North Carolina leaps into a No. 1 spot in our latest NCAA bracket

Published Jan. 22, 2016 11:18 a.m. ET

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Stewart Mandel

You can tell it’s going to be a wild ride between now and Selection Sunday. In contrast to last season, when Kentucky was entrenched as the No. 1 overall seed all year and much of the top two lines on my bracket never changed, this season has seen mass carnage at the top. Just this week.

On Monday, Oklahoma fell to Iowa State. By Friday, the Sooners had ascended all the way to my No. 1 overall seed thanks to losses by Xavier (at home to Georgetown), which falls from a No. 1 to a No. 2 in this edition, and Kansas (at Oklahoma State), which barely remains a No. 1. North Carolina joined the top seeds in this edition, while Iowa garnered serious consideration.

Check back next week for another inevitable shakeup. 

NOTES: The current first-place team in each conference is designated as the automatic berth (*). In the event of ties, I use the highest-ranked RPI team.

The Midwest winner will play the East winner in the Final Four and the West will face the South.

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