There will be Madness again.
After last year’s strangely straightforward NCAA Tournament — in which top seeds (Duke, Wisconsin) met in the championship game for the first time since 2008 and were joined by undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four, making it the first time multiple one-seeds reached the final weekend in six years — this year’s field features no overwhelming favorite, following a regular season in which six schools held the top ranking and every team lost at least four games for just the third time in three decades.
In a crowded group of contenders hoping to reach the Final Four at NRG Stadium in Houston, Kansas claimed the No. 1 overall seed after winning its 12th straight Big 12 championship. In the past 12 years, only three overall top seeds have won the national championship, and since winning the 2008 title, Kansas consistently has struggled with expectations, failing to reach the Final Four as a one-seed in its past three attempts, with the current core of the upperclassmen-led squad falling as a two-seed in the second round the past two years.
Being named the top-ranked team didn’t make the Jayhawks’ road any easier, with a potential second-round game against surging AAC champion UConn and a looming Sweet 16 matchup with No. 4 California or No. 5 Maryland, two of the most talented teams in the country.
“I think there’s pressure,” Kansas coach Bill Self said on CBS’ selection show. “We’ve had some success in the Tournament and we’ve had some years where we didn’t perform very well at all. … In order to make it a special year, you know you have to win in March, and looking at our bracket, that’s going to be very difficult.”
Click to expand the bracket, with a full list below:
The ACC earned two top-seeds, with North Carolina headlining the East Region after sweeping its conference championships. Led by senior forward Brice Johnson, the Tar Heels may be the most talented team in the country, but could be stopped from reaching the Final Four for the seventh straight year in a potential a blue-blood battle against No. 4 Kentucky or No. 5 Indiana.
Despite losing in the ACC Tournament final, Virginia still earned a one-seed after ranking second in the nation in scoring defense, but the more surprising inclusion was Pac-12 champion Oregon earning its first-ever one-seed over Big Ten champion Michigan State. The Cavaliers and Ducks each lost six games, contributing to a record 23 losses among the top seeds.
Virginia, though, may end up seeing the Spartans for the second time in three years — Michigan State knocked off the top-seeded Cavaliers in the Sweet Sixteen in 2014 — in the Midwest Regional Final. Led by National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine, the Spartans will be making their 19th straight appearance in the Tournament and have reached seven Final Fours under Tom Izzo, including last season, but haven’t won the national title since 2000.
The Big East claimed a pair of two-seeds (Villanova, Xavier), while Buddy Hield — the nation’s second-leading scorer — and Oklahoma also earned a two-seed and the benefit of opening up in Oklahoma City.
Defending national champion Duke enters looking tremendously different than last year’s team — sans Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones — and received a four-seed, its lowest slot in nine years, while Kentucky was given little bump from winning its conference championship, a la Michigan State and sixth-seeded Seton Hall.
Despite extra room on the bubble, due to the ineligibility of Louisville and SMU, plenty of controversy was still created. St. Bonaventure, with an RPI of 29, and mid-major darling Monmouth, which defeated six-seed Notre Dame and eight-seed USC this season, were snubbed in favor of power-conference teams such as Syracuse, Michigan and Vanderbilt.
“Monmouth was right there in that final discussion and it was a very difficult conversation,” said Joe Castiglione, the selection committee chairman. “We recognize teams like Monmouth have a hard time trying to get games outside their conference and they did a good job, they did exactly what you would want a team like that to do … but it was those three losses under the 200 [RPI] line that really hurt them.”
Wichita State’s acclaimed senior backcourt of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet will get one more shot at postseason heroics after the Shockers claimed one of the last four spots, while Tulsa became the first team to reach the Big Dance despite carrying a losing record (10-11) against the RPI’s top 200.
The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 tied for the most selections (seven), while the Big East claimed five, the AAC took four and the Atlantic 10 and SEC secured three.
Looking at the bracket, the high seeds look inviting as always, but this was a season in which top-five teams lost to unranked opponents 21 times, a season in which top-10 teams set a record by losing a combined 74 games.
Yes, there will be Madness again.
South
1. Kansas
16. Austin Peay
8. Colorado
9. UConn
5. Maryland
12. South Dakota State
4. California
13. Hawaii
6. Arizona
11. Vanderbilt/Wichita State
3. Miami
14. Buffalo
7. Iowa
10. Temple
2. Villanova
15. UNC Asheville
West
1. Oregon
16. Holy Cross/Southern
8. Saint Joseph’s
9. Cincinnati
5. Baylor
12. Yale
4. Duke
13. UNC Wilmington
6. Texas
11. Northern Iowa
3. Texas A&M
14. Green Bay
7. Oregon State
10. VCU
2. Oklahoma
15. Cal State Bakersfield
East
1. North Carolina
16. Florida Gulf Coast/Fairleigh Dickinson
8. USC
9. Providence
5. Indiana
12. Chattanooga
4. Kentucky
13. Stony Brook
6. Notre Dame
11. Michigan/Tulsa
3. West Virginia
14. Stephen F. Austin
7. Wisconsin
10. Pittsburgh
2. Xavier
15. Weber State
Midwest
1. Virginia
16. Hampton
8. Texas Tech
9. Butler
5. Purdue
12. Arkansas Little Rock
4. Iowa State
13. Iona
6. Seton Hall
11. Gonzaga
3. Utah
14. Fresno State
7. Dayton
10. Syracuse
2. Michigan State
15. Middle Tennessee