Gonzaga, Auburn, Arizona and Kansas hold the four No. 1 seeds for the 2022 NCAA Tournament with three weeks left until Selection Sunday.
The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee revealed the top 16 seeds in Saturday’s “Bracket Preview Show” on CBS.
This is the second straight season that Gonzaga has been the No. 1 overall seed in the February unveiling, and the fourth straight year the Bulldogs have been a No. 1 seed at this stage.
Committee chairman Tom Burnett, the commissioner of the Southland Conference, said Gonzaga was only slightly ahead of Auburn.
“The margin between Gonzaga and Auburn is razor thin, as is the gap between Auburn and Arizona,” Burnett said. “The committee felt Gonzaga’s wins over Texas Tech, UCLA and Texas, which were all a part of today’s top 16, were reason enough to keep Gonzaga as the overall top team. Being just two overtime losses from being undefeated, combined with having a slightly better road record and strength of schedule, kept Auburn in front of Arizona.
“Of course, all of this could change with this weekend’s results, let alone with what transpires over the next three weeks. There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”
When the committee met in Indianapolis from Tuesday to Thursday this week, it weighed Kansas, Baylor and Kentucky as the final No. 1 seed, Burnett said.
“You could make a case for all three teams, as Baylor has more Quadrant 1 wins than anyone and Kentucky doesn’t have any losses outside of the first quadrant,” he said. “Some head-to-head games involving those three teams certainly was a topic of conversation but as things stand today, we have Kansas with a slight edge.”
Selection Sunday is March 13. The tournament opens with the First Four from March 15-16 in Dayton, Ohio. First-round action begins March 17. The Final Four will take place in New Orleans on April 2 and 4.
Baylor, Kentucky, Purdue and Duke are the current No. 2 seeds. The complete top 16 seeds, broken down by each NCAA Tournament region, are as follows:
West Region
1. Gonzaga
8. Duke
12. Illinois
16. Texas
Midwest Region
2. Auburn
7. Purdue
10. Texas Tech
14. UCLA
South Region
3. Arizona
5. Baylor
11. Tennessee
15. Providence
East Region
4. Kansas
6. Kentucky
9. Villanova
13. Wisconsin
–Field Level Media