Just when it felt like three months is enough time to get a sense of the college basketball season, the penultimate month ends up shifting it just before the madness begins.
While world-class athletes in Milan and Cortina grabbed the spotlight in the 2026 Winter Olympics, college basketball chugged along, and plenty happened. From late-season surges to some perplexing stumbles, it had it all. Even though February is the shortest month of the year, there was enough time for seasons to change heading into the all-important March.
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Selection Sunday is less than three weeks away. Here are college basketball’s biggest swings that happened while I was half a world away in northern Italy.
Hoosier daddy? Make no mistake, Indiana is a football school. It’s not even close
Are No. 1 seeds locked up?
No spots are secure until the bracket is revealed, but it feels safe to say three of the No. 1 seeds are spoken for.
Duke, Michigan and Arizona have separated themselves as the top title contenders with stunning resumes. They are the only three teams with at least 10 Quad 1 wins. They are the only Power conference teams with under three losses.
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The Blue Devils and Wolverines just played a thrilling marquee matchup that Duke won, and a rematch could be in store in the Final Four.
A Florida repeat?
Florida Gators guard Isaiah Brown (20) reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.
When Florida won the title in 2006, it followed it up with a repeat championship. A perfect February start has the Gators thinking deja vu is in store.
The Gators are 6-0 this month and have won 12 of their past 13 games to surge to the top of the SEC, forgetting shaky start to the season. Not only are they winning, but they’re doing it in dominant fashion. On a seven-game win streak — with four Quad 1 victories — they have won by an average of 21.6 points, with the offense really flourishing.
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It took time, but Florida looks exactly how many expected them to ahead of the season, and once again, this doesn’t look like a team you want to play in the tournament.
SEC weirdness
Florida is a proven contender, but everyone else in the SEC is making it hard to figure out if they belong. One moment they’re on a win streak, the next the losses keep piling up.
Alabama has used a six-game win streak to jump to second place, with Arkansas and Tennessee right behind. Then there’s Texas A&M, a contender before a four-game skid dropped it out of the picture. Texas started winning to get in the tournament frame, Vanderbilt’s early magic has worn off and Kentucky keeps flip flopping. It’s become a mystery, and it’s not worth trying to understand.
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St. John’s is here for good
The concrete jungle magic is back with St. John’s riding to the top of Big East with a 13-game win streak that included a Feb. 6 victory over Connecticut. That win streak was snapped Wednesday — by UConn, but the Red Storm are still formidable.
The defense has really stepped up, capturing its identity after is was a major concern earlier in the season.
The resurgence has completely flipped the outlook of where St. John’s could be in the tournament. When the month began, it was a No. 5 seed with an outside shot of being in the overall top 16. Now, the Red Storm have asserted themselves as a top-four seed and are making the case to be able to play close to home, not leaving the Northeast.
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What happened to BYU?
At the end of January, Brigham Young was in the conversation for a top-three seed in what was shaping up to best the season in Cougars history. Now, it’s looking like it could end in “what if?”
After a 17-2 start, BYU is 3-5 since, losing to the Big 12’s elite teams that puts into question if the Cougars can contend among the top title contenders. A much needed win over Iowa State on Feb. 21 was followed by a home blowout by UCF. A rough time for the Cougars has dropped them all the way down to a projected No. 6 seed.
AJ Dybantsa can do it all, but he needs help, and plenty more fell on his shoulders when Richie Saunders was lost for the season. With a tougher draw on the horizon, BYU will have to work harder to complete its dream campaign.
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Injuries
Speaking of injuries, they’ve really hit some tournament hopefuls, drastically changing team outlooks. Saunders is a major one at BYU, and so is JT Toppin, who is out for the season, severely hurting Texas Tech’s legit title hopes.
North Carolina has felt the effect of star freshman Caleb Wilson’s injury, and Kansas continues to navigate the enigma of Darryn Peterson. All injuries impact the resume, but given the high profile ones happening, how much weight will they carry with the selection committee in terms of seeding?
Bracket shifts
Several teams saw their projected seed lines change in the past four weeks, good and bad.
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Florida and St. John’s headline the positive movement, along with Purdue. UCF, NC State, Texas and Miami have done work to feel more comfortable with their tournament hopes while TCU and Santa Clara have put themselves in the conversation.
On the opposite end, Clemson, SMU, Georgia, Auburn and Indiana are headed in the wrong direction.
How the bubble changed
Miami is a near tournament lock with a 5-1 mark, the only blemish a close loss to Virginia. Joining the fold are TCU and Santa Clara, picking up steam to be in the “Last Four” in territory. Not quite in the field but now in the conversation are VCU and California, picking up steam.
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Then there’s those falling rapidly. That starts with Southern California and San Diego State, each going on losing skids that has taken them out of the projected bracket. Teams on the fringe like Seton Hall, Missouri and Virginia Tech are starting to see their hopes fade away thanks to inconsistent play.
Now isn’t the time to have hot and cold streaks. It’s stay hot, or see your NCAA Tournament hopes freeze up.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness outlook completely changed in frenzied February
