Bracketology: UNC still 1-seed for now, Pac-12 champ lurking, Duke eyeing 2-line

Meanwhile, the Big Ten could put seven in the Dance but get shut out of Sweet 16

North Carolina fell to Duke by a score of 93-83 in the ACC tournament semifinals on Friday night, and that may put their No. 1 seed in jeopardy.  For now, the Tar Heels will stay on the top line of the bracket as the fourth overall No. 1.

The Tar Heels won the ACC regular season, and therefore has a high number of quality wins, but they came mostly at home.  Their best win away from home came over Wisconsin in the Maui Invitational.  Their conference schedule included one-plays at home with Louisville, Florida State and Notre Dame, the second, third and fourth seeds in the ACC Tournament.

Gonzaga is 32-1, but did not play as strong of a schedule and lost at home to BYU. However, they did beat Florida and Arizona away from home, and St. Mary’s three times.

If there is a strong Pac-12 champion, there is a chance UNC could find itself as a 2-seed.

The win gives Duke a chance to end up as high as a two-seed.  The Blue Devils looked a lot like the team we were expecting to see way back in November, when they were voted the preseason No. 1.  Despite all the injuries, Duke has a very strong resume as well.  They have 12 RPI top 50 wins, which is more than any other team, including the Tar Heels.  The Blue Devils’ eight losses will keep them from challenging from the top line, even if they are the ACC Tournament champions.

See Jerry Palm’s latest bracket, last four in and first four out

One team you will not see as a No. 2 seed is Purdue after the Boilermakers lost to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.  The Big Ten was notably missing from the top 16 seeds when the selection committee revealed its preselection bracket in February.  Purdue looked like it was making a move to possibly get up to a three seed, but the loss today means the Boilers will max out as a four, even though there is a pretty good chance they will be the highest seeded Big Ten team.  The last time the Big Ten’s highest seeded team was below a three was in 2004, when regular season champion Illinois was a five.

This will not prevent the Big Ten from putting seven teams in the bracket, but if they play according to seed, we will not see very many in the Sweet 16.