Conference tournaments influence NCAA selections

It’s tournament week for most leagues, including all of the power conferences, and plenty of intrigue awaits.

The Big 12 Conference seems up for grabs, the Atlantic Coast could deliver a second Virginia-Duke showdown, same for the Big Ten with Wisconsin-Maryland.

But let’s look ahead to Sunday afternoon, when the NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced, and the impact of this week’s action on the selection and seeding.

No matter what happens at the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., Kentucky, 31-0, will be the NCAA’s overall No. 1 seed. The Wildcats will start the NCAA play in Louisville, Ky., and if it wins twice there, will advance to the Midwest Regional semifinals in Cleveland.

Virginia and Duke are heavy favorites to hold No. 1 seeds, and whoever goes farther in the ACC Tournament could get the top seed in the East, with the next team getting the top seed in the South. Those finals are in Syracuse, N.Y., and Houston.

The fourth No. 1 seed isn’t as clear. Villanova looks to have the edge over Wisconsin and Arizona. But an early exit in the Big East for the Wildcats along with a tourney title by the Badgers or Wildcats could change the seed line.

As for the Big 12, it seems the only chance Kansas has of not being a No. 2 seed is falling in its first game, to Kansas State or TCU.

The Jayhawks’ seven losses are the most by any team ranked in the top 10, but Kansas is the regular-season champion of the highest-rated conference, owns the nation’s top strength and schedule and most victories over RPI top 25 and top 50 teams.

Winning the Big 12 Tournament would put Kansas in the conversation for a top seed, but it might need upsets in the ACC, Pac-12 and Big East for that to happen.

The other Big 12 leaders — Iowa State, Oklahoma, Baylor and West Virginia — could all wind up with top four seeds.

The ACC could also be just as top heavy, with Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville and North Carolina crowding the top.

Oklahoma State and Texas have the most at stake at Sprint Center. They’re the sixth and seventh seeds and are generally seen as teams on the right side of the bubble. Victories are the best defense against sliding out of the tournament, and the Cowboys and Longhorns will be pulling for favorites in other conference tournaments.

Don’t tell Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford the Cowboys aren’t in the field.

“All the numbers say we’re very strong,” Ford said.

Oklahoma State and Texas will be compared to teams like Purdue, Mississippi, Colorado State and Indiana among the final at-large selections. Have a better week than those programs, and the Cowboys and Longhorns should be in good shape on Selection Sunday.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Conference tournaments influence NCAA selections."