March
Madness:
Top 16
seeds
revealed
in
in-season
look at
NCAA
Tournament
Bracket
NCAA
Selection
Committee
Last
Updated
- Feb
11, 2018
INDIANAPOLIS
– For
the
second
straight
year,
the
Division
I men’s
basketball
committee
gave a
sneak
peek at
its top
16 teams
as of
mid-February,
and
despite
a
one-point
overtime
loss at
home to
in-state
rival
Virginia
Tech
Saturday,
Virginia
was
tabbed
as the
overall
No. 1
seed.
The
unveiling
took
place
earlier
this
afternoon
on CBS,
with
committee
chair
Bruce
Rasmussen,
the
director
of
athletics
at
Creighton
University,
saying
that if
the
tournament
started
today
the
Cavaliers
would
edge
Villanova
for the
top
spot.
Xavier
and
Purdue
claimed
the
other
two No.
1 seeds.
“When
the
committee
started
our
meeting
on
Tuesday,
I think
there
was a
general
agreement
on who
the top
three
teams
were,
but by
late
Saturday
night
that
group
had
grown to
four,”
said
Rasmussen.
“We
initially
felt
Villanova
was the
overall
top
seed,
but we
flipped
that
Thursday
morning
after
the
Wildcats
lost to
St.
John’s
at home
and
Virginia
won at
Florida
State.
Despite
UVA’s
loss
Saturday,
we felt
that
based on
their 13
wins in
the
first
two
quadrants,
they
deserved
to
remain
on top.
Villanova
bounced
back
with a
good win
Saturday,
so we
kept
them
second.
Purdue
had two
tough
losses
to
quality
teams,
while
Xavier
picked
up two
good
road
wins to
solidify
the
fourth
No. 1
seed and
ultimately
leap
Purdue
on the
seed
list.”
Auburn,
Kansas,
Duke and
Cincinnati
were
voted as
the No.
2 seeds,
while
Clemson,
Texas
Tech,
Michigan
State
and
North
Carolina
were
placed
9-12 on
the
overall
seed
list.
The
quartet
of No. 4
seeds
include
Tennessee,
Ohio
St.,
Arizona
and
Oklahoma.
Using
existing
bracketing
principles,
the
committee
assigned
Virginia
to the
South
regional,
which
will
take
place in
Atlanta.
Villanova
was sent
to the
East
regional
in
Boston,
while
Xavier
was
assigned
to the
Midwest
regional
in Omaha
and
Purdue
was sent
to the
West
regional
in Los
Angeles.
Using
the
bracketing
principles,
the
teams on
the No.
2 line
were
assigned
to the
following
regions:
•
Because
the top
No. 2
seed
can’t go
to the
same
region
as the
overall
No. 1
seed,
Auburn
could
not go
to its
closest
site.
Therefore,
the
Tigers
were
assigned
to their
next
closest
site in
Omaha.
•
Kansas
was
assigned,
initially,
to the
closest
available
site,
which is
Atlanta.
That,
however,
changed
later in
the
bracketing
process.
•
Duke
went to
its
closest
site in
Boston,
while
Cincinnati
was
originally
sent to
Los
Angeles.
The
bracketing
for the
four No.
3 seeds
went as
follows:
•
Clemson
could
not go
to
Atlanta
or
Boston
because
fellow
ACC
members
had
already
been
assigned
to those
regions.
That
resulted
in the
Tigers
going to
Omaha. A
fourth
ACC team
on the
No. 3
line,
North
Carolina,
had to
be sent
to Los
Angeles
because
the
committee
places
the top
four
teams
from a
conference
in
separate
regions,
if they
are on
the top
four
lines.
•
Texas
Tech was
sent to
its
closest
available
site
(Boston)
while
Michigan
State
went to
Atlanta.
By
comparison,
the
bracketing
for the
quartet
of No. 4
seeds
was much
easier.
Each
team
went to
its
closest
geographical
site,
and
there
were no
conflicts
with the
placement
of those
teams.
Tennessee
went to
Atlanta,
Ohio
State
was
assigned
to
Boston,
Arizona
stayed
out west
in Los
Angeles
and
Oklahoma
went to
Omaha.
One
of the
committee’s
charges
is to
have a
balanced
bracket.
To
achieve
this,
the
committee
adds up
the true
seed
list
number
of each
of the
four
teams in
each
region.
The
committee
considers
a
balanced
bracket
to have
no more
than a
five-point
separation
between
the
highest
and
lowest
total
among
the four
regions.
In this
bracket,
the West
region,
with (4)
Purdue,
(8)
Cincinnati,
(12)
North
Carolina
and (15)
Arizona
totaled
39.
Boston
and
Omaha
each
added up
to 33,
but
Atlanta,
with (1)
Virginia),
(6)
Kansas,
(11)
Michigan
St. and
(13)
Tennessee,
only
added up
to 31.
After
reviewing
options,
the
committee
elected
to
switch
Kansas
and
Cincinnati,
sending
the
Jayhawks
to Los
Angeles
and the
Bearcats
to
Atlanta.
That
resulted
in the
West
region
totaling
37,
while
the
other
three
regions
equaled
33. It
left the
regions
as
follows:
South
(Atlanta):
(1)
Virginia,
(2)
Cincinnati,
(3)
Michigan
St., (4)
Tennessee
East
(Boston):
(1)
Villanova,
(2)
Duke,
(3)
Texas
Tech,
(4) Ohio
State
Midwest
(Omaha):
(1)
Xavier,
(2)
Auburn,
(3)
Clemson,
(4)
Oklahoma
West
(Los
Angeles):
(1)
Purdue,
(2)
Kansas,
(3)
North
Carolina,
(4)
Arizona
Rasmussen
said it
was a
good
exercise
to go
through,
particularly
with
three
first-year
committee
members,
but
cautioned
that
plenty
could
change
with
roughly
1,300
games
left
before
Selection
Sunday.
“There’s
a
perception
out
there
that
there
aren’t
any
great
teams
and that
may or
may not
be
true,”
said
Rasmussen.
“What I
can say,
without
any
doubt,
is there
are
several
very
good
teams,
which
could
lead to
a
wide-open
tournament.
When the
bracket
came out
last
year, 15
of the
teams
were
among
the 16
we
revealed
in
February.
It
wouldn’t
be
surprising
to see
different
results
this
time.
There
are
several
teams on
the
verge of
cracking
the top
16, and
they
have
plenty
of
chances
to
enhance
their
resume
over the
next few
weeks.”
Rasmussen
is
joined
on the
committee
by vice
chair
Bernard
Muir,
the
director
of
athletics
at
Stanford
University;
Mitch
Barnhart,
the
director
of
athletics
at the
University
of
Kentucky;
Tom
Burnett,
the
commissioner
of the
Southland
Conference;
Janet
Cone,
the
director
of
athletics
at the
University
of North
Carolina
Asheville;
Tom
Holmoe,
the
director
of
athletics
at
Brigham
Young
University;
Jim
Phillips,
the
director
of
athletics
at
Northwestern
University;
Jim
Schaus,
the
director
of
athletics
at Ohio
University;
Craig
Thompson,
the
commissioner
of the
Mountain
West
Conference;
and
Kevin
White,
the
director
of
athletics
at Duke
University.
The
actual
bracket
will be
unveiled
on TBS
for the
first
time
ever, at
6 p.m.
ET
Sunday,
March
11.
March
Madness
tips off
March
13-14
with the
First
Four in
Dayton
on
truTV.
First-
and
second-round
games
will
take
place
Thursday
and
Saturday,
March 15
and 17
in
Boise,
Dallas,
Pittsburgh
and
Wichita,
and
Friday
and
Sunday,
March 16
and 18
in
Charlotte,
Detroit,
Nashville
and San
Diego.
First-
and
second-round
games
will air
on TBS,
CBS, TNT
and
truTV.
The
South
and West
regionals
will be
played
March 22
and 24,
while
the East
and
Midwest
regionals
will
take
place
March 23
and 25.
Sweet 16
and
Elite 8
games
will air
on TBS
and CBS,
while
the 80th
Final
Four
will be
played
in San
Antonio
March 31
and
April 2
and will
air on
TBS.