The following projections were made as if Feb. 20 were Selection Sunday. No attempts were made to predict future results. For the smaller conferences, the current first-place team received the automatic bid. In the event of ties, head-to-head competition was used as the tiebreaker, or, if the teams split head-to-head, then RPI ranking. All RPI data came from CollegeRPI.com.

PROJECTED NCAA TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS Syracuse Chicago Austin Albuquerque 1 North Carolina (22-3)* 1 Illinois (27-0)* 1 Kansas (20-3)* 1 BC (22-1)*        Despite consecutive losses, Kansas retains a top seed thanks to the No. 1 RPI and schedule strength 2 Oklahoma St. (20-3) 2 Arizona (23-4)* 2 Duke (19-4) 2 Wake Forest (22-4)        The Cowboys have won six straight to move into a first-place tie with Kansas in the Big 12. 3 Kentucky (20-3)* 3 Alabama (21-4) 3 Washington (21-4) 3 Gonzaga (21-4)*        Kentucky's loss to South Carolina hurt, because the Wildcats don't have a top-25 win on their resume. 4 Wisconsin (17-6) 4 Syracuse (22-5) 4 Michigan St. (19-4) 4 Louisville (23-4)        Syracuse has dropped four of its last six and may have trouble getting a top-three seed. 5 Pittsburgh (18-5) 5 Charlotte (19-4) 5 Connecticut (17-6) 5 Utah (23-3)*        The Panthers are climbing to a respectable RPI (35th) after being held back by their early schedule. 6 Villanova (17-6) 6 Oklahoma (19-6) 6 Cincinnati (20-6) 6 Texas Tech (16-7)        The Sooners avoided disaster thanks to Drew Lavender's last-second game-winner at Kansas State. 7 Pacific (22-2)* 7 Maryland (16-8) 7 Notre Dame (16-7) 7 SIU (21-6)*        The Salukis scored the biggest victory of any Bracket Buster team by winning at Kent State. 8 DePaul (16-7) 8 Bubble Team Iowa State (15-8) 8 Florida (16-7) 8 Bubble Team LSU (15-8)        The Cyclones were an afterthought two weeks ago, but their huge win at Kansas was their seventh straight. 9 Bubble Team Texas (18-7) 9 Bubble Team Nevada (20-5)* 9 Bubble Team Georgia Tech (19-6) 9 Bubble Team Stanford (15-9)        Last year's national runner-up, Georgia Tech, is hanging on by a thin thread, going 4-6 over its last 10. 10 Bubble Team UCLA (14-9) 10 Bubble Team Georgetown (16-8) 10 Miami of Ohio (17-6) 10 Miss. State (18-8)        Mississippi State remains high in the RPI (29th) but is just 6-6 in the SEC and lacks a big road win. 11 Bubble Team N.C. State (15-10) 11 Vermont (19-5)* 11 Bubble Team St. Mary's (22-7) 11 Bubble Team Minnesota (17-9)        The Wolfpack played themselves into the field, for now, with wins over Georgia Tech and Maryland. 12 Bubble Team G. Washington (17-5) 12 Old Dominion (24-4)* 12 Bubble Team Marquette (18-8) 12 Bubble Team Miami (Fla.) (15-9)        The Hurricanes once seemed pretty solid, but having lost six of their last nine they need to be careful. 13 Holy Cross (20-5)* 13 Bubble Team Wichita St. (18-6) 13 La.-Lafayette (17-8)* 13 St. Joe's (14-9)*        The luster has worn off Wichita State, which has lost three straight and fallen out of first in the MVC. 14 Winthrop (22-5)* 14 UW-Mil. (21-5)* 14 Davidson (18-7)* 14 Penn (15-8)*        UW-Milwaukee got a nice Bracket Buster win at Hawaii but remains a longshot at-large candidate. 15 SE Louisiana (19-7)* 15 Oral Roberts (21-5)* 15 Niagara (17-8)* 15 Portland St. (18-7)*        Oral Roberts has won six straight, including four on the road, to take the lead in the Mid-Continent. 16 Gard.-Webb (15-10)* 16 Coppin St (11-13)*/ Ala. A&M (13-10)* 16 Tenn. Tech (15-10)* 16 F. Dickinson (15-10)* Their bubbles burst UTEP (20-7) Recent losses to Nevada and Pacific, while understandable, didn't help. Arizona State (18-9) The Sun Devils (7-8) may have trouble finishing .500 in the Pac-10. Iowa (16-9) The Hawkeyes have dropped four of five to fall to 4-8 in the Big Ten. South Carolina (14-9) Despite the Kentucky win, they're just 1-7 against top-50 teams. * Denotes automatic bids.

SI.com's Bracket Watch will be updated weekly between now and Selection Sunday.