This year’s March Madness will be just that, madness. Sometimes you can tell who will be the front runners for the #1 seed, this year is definitely not one of those times.
There have been 6 number one teams on the AP Top 25 Poll, with Michigan State holding it the longest for 4 consecutive weeks. Other number ones have included:
University of North Carolina (UNC):
UNC held the lead for weeks 1 and 2. They have also held spots 9, 11, 7, 6, 2, and where they currently are, 5. They just recently lost to longtime rival, Duke. Despite having 3 conference losses, they are tied for first in the ACC with Miami (FL).
Kentucky:
Kentucky held their number 1 lead for weeks 3 and 4. They also held 5, 4, 12, 10, 14, 23, 20, 22, and 14 where they currently sit. This longtime powerhouse lost to fellow powerhouse Kansas. They have 3 conference losses, but still find themselves sitting in first, one game ahead of LSU in the SEC.
Michigan State (MSU):
MSU held their lead the longest, for 4 weeks. They started dropping rankings when their Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine got injured and had to sit out around 3 weeks. With them being my personal favorite, I hope they get a high seed in the tournament. They have key wins against Maryland, Kansas, and Wisconsin. However, they were swept by Iowa towards the beginning of conference play.
Kansas:
Kansas sat at the top for weeks 9 and 10. They are a perfect example of “Madness”. They have held spots 6, 7, 4, 3, and are currently 2. They have a key sweep over another big team this year, Oklahoma; the first coming from a triple overtime win, and then another close call. They also hold a key win against Kentucky, a longtime powerhouse. However, they have embarrassing conference losses to Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma:
Oklahoma had the number one spot for weeks 11 through 13. They have held spots 8, 7, 6, 2, and they currently sit at number 3. Despite being swept by Kansas, Oklahoma has the opportunity to stay around the top 5 and get a decently high seed in the tournament. They are being led by their Player of the Year candidate Buddy Hield.
Villanova:
Villanova has been sitting at number 1 the past two weeks and could stay longer. They’ve been at 11, 8, 9, 12, 17, 16, 6, 4, and 3. With their only real competition in conference play being current number 8 team Xavier on February 24th, I believe they will stay number one until they lose. Despite that being said, they have their only conference loss against, at the time #16 Providence, but went back to beat them when they were #11.
These teams have never been number 1; however, I believe they are still in the running.
Maryland:
Maryland has spent 3 weeks, nonconsecutive, at number 2, but has never dropped lower than 8. Despite beating number 3 Iowa, they lost to Michigan State and most recently, Minnesota, who had not had a conference win yet. They are sitting in 3rd, behind Indiana and Iowa who are tied for first in the Big Ten.
Iowa:
With a key sweep against Michigan State, and being tied for first in the Big Ten, Iowa has set themselves up for a decent seeding in the tournament. However, they lost to Indiana, who they are tied with. The winner of that matchup again on March 1st will be the champions of the Big Ten regular season.
I believe that those teams will get either a number 1 or 2 seed spot in the tournament. But they don’t call it March MADNESS for nothing… I would usually include longtime powerhouse Duke in the conversation for 1 or 2 but since they dropped out of the top 25 for the first time in the last 8 years. They could still be in the running for the tournament however, possibly a 6 or 7 seed.
Anything could happen, which we have already seen. We will find out the set seeding on Selection Sunday on March 13th.
