The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee released its 1-68 seed list on Sunday.
The Student Section is going to release three 1-68 seed lists based on categories that might not necessarily capture the imagination… but should certainly get your attention. This is very much a discussion-starting device and not a discussion-ending mechanism. The NCAA tournament is what generally ends discussions, especially on the second weekend more than the first.
Before the round of 64 gets underway, let’s be sure to frame the stakes — and maybe start a debate or 23 — on the teams that have made their way to Bracketville:
One final note: You’re not going to see 68 numbers (that would be part of a laborious, drawn-out process). You’re going to see clusters of teams bunched together based on similar placements on these adjusted seed lists:
*
A SEED LIST BASED ON EXPECTATIONS FOR EACH PROGRAM
1. Kentucky – winning the championship
2 – 4. Duke, Villanova, Virginia – making the title game (because they’re on the other side of Kentucky’s bracket)
5 – 6. Wisconsin and Arizona – making the Final Four (because they’re on Kentucky’s side of the bracket in the national semifinals)
7 – 14. Notre Dame, Wichita State,* Kansas**, Baylor, Louisville, Michigan State, Iowa State, Gonzaga – making the Elite Eight.
* = Just beating Kansas would be great.
** = We got jobbed with this draw; let’s at least beat Wichita, though.
15 – 29. West Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Butler, Arkansas, North Carolina, Xavier, Northern Iowa, Providence, Oklahoma, Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Georgetown, Iowa, Davidson – making the Sweet 16
30 – 55. Cincinnati, Purdue, Buffalo, Valparaiso, Indiana, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Wofford, Harvard, BYU, Ole Miss, VCU, Ohio State, LSU, North Carolina State, Wyoming, Albany, Dayton, Boise State, Georgia, Belmont, San Diego State, Saint John’s, Eastern Washington, SMU, UCLA – making the round of 32
56 – 64. Northeastern, New Mexico State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Texas Southern, Lafayette, UC Irvine, UAB, North Dakota State – play well in the round of 64, hoping for the best
65 – 68. Hampton, Manhattan, North Florida, Robert Morris – win the First Four
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A SEED LIST BASED ON THE PRESSURE FACING THE PROGRAM THIS MARCH — NOT NECESSARILY TO MAKE THE FINAL FOUR OR WIN THE TITLE, BUT TO DO WELL
1. Kentucky
2. Gonzaga
3. Villanova
4. Arizona
5. Virginia
6. Wisconsin
7. UCLA
8. Texas
9. North Carolina
10. Duke
11. Indiana
12. Notre Dame
13. Oklahoma
14. Georgetown
15. Iowa State
16. Saint John’s
17. Kansas
18. Louisville
19. Wichita State
20. Arkansas
21. Utah
22 – 23. LSU and North Carolina State
24. Oklahoma State
25. Iowa
26. Baylor
27. Michigan State
28. Maryland
29. West Virginia
30. Northern Iowa
31. Oregon
32. Ohio State
33. Ole Miss
34. BYU
35. Georgia
36. San Diego State
37. Xavier
38. Providence
39. Butler
40. Dayton
41. VCU
42. Cincinnati
43. SMU
44. Purdue
45. Boise State
46. Davidson
47 – 68. Every team seeded 12 or lower, in descending order
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A SEED LIST BASED ON THE LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING TO THE SECOND WEEKEND OF THE TOURNAMENT
1 – 2. Kentucky, Duke
3. Arizona
4. Wisconsin
5. Villanova
6. Iowa State
7. Baylor
8. Utah
9. North Carolina
10. West Virginia
11. Notre Dame
12. Gonzaga
13. Virginia
14 – 15. Kansas, Wichita State
16. Michigan State
17 – 18. Oklahoma, Providence
19 – 20. Maryland, Arkansas
21 – 22. Xavier, Butler
23 – 24. Louisville, Northern Iowa
25 – 26. Iowa, Davidson
27. Stephen F. Austin
28. Texas
29 – 30. LSU, North Carolina State
31 – 32. SMU, UCLA
33. Georgetown
34 – 35. Wofford, Harvard
36. Albany
37. Oregon
38. Dayton
39. BYU
40. Indiana
41. Ole Miss
42. Ohio State
43. VCU
44. Wyoming
45. Buffalo
46 – 47. San Diego State, Saint John’s
48. Boise State
49. Georgia
50. Oklahoma State
51 – 52. Cincinnati, Purdue
53. Eastern Washington
54 – 55. Valpo and UC Irvine
56 – 58. Northeastern, UAB and Georgia State
59 – 62. New Mexico State, Texas Southern, Belmont, North Dakota State
63 – 68. Coastal Carolina, Lafayette, Robert Morris, North Florida, Manhattan, Hampton
