Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The 68-team bracket for the 2021 NCAA Tournament is set to be unveiled on March 14, just less than three weeks from now.

Though conference tournament playoffs are still to be contested, the top seeds have been a forgone conclusion.

Even factoring in a first losses for both teams, the current 1-2 teams in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25 will be the top two seeds.

And a heavy dose of representation from the Big Ten and Baylor’s Big 12 conference will make up the rest of the first 16 seeds.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Coach Tony Bennett’s University of Virginia squad looked every bit the best team in the Atlantic Coast Conference during its 60-48 victory over visiting North Carolina Tar Heels Saturday in Charlottesville.

And, by extending their winning streak to five Monday evening in Tallahassee against No. 16 Florida State, the Cavaliers (who moved into the No. 12 slot in the latest BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25) can continue to meld that perception into reality.

Virginia (15-3), with 11 wins in the 12 games it’s played since its Dec.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The top-ranked and 18-zip Gonzaga Bulldogs may face their toughest remaining regular-season contest in Provo, UT Monday night.

Coach Mark Few’s club faces the second-place team from the West Coast Conference in the host BYU Cougars, who take 15-4 overall and 6-2 conference records into an 8 p.m. contest scheduled to be televised by ESPN.

The teams played in Spokane on Jan. 7, with the Bulldogs prevailing by a 17-point margin with national Player of the Year candidate Corey Kispert leading the way with 23 points.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The 16-0 Baylor Bears, cruising along at No. 2 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25, take on would should be their most formidable challenge of the season Tuesday evening in Austin during a Big 12 Conference contest with No. 6 Texas.

The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma (80-79) in the only game they played last week. They were scheduled to play Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday during the Big 12-SEC Challenge but the game was called off due to COVID-19 issues within the Wildcats’ program.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Alabama Crimson Tide, with an eight-game winning streak that has powered its rise to No. 7 in the latest BurlisonOnBasketball college Top 25, gets what should be a sturdy couple of challenges this week.

Coach Nate Oats’ club, which continued to look like the best team in the SEC with wins over LSU and Mississippi State last week, is at home in Tuscaloosa Tuesday evening for a conference game with Kentucky.

The Wildcats (5-9) have struggled much of the season – including during a 20-point loss to the Crimson Tide in Lexington on Jan.

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