Bracket Watch

Top Overall Seed

Auburn

First Team Out

Cincinnati

Last Team In

Indiana

This year's national champion won't be determined until April 7. The NCAA tournament field won't be official until Selection Sunday on March 16. But the identity of the bracket's No. 1 overall seed has never been this clear, this early. It's going to be Duke, in part because the Blue Devils are good at basketball and even more so because so much of the ACC isn't. Remember, being the top overall seed isn't always about being the nation's best team (that's Auburn, in spite of the Tigers' December loss at Cameron Indoor). It's all about putting the season's best record in front of the selection committee and, among the current contenders, Duke is far and away in the best position to do that. The Blue Devils will be double-digit favorites in up to 11 of their remaining 13 games and are still solid favorites in the other two (at Clemson, vs. Illinois at Madison Square Garden). The other contenders, pretty much all from the SEC, will be beating up on one another. Even Auburn, so dominant at both ends of the floor, figures to stumble a time or two, especially if star Johni Broome remains sidelined. All of which creates a wide-open road for Duke, which hasn't been the No. 1 overall seed since 2019. Now don't be surprised come selection day.