, and there are high hopes he can do so again in year No. 6.

Big Ten Summary

12 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 4. Illinois, 7. Michigan State, 13. Michigan, 20. Nebraska, 23. UCLA, 25. Purdue, 26. Ohio State, 36. USC, 37. Indiana, 39. Wisconsin, 41. Iowa, 47. Maryland

Also Considered: Minnesota, Washington

Biggest Wild Card: How Will the Reigning National Champions Fare?

The entire landscape of college basketball has changed in the not-even-seven months since Michigan cut down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Where do the new-look Wolverines fit into the mix?

Usually, the reigning champ is a shoo-in for a top 10 ranking in the subsequent preseason AP poll.

But after losing Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. as lottery picks, losing head coach Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks and losing highly touted freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. to a torn ACL suffered in August, the Wolverines landed at No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the Coaches poll.

Is that disrespectful?

Or is it too much respect?

They do have Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. back, so the backcourt is going to look pretty familiar.

This frontcourt is mighty questionable, though, with transfers Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati) and J.P. Estrella (Tennessee) the only sure things they've got in the paint. If either one ends up being less productive than he was in 2025-26, that could spell disaster.

Early returns from the exhibition games suggest this team is going to live and die by the three even more so than they ever did under John Beilein. At any rate, the long ball accounted for 66 percent of their field-goal attempts in the 17-point loss to Houston, so they better make them at a good clip.

SEC Summary

13 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 2. Florida, 11. Texas, 15. Alabama, 16. Tennessee, 19. Arkansas, 22. Vanderbilt, 24. Kentucky, 29. Auburn, 31. Texas A&M, 32. Missouri, 34. Oklahoma, 40. Georgia, 51. LSU

Also Considered: Ole Miss

Biggest Wild Card: The Curious Case of LSU's Roster

Throw it at the wall and see what sticks.

For LSU, roster building has also meant waiting to see what the courts allow.

Will Wade assembled a roster featuring several players whose availability depended on eligibility rulings, leaving the Tigers with considerable uncertainty heading into the season.

For a while, it was hard to know what that roster would actually look like.

As recently as October 8—the morning of their first exhibition game against McNeese—they had just four players on their official roster. And in that game that they barely won, their starting five played darn near every minute, because what other choice did they have?

Within the subsequent 16 days, Skyy Clark, Saliou Niang and Brice Dessert were all cleared, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, RJ Luis Jr.'s lawyers are asking a Louisiana judge to block the SEC from punishing LSU if the Tigers add him to their roster. The former St. John's guard entered the 2025 NBA draft and later briefly signed with two NBA teams without appearing in an NBA game. He secured a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in August, but his availability remains disputed.

With those first three added to the mix, though, they had a much more legitimate, eight-man rotation for their Oct. 24 exhibition against Florida State. They now have a 14-man roster on their official website.

But as lawsuits continue to play out around the country, we're all kind of bracing for the inevitability of fluctuating roster situations well beyond the normal injury-based wear and tear—and expecting LSU to be more susceptible to it than most.

So, sure. Last team in the field.

Sounds as plausible as anything for LSU.

But if I'm wrong, please don't sue me.

Mid-Majors Summary (A10, AAC, MVC, MWC, P12, WCC)

9 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 9. Gonzaga, 42. VCU, 46. Grand Canyon, 48. Utah State, 50. Saint Louis, 53. New Mexico, 54. Wichita State, 55. Santa Clara, 56. Murray State

Also Considered: San Diego State, George Mason, Boise State, Dayton, Nevada, Saint Mary's

Biggest Wild Card: Robbie Avila back at Saint Louis?

We thought we had seen the last of Robbie "Cream Abdul-Jabbar" Avila when Saint Louis lost to Michigan in the second round of the most recent NCAA tournament.

But last week, a judge granted Avila a temporary restraining order allowing him to return to Saint Louis while his eligibility challenge continues. He has already been practicing with the team and could play in Monday's season opener against Lehigh.

Even without him, the Billikens looked like a potential tournament team.

Josh Schertz managed to retain five of his seven leading scorers, including one of the best three-point shooters in the nation in Trey Green. He and Kellen Thames were both named to the A-10 preseason all-conference first team, with Amari McCottry and Ishan Sharma cracking second and third team, respectively.

Schertz also added a quality freshman in point guard Jermel Thomas and a trio of high-major transfers in Alon Michaeli (Colorado), Elijah Strong (South Carolina) and Sheek Pearson (Marquette). [The latter redshirted for the Golden Eagles, but was a 4-star recruit who could make a major impact in the SLU frontcourt.]

Throw Avila and his 1,990 career points back into the calculus, though, and the Billikens become much more than just a co-favorite (along with VCU) to win the A-10. They could be a legitimate top 25 team and a candidate to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1957—when there only were 23 teams in the dance and they got a bye to the regional semis.

As is, they are narrowly in our projected field, for quite the acronym showdown of a play-in game between SLU and LSU. But this is the mid-major we're most looking forward to watching through the first month of the season. (Doesn't hurt that the Billikens will face Missouri, Grand Canyon, Saint Mary's and High Point within their first six games.)

Other 21 Leagues Summary

21 Teams in the Projected Field (by Overall Seed): 52. High Point, 57. UNC Wilmington, 58. McNeese, 59. UC Irvine, 60. Western Kentucky, 61. Miami (OH), 62. Penn, 63. Montana State, 64. Furman, 65. Wright State, 66. North Dakota State, 67. Central Arkansas, 68. Queens, 69. Howard, 70. Vermont, 71. Arkansas State, 72. Merrimack, 73. American, 74. Tennessee State, 75. Bethune Cookman, 76. LIU

Also Considered: N/A

Biggest Wild Card: Is UNC Wilmington this year's Miami (OH)?

UNC Wilmington has won exactly 27 games in each of the past two seasons. It's a mark that the Seahawks also reached in 2021-22. They've won at least 21 games in five straight years.

And with nary a game on their schedule against a team in the KenPom top 120, we're already putting the Seahawks on irresponsibly early "undefeated watch."

Takayo Siddle has had to replace an awful lot of last year's squad. In fact, of the six leading scorers from 2025-26, only big man Patrick Wessler returns for UNCW.

He was the no-brainer pick for preseason CAA Player of the Year, though, while transfers CJ Luster II, William Kermoury and Xavier Brown figure to become major cogs in this team's primary seven-man rotation.

Also from this tier, High Point has a good chance at another special season.

The Panthers have gone 87-20 over the past three years, and they somehow found another year of eligibility for Cam'Ron Fletcher, who played his first season at Kentucky way back in 2020-21. He and fellow three-time transfers Jason Rivera-Torres and Curtis Williams Jr. will lead the way, alongside South Florida transfer point guard CJ Brown.

High Point won't be surprising anyone, though. The Panthers might even have some at-large potential if they happen to slip up in the Big South tournament.