Cunningham has the potential to do for OSU what Danny Manning did for Kansas 33 years ago. The top-three NBA prospects in college basketball play for teams that qualified for the tournament: Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, USC’s Evan Mobley and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs. Other teams on the snub list: Colorado State, Mississippi and Saint Louis. The Cardinals were the highest-profile snub, squeezed out of the at-large field when Georgetown and Oregon State stole bids by winning their conference tournaments. 1 overall seed and are attempting to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to complete a perfect season. The West Coast Conference champs are the tournament’s No. 5 seed - but they are matched against one of the hottest teams in the country, Georgetown, which just won the Big East.
![big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket](https://s23455.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/BRACKET_0111_00000-1024x1024.jpg)
Sure, the Buffaloes received their highest seed ever - a No. And their projected second-round foe, Iowa, is a far better matchup (despite the presence of big man Luka Garza) than two of the other No. The Ducks surely aren’t complaining about drawing Virginia Commonwealth as a first-round opponent. Pac-12 football preview: The top 10 players for 2022 As a result, the six conferences in the western third of the country claimed a mere six at-large bids: Brigham Young, Utah State and the four Pac-12 teams. San Diego State and Utah State made it Colorado State and Boise State did not. Projections from the American Gaming Association indicate approximately 50 million people will gamble on the NCAAs, legally or not. With five teams in the field, the conference is guaranteed $9 million, even if it goes winless. Each game played in the NCAA tournament is worth approximately $1.8 million over a six-year period (split evenly among the 12 schools). And three others cut it awfully close: Syracuse, UCLA and Michigan State are No. Also not participating: Arizona (ineligible), Indiana and Louisville. The tournament will not include Duke or Kentucky - the former for the first time since 1995, the latter for the first time since 2013. That might not be as daunting as it seems: The Jayhawks pulled out of the Big 12 tournament because of COVID issues and could have a depleted rotation. The Trojans should be solid favorites over their first-round opponent (Drake or Wichita State) and are slotted to face Kansas in the second. The Hall of Famer returned from exile in Greece to lead his fifth different team to the NCAAs. The Tide’s first-round opponent is Iona, coached by none other than Rick Pitino. 2 seed, matching the best in school history.
![big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/h41b_kk0Xk9WUVfJxVe9sdGfuUw=/0x0:2000x1544/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1544):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/15952223/mbbbracket.jpg)
The Crimson Tide won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and is a No. They opened as a 1-point favorite over UCLA. The Spartans handled Michigan and Illinois in recent weeks, along with No. That said, the Bruins’ opponent, Michigan State, is assuredly the first team ever assigned to the First Four with two victories over No. Had the Bruins been left out of the at-large field after losing their last four games - and blowing that huge lead against Oregon State in the conference tournament - Year Two of the Mick Cronin era would have been a colossal disappointment. 1 seeds, the Wolverines have the most difficult path to the Final Four with Alabama, Texas and Florida State ready to pounce.
![big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket big 12 conference tournament 2021 bracket](https://i0.wp.com/studentunionsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/download-8.jpeg)
The Big 12 and ACC received seven bids, followed by the SEC with six and the Pac-12 with five. Led all conference with nine bids, including two No. 8-9 game, allowing the conference to avoid second-round matchups against the powerhouse No. Oh, and one more point on Pac-12 seeds before we dive into the bracket: In other words, the geographic preference usually given to the high seeds doesn’t exist, thus leveling the competitive balance for the No. Then again, the seeds don’t carry their normal significance this year because all the games are being played in Indianapolis.