Last season, the Ivy League sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament. Princeton won its fifth straight Ivy League conference tournament to earn an automatic bid, while Columbia earned an at-large bid, facing Vanderbilt in the First Four.
It was Columbia’s first-ever March Madness appearance and the second time (2016) the Ivy League sent multiple schools to the NCAA Tournament.
But could the league do one better this time around and have three teams Dancing?
Right now, I have Harvard as a No. 10 seed and both Columbia and Princeton as No. 11 seeds. These schools all rank in the top 50 of the NET rankings and will help shape the bubble conversation down the stretch.
For mid-major at-large hopefuls, avoiding bad losses is imperative. The Ivy League trio is showing how it’s done. In conference play, these three teams are all undefeated against the rest of the conference.
Contrast that with the Atlantic 10, the other mid-major conference where multiple teams have realistic at-large hopes. While Richmond continues to look strong, George Mason and St. Joseph’s have each taken a bad loss in the last few days, making Sunday’s matchup between the schools effectively an elimination game.
Harvard is 1-2 against the rest of the trio (Columbia is 2-1, Princeton is 1-1), but is in arguably the best shape with just one other loss and quality road wins over Indiana (Quad-1) and St. John’s (Quad-2).
If the Crimson can run the Ivy League table (including a home win vs Princeton on Feb. 28), they’ll enter their conference tournament in good shape.
Columbia has wins over strong mid-majors in Florida Gulf Coast and Ball State and doesn’t have a loss outside of Quads 1-2, but missed a few big opportunities such as a one-point defeat at Villanova that leave it firmly on the bubble.
Princeton has the most Quad-2 (three) and Quad-3 (four) wins of the bunch, but doesn’t have a Quad-1 win and has the only Quad-4 loss of the group (at Duquesne).
While two bids from the Ivy League seems more likely than three, that dream is still alive. Harvard, Columbia and Princeton are all having great seasons. They’ve also been aided by a bubble that is lacking in quality wins, to say the least.
We’ll see who can make it to the finish line.
No. 1 seeds
UCLA (25-1, 13-1 Big Ten): NET 5, SOS 15
After dropping their first game of the season to USC in the Battle of L.A., the Bruins responded with a pair of ranked wins against Michigan State and Illinois.
While Texas arguably has the better overall resume, UCLA is the nation’s only one-loss team and is more than deserving of the top overall seed with nine Quad-1 victories.
*Texas (26-2, 12-1 SEC): NET 3, SOS 2
Vic Schaefer just received a three-year contract extension, taking him through the 2029-30 season, and for good reason. Texas has turned into a battering ram, becoming the first team in 20 years to beat a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll in three straight regular-season games.
With three unranked teams remaining on the conference schedule, the hardest part is over for the Longhorns to enter the SEC Tournament as a projected No. 1 seed.
*Notre Dame (24-2, 15-0 ACC): NET 4, SOS 12
The Irish continue to embarrass opponents. After leading Duke by two points at halftime, Notre Dame opened the third quarter on a 17-1 run to put the game out of reach.
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They followed it up by smashing Miami 82-42 as the Hurricanes finished 0-16 from behind the arc. Notre Dame’s last win by fewer than 15 points came on Jan. 12.
South Carolina (24-3, 12-1 SEC): NET 2, SOS 1
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is — South Carolina is not supposed to lose by 29 points. Especially at home. But that’s exactly what happened, as UConn snapped the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak in stunning fashion Sunday.
South Carolina is now outside of the AP top five in a midseason poll for the first time in four years. However, the team’s overall body of work is still strong enough to warrant the final No. 1 seed.
