Duke moves up to No. 1 in Andy Katz’s final men’s basketball Power 37 rankings

There were five bid stealers in 2024.

How many could surface on Selection Sunday?

I’m not confident there will be any. But here are a few candidates, whom I don’t think necessarily have to win the tournament — outside a team from the American. The A10 may be a one-bid league but there is still a chance that VCU could get in on its own after winning the regular-season title with Dayton and/or George Mason with a chance to win the league and get the AQ and pull in VCU with them as well. 

ACC: NC State won five games in five days a year ago. Who could pull it off this season in the ACC? Keep an eye out on SMU. The Mustangs are at the bottom of the bracket. They will play the winner of Florida State and Syracuse. And if they get past that game then they play Clemson in the quarterfinals. They lost by 10 in late February in Dallas. Still, if there is a path that avoids Duke this is the one. If they were to face Louisville then they would be looking to avenge a 25-point loss to the Cardinals. But they may not have to win both to get a bid. The back of the bracket is weak, and if SMU could beat Clemson and lose to Louisville then they would have a quad one win and another quad one loss to be squarely on the bubble. 

Big East: Villanova is the only candidate to add a possible fifth bid to the Big East. The Wildcats struggled down the stretch but still have one of the best scorers in the country in Eric Dixon. Villanova should beat Seton Hall and have beaten UConn. So it’s plausible to do it again in a rocking MSG where they would have solid support to balance the Huskies. Do that and then knock off a beatable Creighton in the semis could get Nova into position for a bid, even with a possible loss to St. John’s, Xavier or Marquette. 

Big 12: Cincinnati has gone from on the board to the No. 13 seed in the Big 12 tournament. But the Bearcats have a possible path if they can knock off Oklahoma State and then take down a bit of an erratic Iowa State of late (lost 81-70 in Ames). If that happens, then Cincinnati would be playing BYU, whom it beat 84-66 during the season. Get past those two and into the semifinals then the Bearcats would have the necessary quad one wins to be under serious consideration. 

Big Ten: Northwestern has been on the board as a possible NCAA team for a few weeks before the tough loss to UCLA at home and at Maryland. The Wildcats could get back in the conversation if they were to beat Minnesota, Wisconsin and UCLA to get to the semifinals against possible Michigan State. That may sound like a lot — and it is — but the Wildcats match up well against all three of those first opponents. 

SEC: Texas is likely out entering the SEC tournament, but the path to get back is available with winnable games for the Longhorns against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and then possibly Tennessee. That last one may be asking quite a lot but if the Longhorns were to beat two tournament-bound teams in Vanderbilt and Texas A&M then there would be a chance. 

Mountain West: New Mexico is a lock. Utah State seems to be a lock. San Diego State should be in, as well, but it’s close. Colorado State and/or Boise State have a path to get a possible fourth bid. The Rams should advance to the semifinals where they could face Utah State. That would give the Rams another quality W, regardless of what would occur in the final. Boise State needs to play a team like the Aztecs to get a quad one W. Do that and then take out New Mexico in a possible semifinal and the Broncos will be in position to possibly get a bid. 

American: Memphis is getting into the tournament. But don’t dismiss North Texas or UAB as winning the AQ and putting in two teams from the AAC. They are the 2 and 3 seeds, respectively, meaning only one will get a shot to possibly take on Memphis in the title game. 

MARCH MADNESS TRACKER: Following 31 NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments, auto bids

Last regular-season Power 37 rankings

1. Duke (Prev. 2, 28-3): The Blue Devils got the season sweep of North Carolina and won the ACC regular-season title. 
2. Houston (Prev. 3, 27-4): Houston won the Big 12 outright, and the case for Kelvin Sampson as national coach of the year continues to get stronger. 
3. Florida (Prev. 4, 27-4): The Gators have a ton of momentum heading into the SEC tournament and are likely a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. 
4. St. John’s (Prev. 5, 27-4): The Red Storm continue to handle late-game situations well, beating Marquette in Milwaukee at the buzzer. 
5. Auburn (Prev. 1, 27-4): The Tigers are going to be a No. 1 seed but are in danger of losing the No. 1 overall seed after losing two in a row heading into the SEC tournament. 
6. Tennessee (Prev. 6, 25-6): The Vols will be equally one of the toughest outs in the NCAA Tournament, let alone the SEC tourney. 
7. Alabama (Prev. 7, 24-7): Mark Sears with the game winner at Auburn to split the season series. 
8. Texas Tech (Prev. 8, 24-7): The Red Raiders get the second seed in the Big 12 tournament. I’m not sure anyone saw that coming. 
9. Michigan State (Prev. 9, 26-5): The Spartans won the Big Ten regular-season title outright. 
10. Maryland (Prev. 11, 24-7): The Terps won at Michigan and beat Northwestern to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. 
11. BYU (Prev. 12, 23-8): The Cougars are one of the hottest teams in the country, winning eight in a row. 
12. Iowa State (Prev. 10, 23-8): The Cyclones remain one of the hardest teams to beat — when they are locked in defensively and healthy. 
13. Clemson (Prev. 13, 26-5): The Tigers have won eight in a row and should have strong momentum heading into the NCAAs. 
14. Memphis (Prev. 15, 26-5): The Tigers have won five in a row and won the American regular-season title outright. 
15. Louisville (Prev. 16, 25-6): The Cardinals have won nine in a row and are in lock step with Clemson for a team with plenty of positivity heading into the postseason. 
16. Saint Mary’s (Prev. 17, 27-4): The Gaels are riding a seven-game win streak heading into the WCC tournament. 
17. Illinois (Prev. 23, 20-11): The Illini are back to being the team that was projected after a thrilling win over Purdue. 
18. Purdue (Prev. 19, 21-10): The Boilermakers lost a shot at the double-bye in the Big tournament but should have the Big Ten player of the year in Braden Smith. 
19. UCLA (Prev. 26, 22-9): The Bruins are hot heading into the Big Ten tournament after a convincing win over USC. 
20. Oregon (Prev. 20, 23-8): The Ducks survived in the season finale at Washington. 
21. Kentucky (Prev. 27, 21-10): The Wildcats have had to deal with a slew of injuries and yet they continue to come through with big-time wins, ending with a win at Missouri. 
22. Ole Miss (Prev. 29, 21-10): The Rebels knocked off Tennessee but then fell to Florida by 19.
23. New Mexico (Prev. 31, 25-6): The Lobos swept the state of Nevada in the final week to win the Mountain West conference outright. 
24. Wisconsin (Prev. 18, 23-8): The Badgers had a disappointing season finale loss to Penn State to miss out on getting a double bye in the Big Ten tournament. 
25. Xavier (Prev. 33, 21-10): The Musketeers should be in the field. Xavier has won seven in a row. 
26. UConn (Prev. NR, 22-9): Welcome back to the Power 37 Huskies. UConn has won four in a row. 
27. Creighton (Prev. 34, 22-9): The Bluejays won two in a row heading into the Big East tournament. 
28. Drake (Prev. 35, 30-3): The Bulldogs won the Valley regular-season and conference tournament title. 
29. Texas A&M (Prev. NR, 22-9): The Aggies ended a four-game losing streak by taking down Auburn and then followed that up with a road win at LSU.
30. Kansas (Prev. NR, 20-11): Welcome back to the Jayhawks after a season-ending W over Arizona. 
31. Arizona (Prev. 14, 20-11): The Wildcats have lost two of three and need to get some mojo back in the Big 12 tournament.
32. Arkansas (Prev. NR, 19-12): The Hogs found a way to get into the NCAAs with late-season wins at Vanderbilt and over Mississippi State. 
33. Georgia (Prev. NR, 20-11): The Bulldogs have won four in a row and have the momentum for an NCAA tournament berth. 
34. Missouri (Prev. 22, 21-10): The Tigers have to reset in the SEC tournament after losing three in a row and four of five overall. 
35. Marquette (Prev. 30, 22-9): The Golden Eagles got clipped at the buzzer at home by St. John’s. 
36. UCSD (Prev. 36, 28-4): The Tritons are one of the hottest teams in the country, entering the postseason on a 13-game win streak. 
37. Colorado State (Prev. 37, 22-9): The Rains have won seven in a row to earn the second seed in the MWC tournament. 

Dropped out: Vanderbilt (21), Michigan (24), VCU (25), Mississippi State (28), Boise State (32). 

RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET Rankings

March Madness National Team of the Week

Florida: The Gators had a sensational week by winning at Alabama 99-94 and then closing the regular season by knocking off Ole Miss 90-71. The two wins allowed the Gators to finish second in the SEC. Florida should be on the 1-seed line in next week’s NCAA tournament. Todd Golden is in the discussion for SEC and national coach of the year and Walter Clayton Jr., should be an all-American. 

March Madness National Player of the Week

JT Toppin, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders have been one of the best stories in the Big 12/nation. And one of the main reasons has been the play of New Mexico transfer JT Toppin. Toppin has been consistently sensational throughout the season. He’s an all-American candidate. And he delivered in the final week of the regular season — again. Toppin scored 30 points and grabbed 14 boards in a win over Colorado and then dropped 25 and 11 in a road win at Arizona State. That all came after he had scored 21 the previous weekend in a road win at Kansas. Toppin was one of the best values in the transfer portal. And the good news for UNM is that the Lobos were just fine, too, winning the Mountain West without him.