Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway has high March Madness aspirations. He has been transparent in recent weeks when the topic of NCAA Tournament seeding prospects is broached during interviews. The No. 20 Tigers (12-3, 2-0 AAC) have made two March Madness appearances under Hardaway, first as a 9-seed in 2022, then an 8-seed in 2023.

Vanderbilt women's basketball is projected to return to the NCAA tournament in 2024. In Shea Ralph's fourth season, the Commodores (14-2, 1-1 SEC) have upped their talent level with two of the top players in the SEC.

Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0) is off to a nice start this season. The Rebels beat Georgia 63-51 to open SEC play and have emerged as one of many high-quality SEC teams. Here's where Ole Miss is projected in the NCAA tournament: ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected Ole Miss to be a No.