Baylor a No. 1 Seed in Latest ESPN NCAA Men’s Bracketology
The Baylor Bears, which blew out Villanova on Sunday, are the No. 1 overall seed in the most recent NCAA Tournament Bracketology released by ESPN.
The Bears, the defending national champions, have been in the Top 10 of the AP poll all season. Baylor (9-0) should be the nation’s No. 1 team on Monday, as the previous No. 1, Purdue, lost to Rutgers.
Joe Lunardi had the Bears as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament going into Sunday’s game with No. 6 Villanova.
The Bears would face either Texas Southern or Norfolk State if the Tournament started today, per Lunardi.
The Big 12 sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, and right now the league appears to be in line to do it again. For the moment, there are no Big 12 ‘bubble teams.’
Other takeaways:
Texas Tech is the only Big 12 team in its own region, as Lunardi placed the Red Raiders, who are coming off a win over Tennessee, in the East Region against Indiana.
Oklahoma is considered one of the ‘last four byes,’ which means the Sooners, to Lunardi, as the closest Big 12 team to moving into a First Four game.
Along with the seven Big 12 teams, two future Big 12 teams are in the field — Houston and BYU. Both have been ranked in the Top 25 all season.
How the bracket looks for the Big 12 as of now:
South Region (San Antonio)
No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 Texas Southern/Norfolk State winner
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Xavier
Midwest Region (Chicago)
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Vermont
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Wake Forest/Memphis winner
East Region (Philadelphia)
No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Indiana
West Region (San Francisco)
No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 13 UC Irvine
No. 11 West Virginia vs. No. 6 Seton Hall
Future Big 12 members
South Region (San Antonio)
No. 3 Houston vs. No 14 Oakland
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Louisville
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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