Zags tabbed as selection committee’s top seed
Malcolm Huckaby sees Providence as the biggest shocker in the committee’s top 16 team reveal. (0:53)
Gonzaga is the overall 1-seed in the NCAA tournament men’s basketball selection committee’s bracket preview, revealed early Saturday afternoon, for the second straight season.
The committee announced its top 16 seeds as of now, with Auburn, Arizona and Kansas rounding out the 1-seeds after the Zags.
“The margin between Gonzaga and Auburn is razor-thin, as is the gap between Auburn and Arizona,” committee chair Tom Burnett said.
Burnett said the committee pointed to Gonzaga’s wins over Texas Tech, UCLA and Texas — all of whom were selected as part of the top 16 — giving Mark Few’s program the edge for the No. 1 spot.
Baylor, Kentucky, Purdue and Duke were the 2-seeds, with Burnett saying Baylor and Kentucky were right there with Kansas in the discussion for the final 1-seed.
“You could make a case for all three teams, as Baylor has more Quadrant 1 wins than anyone and Kentucky doesn’t have any losses outside of the first quadrant,” he said. “Some head-to-head games involving those three teams certainly was a topic of conversation but as things stand today, we have Kansas with a slight edge.”
The 3-seeds were Villanova, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Illinois, while Wisconsin, UCLA, Providence and Texas were the 4-seeds.
Burnett said Alabama, Houston and Ohio State were the next three teams under consideration. The Cougars entered Saturday ranked No. 4 in the NET, No. 2 in the BPI and No. 7 at KenPom — but Burnett said their lack of a single Quadrant 1 win kept them off the 4-line.
The biggest talking point coming out of the bracketing preview was the committee placing Villanova as the 3-seed in the East Region, which will be played at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Wildcats play several home games at Wells Fargo every season.
This is the lone mock bracket reveal of the season. Selection Sunday is March 13.
“This could all change with this weekend’s results, let alone with what transpires over the next three weeks,” Burnett said. “There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”