Seeding surprises and snubs,
Analysts: Team deserved better than No. 4
In the choice between databased analysis and the so-called eye test, the NCAA tournament selection committee clearly went with the numbers in the 68-team bracket unveiled Sunday night.
And though there were few controversial at-large selections, the most significant questions focused on the seeding of several teams.
No region drew more scrutiny than the Midwest, where Louisville, the defending national champ, drew a No. 4 seed despite dominating opponents in recent weeks. The Cardinals, who rank first nationally in scoring margin, were expected to earn no worse than a No. 3 seed, an important difference because now they potentially will have to play a No. 1, Wichita State, in the Sweet 16.
“I cannot believe that Louisville, based on an eye test, could be a No. 4 seed,” Dick Vitale said on ESPN after the bracket was revealed. “I think they deserved so much better, and I thought they should have been much higher. ... Louisville definitely, definitely got a raw deal.”
Added analyst Jay Bilas: “To suggest that Louisville is not in the top 12 teams in the country just boggles the mind.”
Ron Wellman, the selection committee chairman, said on CBS’ selection show that Louisville did not fall at all in seeding after winning a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship and the league’s tournament title.
“We look at the total résumé,” Wellman said. “Louisville is playing as well as anyone, and the committee certainly agrees with that. However, we look at the total body of work.”
The No. 4 Cardinals are one of the teams making the Midwest particularly challenging for Wichita State, the first unbeaten NCAA tournament team since the 1991 UNLV juggernaut. The Shockers (34-0) have drawn criticism because they went undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference, which was perceived as inferior to power leagues.
To make back-to-back appearances in the Final Four, the Shockers face a potential murderers’ row: eighth-seeded Kentucky in the third round, Louisville in the Sweet 16 and second-seeded Michigan, last year’s national runner-up, or third-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight.
“I think Wichita State is the real loser in this,” Bilas said. Other seeding questions: Resurgent Oklahoma State, which suffered a seven-game losing streak during the season, received a No. 9 seed in the West and a potential third-round game against top-seeded Arizona. The Cowboys have won five of seven games — the two losses coming in overtime — since Marcus Smart returned from a three-game suspension. Kansas coach Bill Self said that if a No. 1 seed had to play Oklahoma State in the third round it would be the equivalent of playing a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
“Every coach would tell you, you look at the whole bracket,” Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said Sunday. “But we have our hands full in the first one, and we need to worry about game No. 1 on Friday and that’s it. It’s a great challenge.”
Iowa State received a No. 3 seed in the East despite winning the Big 12 Conference tournament and possessing nearly twice as many top-50 victories (nine) as top-seeded Virginia (five). After winning the Big 12 tournament Saturday, standout guard DeAndre Kane told USA TODAY Sports that he thought Iowa State should be a No. 2 seed.
Kentucky earned a No. 8 seed despite beating 14 top-100 teams, playing the nation’s eighth-toughest non-conference schedule and coming within a point of beating Florida, the NCAA tournament’s top overall seed, in Sunday’s Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.
“Kentucky is still a threat to win the national championship,” SMU coach Larry Brown told USA TODAY Sports recently. “They have too much talent.”
Among Mountain West Conference teams, San Diego State received a No. 4 seed and New Mexico received a No. 7 seed. New Mexico beat San Diego State twice during the season, including in the Mountain West tournament championship game.
“We look at everything,” Wellman said regarding New Mexico. “Whether it be road wins or wins against the tournament field or strength of schedule … all of those factors play a part in it.”
Injuries also figure prominently. Kansas, one of the nation’s most talented teams, will open without highly touted 7-foot freshman Joel Embiid, who was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back after a loss at Oklahoma State on March 1.
Self said that Embiid, who missed Kansas’ last four games, likely would miss the first two games of the tournament. The selection committee made Kansas, which played the nation’s toughest non-league schedule, a No. 2 seed in the South Region.
The Big 12 earned the most bids with seven. The league became the fifth league in history to send 70% of its teams to the NCAA tournament.