We’re 12 days away from Selection Sunday and the full 68-team bracket in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. But for one college hoops insider, the national title is really just a three-team race.
Appearing on CBS Sports, analyst Gary Parrish made the case that there are three teams that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Those three teams are No. 1 Houston, No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Purdue.
Parrish explained that the three teams have identical records, are unbeaten outside of Quadrant I and overall just very good at everything. He believes that all three teams are at “an extremely high level” and that it’s hard to tell who’s the best between them.
“We still have stuff to get sorted out between Purdue, UConn and Houston. They’re all operating at an extremely high level and they’ve all separated completely from the rest of the pack,” Parrish said.
Houston, UConn and Purdue are all trending towards No. 1 overall seeds. But being a top seed is far from a lock to even make it out of the first two rounds, let alone all the way to the national title game.
Purdue in particular knows this first hand, having been stunned by No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson last year. Houston was the only 1-seed to reach the Sweet 16, and they were promptly bounced by Miami.
So whether the three teams are at the top of the pack or not right now, everything could change once we reach the bottom half of March.