Despite a one-point loss at home to Virginia Tech on Saturday, Virginia would be the top seed in the NCAA Tournament if the Big Dance started today.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed its top 16 national seeds on Sunday, and has UVA (23-2) as the top seed in the South Region and the #1 seed overall.
Villanova (23-2) would be slated as the #1 seed in the East. Xavier (23-3) gets the top seed in the Midwest, and Purdue (23-4) would be the top team in the West.
“When the committee started our meeting on Tuesday, I think there was a general agreement on who the top three teams were, but by late Saturday night that group had grown to four,” said Bruce Rasmussen, the director of athletics at Creighton University, and the chair of the selection committee.
“We initially felt Villanova was the overall top seed, but we flipped that Thursday morning after the Wildcats lost to St. John’s at home and Virginia won at Florida State. Despite UVA’s loss Saturday, we felt that based on their 13 wins in the first two quadrants, they deserved to remain on top. Villanova bounced back with a good win Saturday, so we kept them second. Purdue had two tough losses to quality teams, while Xavier picked up two good road wins to solidify the fourth No. 1 seed and ultimately leap Purdue on the seed list.”
South (Atlanta): (1) Virginia, (2) Cincinnati, (3) Michigan St., (4) Tennessee
East (Boston): (1) Villanova, (2) Duke, (3) Texas Tech, (4) Ohio State
Midwest (Omaha): (1) Xavier, (2) Auburn, (3) Clemson, (4) Oklahoma
West (Los Angeles): (1) Purdue, (2) Kansas, (3) North Carolina, (4) Arizona
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