UNC Basketball: Tar Heels nearing 1-seed in latest Bracketology?

Recent wins over Duke and Florida State have UNC basketball set to take over a top seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his 22nd Bracketology of the season on Tuesday, and his latest projections feature a shake-up among the tournament’s top seeds.

Duke, Virginia and Gonzaga all remained 1-seeds in Lunardi’s newest bracket, but former projected No. 1 seed Tennessee has dropped from the top line after losing two out of its last three games — one to Kentucky and the other to LSU.

Thanks to the Volunteers’ decent from the 1-line, the Kentucky Wildcats have moved from their previous position as a 2-seed, to the bracket’s fourth 1-seed. Kentucky’s move to the top line was one that had been anticipated for some time, riding a hot streak that has the Wildcats in a tie for first-place in the SEC and winners of 13 of their last 14 games.

Tennessee is joined on the 2-line by Michigan, Michigan State and North Carolina. The Spartans strengthened their tournament resume against in-state rival Michigan when they traveled to Ann Arbor on Sunday and beat the Wolverines 77-70.

North Carolina, on the other hand, has won 10-of-11 games including victories over No. 1 Duke and No. 16 Florida State last week. With those big wins, and an overall resume that also boasts victories over Gonzaga, Louisville and Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels are improving their own case for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. With another game against Duke on the horizon, and likely matchups in the ACC Tournament with other ranked opponents, North Carolina could easily work its way up to the 1-line before the big dance begins.

Marquette, Purdue, Houston and Texas Tech are the 3-seeds this week, and are followed by LSU, Maryland, Kansas and Wisconsin on the 4-line. The Jayhawks continue to fall further from the tourney’s top line as they struggle to keep pace in the Big 12. Kansas did win its most recent game against first-place Kansas State, but a 29-point loss to Texas Tech on Saturday didn’t improve the Jayhawks’ tournament seeding any.

Nevada, Iowa State, Virginia Tech and Florida State are 5-seeds in Tuesday’s bracket, while Buffalo, Louisville, Kansas State and Mississippi State are 6-seeds.

The ACC leads the bracket with nine teams, and is followed by the Big 12 and SEC, which have eight a piece. The Big 10 is in third-place with seven teams in the bracket. The Big East and American Athletic Conference are both represented by four teams, while the Mountain West and Pac-12 each have two.