The popularity and success of March Madness is owed in part to the years-long reality that figuring out who's in and who's out of the NCAA tournament each season is as much a part of the fun as watching the games unfold to determine college basketball's national champion. This has led to a new truism over the past decade: It's never too early for bracketology.

What was once an exercise conducted in the days leading into Selection Sunday eventually turned into a conference play constant, with the bubble, last four in and first four out joining the sport's vocabulary. Today, bracketology is a year-round endeavor for the likes of ESPN's Joe Lunardi, with multiple updates during each week of the season.

There are about two months until Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA tournament, and the competition for a spot in the bracket and the highest seed possible is heating up now that conference play has arrived throughout the country. Here's a breakdown of some of the latest national projections for the this year's March Madness field, including potential No. 1 seeds, teams rising and falling and the current state of the bubble as of Friday, January 17:

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Here's a look at the teams currently projected to be No. 1 seeds in the 2025 NCAA tournament bracket by a variety of national outlets:

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Here's a look at some of the teams currently considered to be on the bubble by national outlets as conference play heats up with almost two months to go until Selection Sunday:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness bracketology: Potential No. 1 seeds, who's on the bubble