Projecting the No. 1 seeds for NCAA March Madness
Villanova is the class of college basketball. After that it gets murky. A No. 1 seed is there for the taking with a strong finish to the regular season and a nice conference tournament for any number of teams.
Right now the best basketball in the country is being played in the Queen City. In terms of sports, Cincinnati has always been known as a baseball town, but times are changing.
Cincinnati is now a basketball town, and college basketball rules in the winter months. This year both Xavier and Cincinnati are having phenomenal years.
Cincinnati has won 15 straight and is poised for a nice tournament run, but lacks a win against a ranked opponent and has a strength of schedule of 84th in the country.
It’s a very, very, long shot that Cincy will actually be on the No. 1 line but the Bearcats are a very good team.
Xavier has won eight straight games. In doing so, they have beat two ranked teams, including a pretty good Creighton team. They also defeated Butler who sits just outside of the Top 25.
The big loss on the 23-3 Xavier resume is an 89-65 beatdown by No. 1 Villanova on Jan. 10. The Musketeers have also lost to Providence and Arizona State. Xavier can take a No. 1 seed but must beat No. 1 Villanova next Saturday, Feb. 17.
First No. 1 Seed: Villanova
It appears very reasonable that the Big East won’t get two No. 1 seeds, so next Saturday’s ‘Nova-Xavier matchup could be for a No. 1 seed. And of course you have the Big East Tournament to think about.
Villanova has been the class of college basketball. With only two losses on the resume ( Butler on Dec. 30, and on St. John’s Feb. 7) it’s hard to argue with ‘Nova being anything but the No. 1 team.
So as of now Villanova is a No. 1 seed. The premise here is that the Big East won’t get two No. 1 seeds.
Second No. 1 Seed: Michigan State
Our next projected seed is Tom Izzo’s Spartans love ‘em or hate ‘em Izzo’s boys will be there and the committee typically likes to give the Big Ten a spot on the top line.
Currently sitting at 22-3 there is a trend to discredit Michigan State due to it’s super weak non-conference schedule. Three losses for a Big Ten school is outstanding, amazing, great … you name it.
Who have they lost to? Duke, ranked No. 1 at the time. Ohio State currently ranked No. 14 and Michigan ranked No. 20.
They just beat No. 3 Purdue on Saturday. Everything about the Spartans says No. 1 seed at this point in time.
Third No. 1 Seed: Virginia
Virginia may be the best team based on strength of schedule. They have the best RPI in the country and the eighth-best strength of schedule. At 23-2, Virginia is deserving of a No. 1 seed with Top 50 RPI wins over Rhode Island, North Carolina, Syracuse, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, and Florida State. A loss on Saturday against Virginia Tech can be forgiven provided they do well in their five remaining regular season games.
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Fourth No. 1 Seed: Purdue
It’s really hard to put Purdue on the No. 1 seed. This fourth slot is really up for grabs for any team that can close out the regular season strong and put on a good conference tournament showing. Purdue is here by default but two consecutive losses, first to Ohio State then to Michigan State puts them at peril of heading towards No. 2 or 3 on the bracket line.
Again, the simple premise here is that Xavier probably deserves it more but that the Big Ten will get preference over the Big East in terms of the top seeds if there were going to be two from the same conference. A team like Auburn would be a really nice fit for the committee if they can win out and play in the SEC Championship.
Waiting in line: Xavier, Duke, Ohio State Cincy, Auburn, Texas Tech, Auburn, Kansas