Selection Sunday 2017: Projected No. 1 seeds for March Madness

Here’s the final projection for the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament ahead of Selection Sunday 2017.

For all the excitement surrounding championship week, there wasn’t much drama in regards to the No. 1 seeds in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

As always, the conference tournaments provided a number of thrilling mid-major finals, chaos on the bubble, and important developments elsewhere on the seed line. Friday’s slate was particularly eventful, with Duke coming from behind to stun North Carolina, a pair of dramatic finishes in the Big East, and Sean Miller infuriating Steve Alford with a late timeout in Arizona’s Pac-12 semifinal win.

Still, all of that will likely have no impact on the No. 1 seeds, which appear to have been decided at the end of the regular season outside of the West region. That’s good news for Kansas, which went one-and-done in the Big 12 Tournament, and the Tar Heels, who exited in the ACC semifinals.

While the committee could always do something unexpected and there’s some drama in the South and West regions, these four teams will likely be on the one line after Selection Sunday 2017.

East: Villanova

Following the Jayhawks’ early exit, Villanova appears headed for the top overall seed with the strongest resume in the nation.

The defending national champions turned in another terrific regular season with a record of 28-3, which would have put them on the one line even with a quarterfinal loss in the Big East Tournament. Villanova has an 11-2 record against the RPI top 50, including nonconference victories over Purdue, Notre Dame and Virginia.

Friday’s dramatic semifinal win over Seton Hall on Josh Hart’s putback sealed any doubt about Villanova jumping Kansas for the No. 1 overall seed. The Wildcats will hope to advance to the East Regional Final at Madison Square Garden.

Midwest: Kansas

Kansas was going to be a No. 1 seed no matter what happened in the Big 12 Tournament, and the committee could factor in that star Josh Jackson was suspended for Thursday’s quarterfinal.

The Jayhawks’ surprising loss to TCU may have cost them the top overall seed, for whatever that’s worth. Even so, there’s no way to justify keeping Kansas off the one line with an overall record of 28-4 and 16-2 mark in the Big 12, which is easily the toughest conference in the nation outside of the ACC.

Wins on a neutral court against Duke and at Rupp Arena over Kentucky are looking stronger in recent weeks, as both teams should be a two or three seed. The Jayhawks should be headed to the Midwest, with the regional final in Kansas City.

South: North Carolina

Seven losses on the season makes North Carolina a little vulnerable on the one line, but it’s going to be difficult for the committee to knock the ACC regular season champions down to a two.

The Tar Heels could have locked up the South No. 1 with a victory over Duke in Friday’s ACC semifinals and will enter the Big Dance feeling disappointed to blow a huge lead against their archrival. Still, a 14-4 record in the nation’s toughest conference and 11 wins against the RPI top 50 should be enough to keep a spot.

Oregon is still somewhat in the picture with a 30-4 overall record should the Ducks top Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game late on Saturday night, and Kentucky is also lurking. If North Carolina is indeed the top seed in the South, it will hope to advance to the regional final in Memphis.

West: Gonzaga

Gonzaga had more to play for in its conference tournament than any other projected top seed and took care of business to remain in good shape for a one.

A loss at any stage of the WCC Tournament would have sent the Bulldogs to the two or three line, but they scraped by Santa Clara in the semifinals and earned a third victory over Saint Mary’s in the championship game. With 32 wins on the season and triumphs over Florida, Iowa State and Arizona, a lone loss to BYU shouldn’t be enough to knock Gonzaga down a spot.

The committee has been harsh to mid-majors before, so a Pac-12 champion Oregon can’t be ruled out. The West Regional Final is in San Jose, where a lower seed like the Ducks, Arizona or UCLA could have a large contingent of fans.

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