Bracketology tiers for every high-major men's basketball conference - ESPN

The men's college basketball season is in high gear with less than six weeks until Selection Sunday.

We update the projected 2026 NCAA tournament field every Tuesday and Friday in Bracketology, but for a comprehensive look across the sport, I've sorted every high-major team into tiers within their respective conferences. From Final Four contenders to expected misses and everything in-between, let's run through the top five leagues in order of their total projected bids in my latest field.

Note: All times Eastern.

Jump to:
ACC | Big East | Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC

Current projected bids: 11

The Big Ten couldn't be in a better place as we hit the stretch run of the regular season. The «conference of quantity» has added a large measure of high quality, giving it the best chance in a long time to end a 25-year national title drought.

The top of the seed list is dotted with Big Ten names. Five teams on the top three lines, led by Michigan, bring plenty of Final Four potential. The middle of the bracket will feature up to a half-dozen more familiar names, although one or two might have to make their way up from the First Four.

The best story out of the Big Ten is Nebraska, notably the only high-major conference school to never win an NCAA tournament game. And the best team is Michigan, although Illinois might have something to say about that when the Wolverines visit Champaign at the end of February.

For now, enjoy the nightly slugfests in a league rightly dissed for its March disappearing acts. This season is shaping up a whole lot better than that.

Michigan Wolverines
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Illinois Fighting Illini

Take a screenshot of this section just to see the words «Nebraska» and «Final Four» together. If it happens, it