On Saturday, the NCAA Tournament Committee released their Top 16 seeds with four weeks out until the Selection Sunday. While things can radically change, the preview did give us the following nuggets:
- Non-Con SOS remains a top criteria. This particularly showed with the seedings in the Big 12. The Big 12 as a whole conference has fantastic metrics, but many members of the conference have NC SOSes in the 300s. This particularly showed in Iowa State's seeding, as the Cyclones entered Saturday as a consensus 2 seed, but were the 11th overall seed per the committee. While the Big 12 will still get a high number of bids, for many of their teams their NC SOS will cap their ceiling, even with impressive metrics.
- The ACC has more respect with the committee than the general public. There has been a overarching theme that a(nother) down ACC would deflate the seeds of their teams, particuarly their potential top seeds (UNC and Duke). However, with the reveal, we learned that UNC is the top 2 seed, and Duke is on the 3 line currently. This shows that there is still respect for the top of the ACC, and an encouraging sign for teams like Clemson and Virginia that they'll solidly be in the field even with warts on their resume.
- Metrics are nice, but wins shine through. Teams like Alabama and Auburn have tremendous metrics, but they combine for only five Q1 wins. While Alabama's top notch metrics and strong SOS keep their resume strong, the lack of top notch Ws for those teams have so far capped their seeding potential. On the flip side, Kansas has weaker metrics, but their top-tier wins (Houston, Connecticut, Tennessee (N), Baylor) have solidified their 2 seed for now.
As said though, things will change. It's just a matter of who, and when. But we are officially less than a month from selection sunday, and for that we are all grateful.
Midwest
1 Purdue (1) Indianapolis, IN
16 Merrimack (65)/Southern (66)
8 TCU (31)
9 Washington St (34)
5 Creighton (17)
12 Grand Canyon (48)
4 San Diego St (14) Salt Lake City, UT
13 Yale (52)
6 Colorado St (23)
11 Mississippi St (42)
3 Baylor (10) Omaha, NE
14 Morehead St (58)
7 Oklahoma (27)
10 Northwestern (40)
2 Tennessee (6) Charlotte, NC
15 High Point (59)
East
1 Connecticut (2) Brooklyn, NY
16 Oakland (63)
8 Texas (30)
9 Virginia (35)
5 Clemson (19)
12 Appalachian St (50)
4 Wisconsin (16) Spokane, WA
13 UC Irvine (53)
6 South Carolina (24)
11 Nevada (41)
3 Iowa St (11) Pittsburgh, PA
14 Vermont (57)
7 Florida Atlantic (28)
10 Butler (37)
2 North Carolina (5) Charlotte, NC
15 Quinnipiac (62)
South
1 Houston (3) Memphis, TN
16 South Dakota St (64)
8 Michigan St (29)
9 Texas A&M (36)
5 BYU (20)
12 McNeese St (49)
4 Illinois (15) Spokane, WA
13 Akron (54)
6 Texas Tech (21)
11 Ole Miss (44)/Gonzaga (45)
3 Alabama (9) Memphis, TN
14 Louisiana Tech (56)
7 St Mary’s (26)
10 Boise St (38)
2 Marquette (7) Indianapolis, IN
15 Colgate (61)
West
1 Arizona (4) Salt Lake City, UT
16 Eastern Kentucky (67)/Norfolk St(68)
8 Florida (32)
9 New Mexico (33)
5 Dayton (18)
12 Utah (46)/Providence (47)
4 Auburn (13) Brooklyn, NY
13 Samford (51)
6 Kentucky (22)
11 Indiana St (43)
3 Duke (12) Pittsburgh, PA
14 UNC-Wilmington (55)
7 Utah St (25)
10 Nebraska (39)
2 Kansas (8) Omaha, NE
15 Eastern Washington (60)
Last Four In
Ole Miss
Gonzaga
Utah
Providence
First Four Out
Wake Forest
Cincinnati
Villanova
Seton Hall
