Selection Sunday is here.
HBCU conference champions in the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament bracket will once again face a difficult road through the field, according to various projections.
Before seeding and matchups are made official, here is where college basketball prognosticators predict where Black College basketball teams will be seeded after the official brackets are set.
CBS Sports projects SWAC champion Prairie View to be in First Four as a No. 16 seed. The winner will then play No. 1 seed Michigan in the Midwest Region. Howard — in the NCAA Tournament field for the third time in the last four years — is also projected to play in the First Four, and would play defending national champion Florida if the Bison win.
Tennessee State, winners of the OVC for the first time in 30 years, is projected as No. 15. Howard and Prairie View are predicted to be on the 16-line.
The Sporting News anticipated that both Howard and Prairie View would first have to navigate the tough road as No. 16 seeds.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Prairie View in the First Four versus Louisiana Tech and Howard as a No. 16 seed against No. 1 seed Arizona in the West Region first round, according to his Bracketology formula. Tennessee State, according to Lunardi, is a 14-seed taking on ACC runner-up Virginia in the West Region.
The 2025 men’s NCAA tournament for March Madness starts with the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, and continues through to the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
What about the women’s bracket?
On the women’s side, SWAC champion Southern, according to ESPN, is projected to earn a No. 16 seed and play Samford in the First Four. Howard, the MEAC automatic qualifier, will draw also No. 16 seed and is projected to play in the First Four in the Storrs Region.
Her Hoops Stats has Southern slotted as a No. 16 seed in the field of 68. The Jaguars are projected to play Samford in the First Four.
The site also predicts that Howard will be on the No. 16 line in the First Four.
College Sports Madness has Southern as a No. 16 in the First Four against Samford. The winner of that game is projected to play No. 1 seed UConn.
The website also says that Howard will play California Baptist in the tournament play-in game.
When will NCAA Tournament brackets be revealed?
The men’s tournament bracket will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. The women’s bracket will be revealed at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
