New fourth No. 1 seed surges up

Game results on Sunday prompted a major shift in the projected NCAA Tournament bracket, paving way for a new No. 1 seed less than two weeks from Selection Sunday.

Iowa’s win over Ohio State pushed the Buckeyes out of the final top seed, and top No. 2 seed Villanova suffered a résumé-staining upset to Butler.

That allowed longtime No. 2 seed Illinois to jump into the top seed line. The Fighting Illini (18-6, 14-4 Big Ten) took care of Wisconsin and Nebraska this past week, but a prior loss to bubble team Michigan State left Illinois in doubt of supplanting Ohio State. When assessing both profiles, Illinois has eight Quadrant 1 victories and a top-6 NET score compared to OSU’s seven Quad 1 wins and top-8 NET score.

Even though the Illini lost to Ohio State on Jan. 16, Iowa’s win Sunday over the Buckeyes helps the Illini because Illinois beat Iowa on Jan. 29. Overall, Illinois has fared better against teams in the Big Ten, which is the best conference in the country based on the NET and is loaded with bubble teams that are making Illinois’ wins look much better in March.

Selection Sunday is March 14. The tournament tips off March 18.