The women’s college volleyball season is in the stretch run. We will run weekly updates on the field of 64 until it’s officially revealed by the selection committee on Nov. 30 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).

There are 31 automatic bids with 33 at-large teams chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. Volleyball seeds the top eight teams in each region, and the top four in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest-remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18 with the finals on Dec. 21.

Bracket watch

Halloween weekend was a scary one for previously unbeaten Texas with a pair of losses. The Longhorns lost their grip on the SEC race after falling to Texas A&M in five sets and then suffered a sweep to Kentucky. That further solidified Nebraska’s spot as the No. 1 overall team in the country. The Cornhuskers, who haven’t lost a set since mid-September, are the only undefeated team left in the country. Meanwhile, Texas did not fall off the top line. With a No. 2 RPI ranking, the country’s top-rated schedule and eight top-25 RPI wins, the Longhorns remain a firm No. 1 seed. The win for the Wildcats did catapult them to the top line. Kentucky is unbeaten in conference play with four matches to play.

Top seedings

No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh

No. 2 seeds: Stanford, Texas A&M, Purdue, Arizona State

No. 3 seeds: Louisville, SMU, Creighton, Minnesota

No. 4 seeds: Indiana, Colorado, USC, BYU

No. 5 seeds: Miami, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas

No. 6 seeds: Tennessee, TCU, Iowa State, Baylor

No. 7 seeds: Penn State, Florida, Xavier, UTEP

No. 8 seeds: Missouri, UCLA, Michigan, South Dakota State

Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Auburn, Ball State, Campbell, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, East Tennessee State, Fairfield, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Jacksonville, James Madison, Kansas State, Long Island, Marquette, UMBC, Michigan State, Morehead State, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, Northern Kentucky, Prairie View A&M, Rice, San Diego, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, UC Davis, Utah State, Utah Valley, Western Kentucky, Winthrop

(The rest of the field teams wouldn’t be seeded)

Bubble watch

Marquette fell to the fringes of the bubble with losses in three of its past four. Auburn strung together three wins since the last Bracketology to sneak into the field. With Texas A&M and Texas on the schedule in the next week, the Tigers’ stay in the field could be a short one. Cincinnati lost three times to probable NCAA tournament teams (Kansas, Baylor and TCU) to tumble out of the field, but with Colorado, Iowa State and Arizona State still to come, the opportunities to get back are plenty.

Last Four In: Illinois, Michigan State, Auburn, Marquette

First Four Out: Cincinnati, Florida State, Villanova, Arizona

Next Four Out: Oregon, Georgia, Utah, Tulsa

Conference breakdown

Big Ten: 11
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 7
Big East: 3
American: 2
CUSA: 2

A new men’s college basketball season has finally arrived. With it comes inevitable questions, both obvious and arcane, about players, teams and, most importantly, what will happen 5½ months from now. Below are just some of what your intrepid ESPN Bracketologist will be watching in the 19 weeks between now and Selection Sunday.

The first in-season projections of the 2026 March Madness field of 68 will release Nov. 11.

1. Who will secure the four No. 1 seeds on March 15?

Our season-opening projection lists Houston, Purdue, Florida and Duke on the top line of the bracket. History suggests we’ll be only half right, so I’m nominating Purdue and Florida as most likely to deceive. The reasons are that the Big Ten (in Purdue’s case) and the SEC (in Florida’s) have more contenders to chase the respective league favorites. Ultimately, Bracketology is a prisoner of probability, and it’s simply more likely that Houston and Duke ride the wave of their respective conferences to a No. 1 seed.

2. Who do we like in the emerging UConn–St. John’s rivalry?

The Big East has needed a grudge match like this since the end of Villanova’s hegemony in the conference. Both the Huskies and Johnnies are No. 2 seeds on our board to open the season, but we like the former to win the regular-season crown and the latter to cut down the nets at the Big East tournament. The major difference comes later in March, when Rick Pitino leads St. John’s to the Elite Eight and UConn falls in the second round in its chase for Dan Hurley’s third NCAA title.

3. Can the Big Ten really end a quarter-century of NCAA tournament frustration?

Yes. But I don’t think it will be preseason favorite Purdue that takes the conference’s first national championship since 2000. I’ve pushed my chips to the center of the table on Michigan.

4. Are there practical considerations already determining the 2026 NCAA bracket?

More than usual. Houston stepping back as host of the South regional means the Cougars can play in their home town in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Count on this after an opening weekend assignment in Oklahoma City. Another Big 12 entry, BYU, seems fairly locked on a West region placement and even more certain to open NCAA play in Portland (a Thursday-Saturday site) because of the school’s ban on Sunday competition.

On the other side of the country, UConn and St. John’s figure to have easy bus rides (to Philadelphia) when the bracket is revealed. Villanova could also play in Philly, having only three regular-season games scheduled for Xfinity Mobile Arena, but would be happy to see its name anywhere after three straight NCAA misses.

Other schools whose fans should be comfortable booking opening-round hotels: Florida (Tampa), Duke (Greenville, South Carolina), UCLA (San Diego) and Gonzaga (Portland). These and other travel tips are available for no extra charge for longtime Bracketology readers.

5. Which power conference gets the most bids …

The SEC should once again lead the way with the highest number of NCAA bids, although the Big Ten will be within striking distance. What the SEC will not do is match its record bid total (14) from last season. A dozen bids seems like a more realistic number this time around, as it took a perfect storm of metrics and mediocre teams in other multibid conferences for the SEC to hit the mother lode eight months ago.

6. … and which gets the fewest?

Once again, the ACC is listed for this dishonorable mention. The conference’s multiyear decline should be a thing of the past, however, with a healthy number of potential bubble teams that could raise the league’s bid number well above the half-dozen projected at this point, in a push toward double figures.

7. What are the other multibid conferences?

Last season, only the Mountain West (New Mexico, Utah State, San Diego State, Colorado State) and WCC (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s) snagged extra bids outside the Power 4-Big East cluster. The American and Atlantic 10 sunk to one-bid status mostly as a result of poor nonconference results. This season, the American’s best hope is for a team other than Memphis to win its automatic bid. In the A-10, multiple teams — VCU, Saint Louis, Dayton, Loyola Chicago and sleeper George Washington — have put together rosters good enough to be in the at-large conversation.

8. If ESPN put me in charge of programming, what would the “College GameDay” schedule look like?

With the caveat that this is not actually the “College GameDay” schedule.

Jan. 24: Houston at Texas Tech

Could very well be the game of the year in the Big 12, and also double the population of Lubbock for the weekend.

Jan. 31: Kentucky at Arkansas

This is a no-brainer in Year 2 of the post-John Calipari era at Kentucky. Remember, the Razorbacks pulled the upset at Rupp Arena a year ago.

Feb. 7: Boise State at New Mexico

Let’s branch out a bit and go to The Pit in Albuquerque for the first time in forever.

Feb. 14: UCLA at Michigan

If my hunch on the Wolverines is a good one, this would be a colossal showdown of old-school vs. new-school Big Ten.

Feb. 21: Tennessee at Vanderbilt

Let’s turn the set 90 degrees at Memorial Gym and look at Rece & Co. sideways (might not be a bad thing …). Also, there haven’t been enough seasons in which the Vols and ‘Dores have been this good at the same time.

Feb. 28: Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s

The end of the best and longest rivalry in the history of the West Coast Conference.

March 7: North Carolina at Duke

I have to make Cameron Indoor the season’s final stop.