Bracketology: We need to consider LSU, despite roster questions

updated 9/15/26, 9:00am ET

With just under two months to the new season, the ESPN Bracketology team has been tracking all the news of the sport -- including the 5-in-5 eligibility lawsuits -- and poring over schedules to project the newly expanded 76-team NCAA tournament field.

Bracket Watch

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The fall semester at LSU began Aug. 24, and the men's basketball website still lists only four players on the roster. NCAA rules allow a team to compete that way, but it's not recommended. It's also not advisable to project a four-man team into the NCAA tournament, but here we are doing exactly that, less than seven weeks from opening night. For the moment, one-time Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. holds an injunction to be added to LSU's roster. So do UCLA transfers Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark. Assuming all three come out of the 5-in-5 eligibility mess with the legal right to play, Luis and Dent form a legitimate postseason core for any team. Throw in even a couple of the international names linked to Will Wade, and we can only ignore the Tigers for so long.

Note: Gonzaga (formerly WCC) and Austin Peay (formerly ASUN) are the designated automatic qualifiers in their new conferences, Pac-12 and UAC (formerly WAC), respectively. Saint Mary's and Queens University remain the AQs for the WCC and ASUN, respectively. Conference memberships officially changed July 1, but they may not currently reflect on ESPN.com.

the bracket

New team =Re-entered bracket =

Automatic Qualifier:Projected = Confirmed =

East-New York

Charlotte

Spokane

Minneapolis

Louisville

Midwest-Kansas City

Louisville

Omaha

Spokane

Pittsburgh

South-San Antonio

Charlotte

Sacramento

Fort Worth

Pittsburgh

West-Los Angeles

Sacramento

Omaha

Fort Worth

Minneapolis

on the bubble

Multi-bid Conferences

number of teams in bracket

• 13

  SEC

• 12

  Big Ten

• 10

  Big 12

• 7

  ACC

• 6

  Big East

• 2

  Atlantic 10

Women's Bracketology

by Charlie Creme

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