02/21/26 12:33:00
Printable Page
02/21 12:32 CST Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State headline preliminary seeds
from NCAA selection committee
Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State headline preliminary seeds from NCAA
selection committee
By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer
Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed in the preliminary rankings by the committee
that will select the 68-team men's field for the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolverines, who headline the AP Top 25, were joined by Duke, Arizona and
Iowa State as the 1-seeds in Saturday's reveal show on CBS.
Selection committee chairman Keith Gill, the Sun Belt commissioner, said there
was separation between the top three teams and the fourth No. 1 seed --- with
the Cyclones edging UConn and Houston for it.
Gill said the committee originally had UConn as a 1-seed when it adjourned work
Wednesday, only to see the Huskies lose to Creighton at home later that night.
Throw in Iowa State's head-to-head win against Houston on Monday, and it swung
the vote to the Cyclones.
"It was really close with those three teams," Gill said. "We talked about Iowa
State and UConn and Houston. The head-to-head between Iowa State and Houston
got there, and then the UConn and Houston (comparison): UConn's three best wins
are better than Houston's three best wins. So when the committee was looking at
that, I think (it) weighted those wins a little higher."
The Huskies and Cougars were the fifth and sixth seeds to headline the list of
teams that would be No. 2 regional seeds, followed by Illinois and Purdue.
Reigning national champion Florida was the No. 9 seed to lead the regional
3-seeds, followed by Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga.
Texas Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Virginia sat on the 4 line to round
out the top 16 seeds.
Saturday's reveal is a snapshot of where things stand with a month left until
Selection Sunday. Generally the teams listed above the cutline for a top-four
regional seed stay there, with minor fluctuations when it comes to eventual
seeding.
Overall, 108 of 128 teams (84.4%) who have appeared in the preliminary reveal
since the debut show in 2017 have ended up as top-16 seeds by Selection Sunday;
that data excludes 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation
of that year's tournament.
That includes at least 11 teams every year, peaking at 15 of 16 in 2017, 2022
and 2023. That figure has been 14 of 16 for each of the past two years.
As for the headliners, 25 of 32 teams (78.1%) that had a 1-seed in the
preliminary rankings ultimately remained on the top line, including at least
three of four every year and all four in 2023.
Only one team listed as high as a 2-seed has failed to remain inside the top
16: Villanova in 2021, which was a 2-seed in the preliminary reveal but
finished as a regional 5-seed.
Selection Sunday is March 15, with First Four games beginning two days later
and the first round following March 19. The regionals are set for Washington,
Chicago, Houston and San Jose, California, from March 26-29.
The Final Four will be held in Indianapolis, with the national semifinals set
for April 4 and the championship two days later at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of
the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up
here. AP college basketball:
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
