The NCAA tournament selection committee announced the top 16 seeds if the bracket were being announced Saturday. The seeds were based on teams’ current resumes, and fans can expect them to change in the weeks with many games still to play.
Dayton, which has never been seeded higher than No. 4 in the NCAA tournament, received a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region behind No. 1 seed Kansas. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in that region will be played in Indianapolis.
Baylor was the top overall seed and was followed by No. 1 seeds Kansas, Gonzaga and San Diego State and No. 2 seeds Duke, Dayton, Louisville and West Virginia.
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“You look at this two line,” CBS analyst Clark Kellogg said on the broadcast. “Pretty strong. The team that jumps out to me is Dayton. They have been so impressive as an offensive team. In efficiency numbers, they’re top three or four in just about every offensive category. In my mind, they’ve got the player of the year, if we cut it off today. My player of the year would be Obi Toppin. Highly efficient. Dynamic. And he has had moments of magnitude in addition to consistent high-level performance.”
The No. 3 seeds were Maryland, Florida State, Seton Hall and Villanova. The No. 4 seeds were Auburn, Oregon, Michigan State and Butler.
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This is the fourth straight year the committee has met during the season for a “selection orientation meeting.” The seeds announced Saturday will have no bearing on the actual seeds announced on Selection Sunday, which falls on March 15 this year.
The committee met Tuesday through Thursday in Indianapolis. Nine teams that received No. 1 seeds in the bracket preview shows from 2017-19 prior to Selection Sunday remained a No. 1 seed in the real bracket, and the other three teams received No. 2 seeds. All 12 No. 2 seeds stayed in the top 16, he wrote, as well as nine of the 12 No. 3 seeds and six of the 12 No. 4 seeds.
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