Saturday’s matchup between No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Duke in men’s college basketball carries even more significance with the Wolverines and Blue Devils named as the top two seeds among the 16 teams in the bracket preview released by the NCAA men’s tournament selection committee.
Houston and Arizona also face each other on Saturday in a clash that could affect the top tournament seeds.
Advertisement
The teams with the largest objection to these preliminary rankings might be UConn and Houston, but this week’s results surely played a factor in the rankings. The Cougars were the No. 2 team in this week’s AP Top 25, but they lost to No. 6 Iowa State on Monday. Meanwhile, No. 5 UConn was upset by Creighton on Wednesday.
Committee chair (and Sun Belt commissioner) Keith Gill acknowledged on CBS’s bracket preview show that the Huskies’ loss knocked them out of the top four. Yet in his view, “UConn’s three best wins are better than Houston’s best three wins.”
Before losing to Creighton, Gill said UConn was under consideration for the No. 1 seed, along with Iowa State and Houston.
Arizona getting the third No. 1 seed after losing to Kansas and Texas Tech might also raise some eyebrows. Star freshman Koa Peat will also miss time with a muscle strain in his lower left leg. However, the fourth-ranked Wildcats rebounded with a win over No. 23 BYU this week.
Advertisement
Texas Tech dropped to the No. 19 overall seed — or the fourth line — when star forward JT Toppin suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury on Tuesday, according to Gill.
The top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament selection committee’s bracket preview line up as follows:
1. Michigan (25-1)
2. Duke (23-3)
3. Arizona (24-2)
4. Iowa State (23-3)
5. UConn (24-3)
6. Houston (23-3)
7. Illinois (22-5)
8, Purdue (22-5)
9. Florida (20-6)
10. Kansas (20-6)
11. Nebraska (22-4)
12. Gonzaga (26-2)
13. Texas Tech (19-7)
14. Michigan State (21-5)
15. Vanderbilt (21-5)
16. Virginia (22-3)
Saturday’s bracket preview will be the last reveal from the selection committee until the official NCAA tournament seedings are announced on Selection Sunday, March 15.
