Florida holds top overall spot in ESPN bracketology, SEC adds to total

The hottest news in the men's college basketball world is the recent expansion of the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams, which sent a ripple through ESPN's latest bracketology update. However, while a few seed lines are a little crowded, Joe Lunardi's latest offering still looks like a 64- or 68-team bracket.

"We'll have the same symmetry as always by the first Thursday of the tournament, and a lot more good than bad will have transpired by then," he notes. "In particular, four more single-bid conferences will have won a tournament game (and generated essential revenue for their members). Even better, six of the weakest 12 at-large teams — formerly the 'Last Four In,' 'First Four Out' and 'Next Four Out' — will have earned their way into the main bracket on the court instead of in the committee room."

Lunardi also points out, "There will be unintended consequences, of course: namely, too many middling major conference entries." Of course, the same thing was said in 1975 when at-large bids were first introduced. C'est la vie.

In the first edition of the bracketology's expanded format, the Florida Gators remain the top overall seed and the No. 1 seed in the East Region, which matches them up with the two projected No. 16 seeds — the Long Island Sharks and Vermont Catamounts — in the first round held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Top seeds in ESPN's 2027 bracketology

Florida still holds both the top overall seed as well as the No. 1 spot in the East, while the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines remain the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and the Duke Blue Devils still sit atop the South. However, the Michigan State Spartans lost their grip on the top spot in the West, with the Illinois Illini taking over in this update.

SEC schools in ESPN's 2027 bracketology