Alabama headlines tourney seeds list
Alabama got the best of Houston in a nonconference matchup. That has the Crimson Tide holding an early lead on the Cougars for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, too.
The committee that will select the field of 68 revealed its preliminary list of top teams Saturday, with the Crimson Tide taking the top spot over the Cougars due to a headto-head road win in December — which committee chairman Chris Reynolds said “put them over the top.”
Otherwise, there isn't much difference when it comes to the teams' resumes. They're 1-2 in some order in the AP Top 25, NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) and KenPom rankings. Alabama entered the weekend with seven wins in Quadrant 1 compared to four for Houston, while both teams were unbeaten against Quadrant 2 opponents.
If the order holds, it would mark the first No. 1 regional seed for Nate Oats' Crimson Tide in program history. Alabama climbed to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll earlier this week for the first time since 2003, though the Tide lost to Tennessee on Wednesday in its first game with that ranking.
Houston hasn't held a No. 1 seed since the 1983 tourney, during the “Phi Slama Jama” era of the early 1980s.
Purdue and reigning national champion Kansas were the other No. 1 seeds, with the Boilermakers spending a nationalbest seven weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season. The Jayhawks are trying to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07 and entered the weekend with a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins, while no other team had reached 10.
The nationally televised reveal of the top 16 seeds offers a snapshot of where things stand with a little more than three weeks remaining until the field is set.