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Being a top seed in the tournament isn’t just prestigious.  It’s also a competitive advantage once the tournament begins. In the first rounds, a top seed faces one of the four bottom teams in the field and a No. 1 seed has never lost its opening round game.  A top seed has to get to the Sweet 16 before it has any chance of facing a top 25 team.

Each week in this space, we will take a look at the race for the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.  Unlike the top 10 resumes column, this will focus as much on what lies ahead – opportunities these teams have for quality wins, or where we might see a potential pothole for them -- as what these teams have already done. These are the teams with the best chance to finish with a top seed based on talent, schedule, what they have done so far and what they can likely do going forward.

1. Gonzaga

The Zags did not get much love from the selection committee when it revealed its top 16 on Saturday. Gonzaga, despite being undefeated, was listed as the fourth overall No. 1 seed. While it does not really matter where the Bulldogs end up on the top line in terms of where they get placed in the bracket, they have to feel that other teams could be breathing down their necks. Baylor’s loss this week at Texas Tech gives them a little bigger cushion. Gonzaga still has the best chance of being a No. 1 seed because they have the best chance by far of winning out. They also still have the smallest margin for error.

2. Villanova

The Wildcats have arguably the best tournament resume right now, and the selection committee agreed with that sentiment when it revealed Villanova as the overall No. 1 seed in its early bracket on Saturday. They have at least one fewer loss than every other team except Gonzaga and have eight top-50 wins, five of which came away from home. The closest thing to a blemish on their profile is a loss at Marquette. Villanova also has a relatively favorable schedule to finish up, too. 

3. Baylor

The Bears are still ahead of Kansas on this list for one main reason – they host Kansas on Saturday, so the opportunity is there, at home, and they have performed well against top-flight competition. Baylor has the most top-50 wins of anyone with 10 and every one of those teams is in the bracket. The Bears have also played the No. 1 rated schedule. The biggest concern for Baylor at the moment is that they are trending downward, having lost three out of five. The Kansas game will obviously tell us a lot more. 

4. Kansas

Stop me if you have heard this one before...Kansas is in first place in the Big 12. The Jayhawks have won 12 consecutive regular season conference titles, one shy of UCLA’s record. They can all but clinch a 13th and take a huge step toward sealing a No. 1 seed if they win at Baylor Saturday. Kansas’ overall schedule is not quite as strong as we are used to seeing, but that is largely due to Indiana’s implosion. Still, it is plenty strong and only Gonzaga and Villanova have better records.

5. Florida State

The Seminoles’ six RPI top-25 wins are matched only by Villanova, and their nine top-50 wins are topped only by Baylor. However, with the exception of the win at Virginia, all of those wins have come at home. If Florida State is to become a No. 1 seed, it will have to prove itself away from home, where it’s just 5-5 overall after the loss at Notre Dame on Saturday. Those chances are coming. The Seminoles have three reasonably challenging road games left.  Still, among the ACC contenders, Florida State has the easiest schedule.

6. North Carolina

The Tar Heels may be the ACC’s best team – the selection committee thought so when it made the Tar Heels the highest rated ACC team -- but they are going to have to run a tough gauntlet down the stretch of this season to ultimately prove it. They already have eight top-50 wins, although three of them are against teams that are unlikely to make the field. UNC still has a home-and-home with Virginia and home games with Louisville and Duke. 

7. Louisville

The Cardinals were rewarded with a spot on the 2-seed line when the selection committee revealed its bracket on Saturday. Despite a relatively highly rated schedule, Louisville only has five top-50 wins, but they will be favored in each of their remaining games except the one at North Carolina. Mark that game down. If Louisville gets that game at UNC, it might well seal a 2-seed. The Cardinals also have nothing even remotely resembling a bad loss, and that makes them unique among the top teams, except for Gonzaga, of course.

8. Duke

The preseason No. 1 Blue Devils look like they are finally starting to round into form. It seems like a long shot for them to get to a No. 1 seed, but it is not as long as you might think. Duke only has five losses – same as UNC, FSU and Louisville – and has a schedule where they should be favored in every game except the season finale at North Carolina. Those games will not necessarily be easy, but if Duke is starting to play like the Duke we thought we would see all along, watch out. If they run the table, and they very well could, that win at UNC to close the year and an ACC tournament title would make for a very strong 1-seed case. 

9. Arizona

The Wildcats lead the chase for a No. 1 seed from the Pac-12 due to their ability to beat quality teams away from home, and that they have lost only to Gonzaga, Oregon and Butler. The problem for Arizona may simply be the number of quality wins it can acquire because the Pac-12 doesn’t have great depth. The Wildcats still have a game left with UCLA and USC, though, and the conference tournament. They were behind Oregon in the committee’s bracket largely because of the head-to-head disaster when the Ducks obliterated them in Eugene. 

10. Oregon

Again, the Ducks were ahead of Arizona in the committee’s bracket despite a worse record against a similar schedule because they beat the Wildcats by 27 at home. Oregon will not play any of the Pac-12’s better teams until the conference tournament, so if they hope to challenge for a No. 1 seed, the Ducks will need to win out.