Selection Sunday Preview: Who Gets The No. 1 Seeds?

Duke and Wisconsin played a highly anticipated
game early in the season.  Can one or both teams
end up as Number 1 seeds in the NCAA
tournament?

This evening, we will see the 2015 NCAA tournament bracket.  We will argue about who got robbed, who got snubbed, who is overseeded, underseeded and who got the easiest bracket.

We love to spend so much time over who the bottom teams in the tournament are ... let's look to see who can lock in those top seeds.

NUMBER ONE SEEDS

1-KENTUCKY:  No matter if they win or lose to SEC title game today, they should be the overall top seed in the Midwest Region (which ends in Cleveland) and start their tournament in Louisville.

2-VILLANOVA:  The other Wildcats won both the Big East regular season and tournaments and look like a lock to get the 2nd overall top seed and the East Region (which is in Syracuse) and play the first weekend in Pittsburgh.



3-WISCONSIN:  If Wisky wins the Big Ten title today, they are the third overall seed.  They, like (probably) Kentucky and Villanova will have won both the regular season and tournament titles.  That's a big deal.  A win and they are going to the South Region (which ends in Houston) and start their journey in Omaha.

Now a loss to Michigan State puts them as a No. 2 seed and allows someone else to take their place.

4-DUKE:  This one should be a bit controversial.  After all, Duke didn't win the ACC's regular season title (Virginia did) nor did they win the ACC tournament (Notre Dame did; Duke didn't make the finals).  The Blue Devils do have a whopping 11 wins over teams in the RPI top 50 that include beating Wisconsin at Wisconsin and beating Virginia at Virginia.  Wisconsin's best win was over ... Oklahoma?  Arizona did beat Gonzaga and Utah twice.  Virginia won at Maryland, at Notre Dame and at North Carolina.

Duke's worst loss came to Miami; Wisconsin lost to Rutgers and Villanova lost to Seton Hall.  Arizona's three losses came to teams that won't make the NCAA tournament (Oregon St, Arizona St, UNLV).  Virginia doesn't have a bad loss, though they've lost 2 out of their last 3 games.  Right now, I think Duke is a No. 1 seed and would have to go out West (Los Angeles).  If Wisconsin loses today, the Blue Devils could end up in the South Region in Houston.

5-ARIZONA:  Zona, like Kentucky, Nova and Wisconsin won their regular season and tournament titles.  However, their three losses are much worse than any of the other schools vying for a top seed. Either way, I think they are heading to the West Region as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.  Arizona needs Wisconsin to lose to gain a top seed.

6-VIRGINIA:  They are in the running for a top seed, but only if the committee thinks they deserve it over Arizona.  That could be the case since Virginia lacks a bad loss (they lost to Duke, Louisville and North Carolina) while Arizona has three of them.  What works against the Cavaliers is they lost in the ACC semis while Zona won their conference tournament and the committee likes that kind of thing.