College Basketball

Bracket Forecast: Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Arizona remain top seeds

Updated Jan. 12, 2022 4:17 p.m. ET

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There has been plenty of shuffling in the AP Top 25 as the men's college basketball season enters the thick of conference play.

But as the calendar advances closer to the NCAA Tournament, the top of the list appears to be taking shape, at least according to the latest NCAA bracket projections, courtesy of FOX Sports Bracket Forecaster Mike DeCourcy.

In this week's Bracket Forecast, DeCourcy has no changes among his top four, with Baylor (15-1), Duke (12-2), Arizona (12-1) and Gonzaga (12-2) all maintaining their holds on No. 1 seeds.

That's even with Duke splitting two games last week, including a home loss to unranked Miami on Saturday.

Following home wins over Kentucky and Tennessee, the LSU Tigers (14-1) have moved up to a No. 2 seed, joining Michigan State (13-2), Kansas (13-2) and Purdue (13-2).

Ohio State's (10-3) recent loss to Indiana, followed by a narrow home win over unranked Northwestern, caused the Buckeyes to slip down to a 4-seed.

Following the Hoosiers' big win over Ohio State, Mike Woodson's team enters the mix, giving the Big Ten eight teams in the projected field and matching the Big 12 as the most represented conferences.

The Big East is right behind when it comes to representation, with seven projected teams in the field. In the previous bracket projection by DeCourcy, the Big East had six teams, but following a 32-point win over Providence and a 28-point road win over Georgetown, the Marquette Golden Eagles come in as a No. 11 seed.

The SEC has five teams in DeCourcy's bracket projections, while the Pac-12 is once again the least represented Power 5 conference, with Arizona, UCLA and USC as the only teams currently in the tournament.

When it comes to "bubble watch," DeCourcy has Wyoming, Memphis, Belmont and Saint Mary's as his last four teams in, with Florida, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame on the outside looking in.

Here are the full brackets from DeCourcy:

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