March Madness Bracket Number 1 Seed Race Update
The battle for the No. 1 seed is intensifying. Arizona, Duke, and Michigan are in the lead, but UW and Houston aren’t backing down.
This day is a famous Christmas day for college basketball fans. Presents cannot be opened in the morning. Selection night begins on Sunday, when the 68-team March Madness men’s NCAA Tournament berths will be announced.
So who will be the top seed and who will face the bubble burst? We answer these questions in the final edition of USA TODAY Sports Bracketology.
The No. 1 seed appears to be in order, with Duke going to the East as the top overall seed, while Michigan, Florida and Arizona remain in their respective geographic regions of the bracket: Midwest, South and West.
The bottom of the common choices is less clear. In this year’s bubble, several contenders caught fire early in the conference tournament. Teams without a win in the postseason include Auburn, Indiana, Cincinnati and West Virginia. This paved the way for other candidates to make their case. San Diego State and Oklahoma State each won two games but fell short in the end.
One of the bubble spots went to Miami (Ohio), the MAC’s regular-season champion who lost its only game of the season in the conference tournament, creating a bid-steal situation for Akron to earn the league’s automatic spot. Texas and Missouri were able to withstand losses in the SEC Tournament and maintain their standings.
There’s still drama to come on Sunday, when five games will be played in the conference championship. If Dayton wins the Atlantic 10, it could mean any of the three aforementioned teams will be sweating when the bracket is announced.
March Madness Classification: NCAA Tournament Predictions
Teams in bold have qualified for the tournament.
March Madness Top 4
Texas, Missouri, SMU, Miami (Ohio).
First 4 outs of March Madness
Oklahoma State, San Diego State, New Mexico State, Auburn.
NCAA Tournament Bid Conference Breakdown
Multiple bid leagues: SEC (10), Big Ten (9), ACC (8), Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (3), Atlantic 10 (2), MAC (2).
