For the first time ever, college basketball fans have an idea of what the NCAA tournament selection committee is thinking before Selection Sunday. Committee chair Mark Hollis appeared on CBS Saturday afternoon for the debut of the “NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview” show, which unveiled the committee’s top 16 overall teams at the current time.
March Madness Bracket rankings 2017: Villanova is overall No. 1 seed
The NCAA tournament selection committee gave us a look into their thought process before Selection Sunday. Gonzaga fans did not like what they saw.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Reigning national champion Villanova is the committee’s current overall No. 1 seed. The Wildcats are joined on the top line by Kansas, Baylor and Gonzaga, in that order. Though the Bulldogs would still get to stay out West according to the committee’s current projection, it was still a surprise to many to see the top-ranked and only undefeated team in the country rated as the fourth-strongest No. 1 seed.
The ACC dominated the second line, where North Carolina, Florida State and Louisville occupied overall sports 5-7. Oregon is the current fourth No. 2 seed.
Here’s the rest of the top 16 as well as the pairings for the top four seeds if the tournament began today:
There’s no word on whether or not the NCAA and CBS plan to do more shows like this in the future, but given the swift response by the viewing public to these initial rankings, it’s probably a safe bet.
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