Expert picks for 2024 NCAA Tournament: No. 1 seeds predicted ahead of Sunday's scheduled show

When the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee released a group preview of the top 16 teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament on February 17, Purdue, UConn, Houston and Arizona were the No. 1 seeds. With all four teas expected to be among the top two lines of seeds to go into selection on Sunday, other varieties have joined the discussion as well.

The most notable of this group is North Carolina State, which has won seven straight games since that date (eight straight overall) with a road win over Duke. And that's before the Tar Heels' loss in the ACC Championship on Saturday. Iowa destroyed Houston in the Big 12 Tournament championship on Saturday night, while Marquette and Tennessee joined Arizona in being eliminated from their respective conference tournaments early.

So, who will end up on line 1 when… 2024 march madness arc been shown? We'll find out when the full field of 68 is revealed Sunday at 6pm ET on the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show live on CBS.

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Keep reading for CBS Sports Bracketology expert Jerry Palm's best predictions plus a breakdown of how our college basketball experts would vote if they were on the panel.

Dropping the NCAA Tournament brackets

Here's how Palm projects the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Check out his complete book on bracketology here.

NCAA Tournament experts picks

Here's how our college basketball staff would vote if they were on the selection committee.

Gary Parish: After what happened Saturday, it's clear that UConn should be the No. 1 seed overall and placed in the East. Purdue will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Houston will be the top seed in the West. And the state of Iowa He should Be the No. 1 seed in the West. Could it be North Carolina or Tennessee instead? Sure, I think. But the Hurricanes had just finished second in the best league in the country (Big 12) and then won the league's conference championship by beating the regular season champion (Houston) by 28 points in the title game. Furthermore, Iowa State is 16-7 in the first two quarters with 10 wins coming in the first quarter, just one loss outside of the first quarter and a perfect mark in the final quarters. Trust me when I tell you this: There are no four teams in sports with better work standards than this. That's why ISU should be the No. 4 seed when Adam Zucker reveals the bracket on CBS.

Matt Norlander: Stay tuned.

Kyle Boone: The fourth and final No. 1 seed could be any of North Carolina, Tennessee or Iowa State, and the committee has a tough choice to make there. I went with the Hurricanes given the way they closed out the weekend and looking at their body of work. They made their case in emphatic fashion on Saturday with a 69-41 win over No. 1 seed Houston in the Big 12 Tournament to move to 10 first-quarter wins. ISU also has six wins over top-25 teams on the season, including two over Houston, one over top-10 Kansas, and one over top-20 TCU on the road. The Big 12 clearly produced two of the top four teams in the sport leading up to Selection Day on Sunday, and Iowa State should be rewarded accordingly.

David Cope: UConn is 21-3 in 1-2 quarters after beating Marquette to win the Big East championship. Purdue is 20-4 against 1-2 quarters after losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Houston is 19-4 against 1-2 quarters after being throttled by Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament title game. With more wins and fewer losses in the first two quarters than Purdue or Houston — and as the only ones in the group to win the conference tournament — the Huskies should be the Ranked first overall. As for UNC at No. 4, the Tar Heels closed much stronger than Arizona or Tennessee, both of whom struggled mightily over the eight days leading up to Sunday.

Chip Patterson: If we are to use a committee approach — treating each game equally and not leaning toward recency bias — the top three finishes we've been eyeing for weeks should still change little for North Carolina to emerge from the pool of teams contending for the fourth No. 1 seed. On the nod with its third win over Marquette in its profile then Purdue and Houston remained in their previously established standings after both teams lost in their respective conference tournaments. And while North Carolina State lost to an NC State team that was on the outside heading into the tournament, its wins over Florida State and Pittsburgh gave it two more wins than Tennessee had in the conference tournament and one more than Arizona had recorded during its shorter-than-expected stay in Las Vegas. .

Cameron Salerno: UConn should be the No. 1 overall seed over Purdue and Houston based on its resume, which was cemented by winning the Big East Tournament championship in groundbreaking fashion. If Houston or Purdue win their respective conference championships, there will be a strong case for either being the No. 1 overall seed. North Carolina still got the nod for first place despite losing in the ACC Tournament final to NC State. The Tar Heels have a better resume than Arizona, Tennessee or Iowa State.