NCAA Tournament Projections: Arizona, UCLA on the rise; Clemson on the bubble

Following six straight wins, including a dominant 85-52 victory over Oregon State on Saturday, the Arizona Wildcats are back on the top-seed line in Mike DeCourcy‘s updated NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament projections, which were released Tuesday.

The Wildcats are joined by Purdue, Houston and Alabama on the 1-line.

After back-to-back losses to close out the month of January, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the UCLA Bruins have looked outstanding as of late, posting two straight wins and moving up to a No. 2 seed in DeCourcy’s projections. Kansas, Tennessee and Texas join the Bruins as No. 2 seeds.

Baylor, Virginia and Xavier remain on the 3-line in DeCourcy’s latest tournament projections, while Iowa State jumps up to a No. 3 seed following an impressive victory over Kansas this past weekend.

Marquette, Kansas State, TCU and Saint Mary’s make up the No. 4 seeds. The Gaels appear as a 4-seed after knocking off Gonzaga in overtime on Saturday. Saint Mary’s has now won 12 in a row and sit at 10-0 in the WCC.

When it comes to conference representation, the Big Ten and Big 12 lead the way with eight bids, followed by seven from the ACC. The SEC has six teams represented. The Big East has five teams in DeCourcy’s latest projections, while the Mountain West has four teams represented. The Pac-12 has three teams, while the WCC and American each have two.

Looking at teams on the bubble, DeCourcy has Boise State, Oklahoma State, Clemson and Nevada as the last four teams in, with Seton Hall, Oregon, Penn State and Texas A&M on the outside looking in.