Joe Lunardi's latest projection has the Miami Hurricanes as a No. 8 seed in the South Region, matched up with No. 9 TCU. If Miami wins that one, the likely reward is a second-round game against No. 1 Florida.
The 8 line is a good sign for Jai Lucas and the turnaround he has pulled off. The Hurricanes finished the regular season 24-7 overall and 13-5 in ACC play, which was good enough for the No. 3 seed and a double bye in the ACC tournament. If the Canes can get a win or two in the tournament then that could help their seeding and potentially give them a more favorable matchup in March Madness.
A No. 8 seed usually means a dangerous first-round game against a power-conference opponent, and that is exactly what TCU would be. The 8-9 winner usually gets a No. 1 seed that is vying to make a deep run, and in Lunardi's latest bracketology that team is Florida.
Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology
Right now, Lunardi's No. 1 seeds are Duke in the East, Michigan in the Midwest, Florida in the South and Arizona in the West. The two-seed line behind them is Michigan State, UConn, Houston and Illinois, while the three line is Iowa State, Gonzaga, Nebraska and Alabama. The four line is Texas Tech, Kansas, Virginia and Purdue.Â
Lunardi's most recent projected bubble had NC State, Missouri, Texas and Santa Clara as the Last Four Byes. His Last Four In were UCF, SMU, VCU and Indiana. Just outside were Auburn, Virginia Tech, Stanford and New Mexico, with Cincinnati, Cal, Oklahoma and San Diego State in the next group out.
As of the latest projection, the Big Ten and SEC lead the way with 10 teams in the bracket. The ACC and Big 12 come in with eight teams each.