Wednesday, February 18, 2026

February 18th 2026 **Updated 1pm ET**

 Seed Power Team

1 1 * Michigan

1 2 * Duke

1 3 * Arizona

1 4 * UConn

2 5 Iowa State

2 6 Houston

2 7 Illinois

2 8 Purdue

3 9 Kansas

3 10 * Florida

3 11 Nebraska

3 12 Vanderbilt

4 13 * Gonzaga

4 14 Michigan St

4 15 Texas Tech

4 16 Virginia

5 17 Alabama

5 18 Arkansas

5 19 Louisville

5 20 St. John's

6 21 Tennessee

6 22 BYU

6 23 North Carolina

6 24 Clemson

7 25 Villanova

7 26 NC State

7 27 * Utah St

7 28 Iowa

8 29 Kentucky

8 30 * Saint Louis

8 31 Wisconsin

8 32 Miami

9 33 SMU

9 34 UCF

9 35 Indiana

9 36 USC

10 37 St. Mary's

10 38 Auburn

10 39 Georgia

10 40 Texas A&M

11 41 Texas

11 42 * Miami-OH

11a 43 Santa Clara

11b 44 UCLA

11c 45 Ohio State

11d 46 TCU

12 47 * South Florida

12 48 * Belmont

12 49 * Liberty

12 50 * Stephen F. Austin

13 51 * Yale

13 52 * High Point

13 53 * Hawai'i

13 54 * UNCW

14 55 * Cal Baptist

14 56 * Austin Peay

14 57 * North Dakota St

14 58 * Portland St

15 59 * Navy

15 60 * East Tenn St

15 61 * Wright St

15 62 * Merrimack

16 63 *Appalachian St

16 64 * UT Martin

16a 65 * Long Island

16a 66 * Howard

16a 67 * Bethune Cookman

16a 68 *NJIT

Last Four In: TCU, Ohio St., UCLA, Santa Clara

First Four Out: Missouri, New Mexico, San Diego St., VCU

Next Four Out: WVU, Va Tech, Seton Hall, California

Notes:

- Iowa State has a shot to take the last 1 seed away from UConn. They have 5 games, left 3 Q1, and 2 Q2. UConn's last 5 are 2 Q1, 2 Q2, and a Q3. Whoever does best in that last stretch could get it and Houston is still in the mix too. I dont think Illinois/Purdue could get a 1 unless they win out through the Big Ten tournament.

- On the bubble. Ohio State is in my latest field, despite not having a Q1 win. Their metrics are better than other bubble teams and they are 6-1 in Q2 and have no bad losses. Still according to my records since the quads began, no power 4 team has gotten an at-large without at least 1 Q1 win. They do have 3 Q1 chances left in their final 5 and at the big 10 tournament as well. They probably need to get at least 1 to hold their spot. 

- Another curious case could be Auburn. I have Auburn as a 10 seed right now, but their overall record of 14-11 is not good. Georgia in 1999, is the only team to get an at-large bid only being 2 games over .500. That team also played the toughest schedule in the country like Auburn. Auburns final 6 feature a Q3, 2 Q2s, and 2 Q1s. Then the SEC tournament. A 2-4 finish would have them probably out at 16-15 heading into the SEC tournament. A 3-3 finish would have them at 17-14 and probably in heading into the SEC tournament, but probably needing a win to feel good. 


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