Sunday, March 15, 2009

Memphis May Not Get a No. 1 Seed Despite Being the No. 1 Team


The Memphis Tigers were impressive at burning through the Conference USA Tournament in the same manner they blazed through the conference season.

And that's the problem.

Memphis could actually be the No. 1 ranked team in the nation on Monday ... but may not get a No. 1 seed when the bids are announced for the NCAA Tournament later today.

With North Carolina, UConn, Pitt and Oklahoma losing before their conference's championship games (only UNC won a game), No. 3 Memphis could climb to the top spot in the rankings. Could. Now the announcement of the tournament could change perceptions of the voters, but it is a strong possibility.

It is nearly a lock that North Carolina and Pitt will get two of the No. 1 seeds. Louisville should get a third with their Big East regular season and tournament titles under their belt (They just went 19-2 in the so-called toughest conference in America). The fight will be between UConn and Memphis.

I think UConn is the better team but Memphis may have more juice right now. Memphis hasn't lost in months while UConn enters the NCAAs on a two-game losing streak. I know that this is a new year, new tournament and new teams ... but the NCAA does take into consideration your past history. Since Memphis has been a fixture in the second weekend of the tournament (barely losing to Kansas in the title game a year ago), they could get the nod. Especially since UConn hasn't won a postseason game since 2006. No Big East wins; No NCAA tournament wins.

Still, if you lined them up side-by-side then many would pick UConn to win.

We will find out today who gets that final No. 1 seed.

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