Bracketology 2024: Latest Expert Predictions for Men's Top Four Seeds

Selection Sunday is officially here.

Most NCAA Tournament resumes have been finalized, and those putting the finishing touches on them will have that done within today's action. That means that it is officially time to find out who will be dancing this Spring, and also identify which teams have a fighting chance at being national champions.

The favorites to take that glory will undoubtedly be the No. 1 seeds. While last year's champion was a four-seed, the No. 1 seeds have theoretically the easiest path to the Final Four and should be favored in the first four matchups.

Earning the coveted No. 1 seed is something the top programs have been fighting for all season, and Saturday's action was consequential for determining who earned those spots.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, Mike DeCourcey of Fox Sports and Brian Bennett of The Athletic all took stabs at determining the recipients of the top seeds using their various forecasting formulas. Here's a look at what they determined.

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The Houston Cougars joined a Power-Six conference in 2023-24, but that did little to slow its momentum.

The Cougars cruised to a 15-3 conference record and won the regular season crown. It advanced all the way to the conference championship, but a tough Iowa State team bested it to secure the trophy.

While that is a tough blow to Houston, it's something that the team needs to shake off ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Given the wild success its had and Iowa State being a quality opponent, this shouldn't shatter Houston's chances at being a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season.

All four forecasters have Houston leading the South Region.

UConn was the last team standing a year ago, but this year's squad may be even more formidable.

The Huskies won the Big East championship for the first time since 2010 after an explosive fourth quarter against Marquette. This improved its record to 31-3 on the season and may be enough to give it the No. 1 overall seed for March Madness.

This will be an upgrade from the No. 4 seed it received last Spring, and performances like Saturday's show how unstoppable the Huskies can be.

All four forecasters have the Huskies leading the East Region.

Purdue suffered humiliation as a No. 1 seed in 2023, and a repeat of that disaster is something it is hoping to avoid.

Purdue fell to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round last year, becoming just the second top seed to ever go one-and-done in the tournament. Purdue looks like a true contender once again, but will be riding some bad momentum into the tournament.

The Boilermakers were the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament, but fell to Wisconsin in the semi-finals Saturday. This could potentially hurt its case for a No. 1 seed, but the resume is impressive.

Purdue is 29-4, with strong wins over teams like Arizona, Alabama, Tennessee and Illinois.

All four forecasters have it hosting the Midwest region.

North Carolina had a chance to solidify itself as a No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship. It didn't get the job done.

NC State played spoiler and took the ACC's automatic bid. While the Tar Heels don't need to worry about qualification, a victory would have made a pretty good case.

Instead, teams like Tennessee, Arizona and Iowa State and loom large and could steal the spot.

Joe Lunardi doesn't think so.

He believes that the result of the ACC Championship was inconsequential to the No. 1 seed result, so the Tar Heels should still be feeling good about its chances.

All four experts predicted that UNC would host the West region.