March Madness Bracketology Update for Feb. 8: SEC Stands Tall

With the final game of the NFL season just over 24 hours away from kickoff, it’s nearly time for college basketball to take center stage. Haven’t been watching closely? We’ve got you geared up with our latest update on bracket projections!

Score big with SportsGrid’s College Basketball Game Picks and College Hoops Player Props Picks.

SportsGrid’s Mid-Major Power Rankings: WCC Duo Takes the Top

LAST FOUR BYES: San Diego State, Texas, Georgia, Vanderbilt

LAST FOUR IN: Nebraska, BYU, Pittsburgh, Arkansas

FIRST FOUR OUT: Wake Forest, UCF, North Carolina, Xavier

NEXT FOUR OUT: SMU, USC, Arizona State, UC San Diego

* = automatic qualifier through conference title (determined via current conference leader)

SEC Remains Dominant in 2025

The storyline of the 2024-25 season continues to come from the SEC, perhaps the most dominant conference in recent college basketball memory. Nine of the AP Top 25 come from the league, while they currently occupy 14 of the 68 spots in our bracket projection. That would shatter the record for most teams from one conference in the field, and it’s well-deserved with some blemish-free resumés from top to bottom. We’ll see if they begin to vulture themselves as we get deeper into February, but the SEC has set a historic benchmark just one month from Selection Sunday.

St. John’s Notches Monumental Road Win vs. UConn

The one shortcoming of an otherwise impressive St. John’s team sheet has come in the first quadrant. Just two wins in that column entering Friday gave some hesitation on putting them any higher than the six-seed line. Despite trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, their gutsy road victory over UConn has increased that tally to three and moved them up to the five-seed line. If the Johnnies can keep up their success through February, they will be in the running for a protected seed and even beyond.