<P> A number of teams essentially know that they are assured of an at - large berth no matter their performance in their conference tournament . Most teams in the Top 25 in the national polls or RPI are essentially guaranteed at - large berths even if they do not win their respective conference tournaments . However, teams that have been ranked heading into Selection Sunday but didn't win a weaker conference's tournament have been essentially penalized (or "snubbed") by the selection committee despite computer rankings or public opinion . One example was Utah State in 2004, when Utah State completed the regular season with a record of 25 - 2 but was snubbed after losing in their conference tournament, even though they were ranked in the polls . The factors in their snub were the soft non-conference schedule which included Mountain West Conference foes BYU (close home win) and Utah (road loss) as well as the road loss to Pacific on February 14, 2004 . Pacific went on to earn the Big West Conference's automatic berth and advanced to the 2nd round of the 2004 tournament . </P> <P> The committee also selects four additional teams, the "First Four Out," who do not qualify for the tournament . Since 2015, the NCAA has placed the "First Four Out" as the top seeds in the National Invitation Tournament . </P> <P> While the selection committee assembles to do the official work, many predictions are made by various people and organizations . Speculations and buzz can come from anywhere from random college basketball fans to senior bracketologists and experts on the selection process and the seedings, such as ESPN's Joe Lunardi . Other well - known experts in this field include Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com, Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, and Dean Oliver of ESPN's BPI . The ESPN's BPI also considers injured key players, which is also considered by the NCAA selection committee . </P> <P> Bracketology is conducted extensively for the men's tournament, although a few bracketologists also make projected brackets for the women's tournament, the most prominent being Charlie Creme's weekly projections on ESPN.com . </P>

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