5 big takeaways from NCAA’s top 16 seed reveal

1. Duke is just ahead of Tennessee in the eyes of the committee

The top four seeds were about what we expected, with Duke, Tennessee, Virginia and Gonzaga filling out the top line. The most interesting thing here is that Duke, which has two losses right now, is ahead of Tennessee on the one line and was awarded the top overall seed by the committee.

Tennessee has won 17 straight games entering play today, and its one loss came back in November against a complete Kansas team on a neutral floor. Duke has two losses, one to Gonzaga in Maui and another at home against Syracuse (albeit a game where they were missing Cam Reddish and Tre Jones).

To make things even more confusing, the only common opponent Duke and Tennessee have is Gonzaga, which Tennessee defeated 76-73 back on Dec. 9. When asked why Duke was the top overall seed, selection committee chair Bernard Muir indicated that strength of schedule was a separator in a very tight race.

Both squads put together strong non-conference slates, but it appears a stronger ACC slate has given Duke a very slight edge. Muir noted that the committee doesn’t view Duke as a clear cut top overall seed, but rather that the two schools were 1A and 1B.