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There are so many expert brackets and picks available to help you with your 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket game entry that sometimes we lose sight of the entire field of 68 and how they stack up against each other heading into the Big Dance. 

Sure, the NCAA Tournament committee does release an official seed list, but after years of calling them to task over their decisions, who wants to use their ranking as the true representation of college basketball supremacy? We've offered many alternatives, including Matt Norlander's own 1-68 ranking and now today a breakdown of the entire field by seed line. 

Selecting the best team for each seed line is not the same as "most likely to advance" or "most deserving," but instead a judgement of overall strength heading into March Madness. 

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Here are our picks for the best team on each seed line in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. 

No. 16 seeds 

Norfolk State | Texas Southern/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Wright State/Bryant | Georgia State  

Top team — Georgia State, West Region: The Panthers have lost just once in the last six weeks, and after an 0-4 start to conference play, they finished the year where many expected -- at the top of the Sun Belt. No one is calling for an upset, but we do think that the No. 1 overall in Gonzaga drew the No. 1 team among the No. 16 seeds.  

No. 15 seeds

St. Peter's | Jacksonville State | Delaware | Cal State Fullerton 

Top team — St. Peter's, East Region: No one in the MAAC defended at a higher level than St. Peter's, grading out as the league's best team in multiple categories throughout conference play and holding each of their final seven opponents (7-0) to 65 points or fewer. Though offensively challenged, the defensive excellence earns them the nod against the other seed line contenders.  

No. 14 seeds

Yale | Colgate | Longwood | Montana State

Top team — Colgate, Midwest Region: This team was 4-10 on Jan. 4 and only lost once, by four, the rest of the season on the way to sweeping both the regular season and conference tournament championships in the Patriot League. The Raiders are the second-best 3-point shooting team in the country (40.2%), and dominated its league competition in March with three conference tournament wins by 15 or more points. 

No. 13 seeds

Akron | South Dakota State | Chattanooga | Vermont  

Top team — Vermont, West Region: Like Colgate, Vermont was in a class of its own in league play. The Catamounts won the America East regular season crown by six games in the standings before winning all three conference tournament games by 30-plus points. They're a sweet-shooting team with good ball movement and limited turnovers, likely a result of being one of the most experienced teams in the country with seven seniors in the rotation. 

No. 12 seeds

Wyoming/Indiana | Richmond | UAB | New Mexico State

Top team — UAB, South Region: Junior guard Jordan "Jelly" Walker has a chance to be a first-weekend star if Andy Kennedy and the Blazers can take down Houston for a March Madness 12-over-5 classic. Walker is the engine of an offense that grades out in the top 30 in terms of efficiency, and his 31.0 points per game average in the Conference USA Tournament points to prolific potential in the Big Dance.  

No. 11 seeds 

Virginia Tech | Iowa State | Michigan | Notre Dame/Rutgers

Top team — Virginia Tech, East Region: The Hokies beat three NCAA Tournament teams -- first Notre Dame, then North Carolina and Duke -- on the way to winning the ACC Tournament title and claiming the league's automatic bid. But that wasn't as much of a one-off for Mike Young's squad as it was the continued growth of a group that turned the corner in early February and has been playing its best basketball down the stretch. No other team on this seed line has that kind of recent form, so while Michigan's ceiling is arguably higher, I'm taking the consistency with Virginia Tech. 

No. 10 seeds

San Francisco | Miami | Loyola | Davidson 

Top team — San Francisco, East Region: While my personal preference would be to side with the outstanding offensive team (Davidson) over the outstanding defensive team (San Francisco) to break a tie, the results from the season reigned supreme. I see those two as a 1A and 1B among the 10-seeds, but San Francisco beat Davidson 65-60 on Nov. 13, so the Dons get the nod. 

No. 9 seeds 

Marquette | Creighton | TCU | Memphis 

Top team — Memphis, West Region: After a 9-8 start to the season and sub-.500 start to conference play, Penny Hardaway made some midseason adjustments that helped spark a turnaround that sealed his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach. Memphis is 12-2 in its last 14 games with two wins in that stretch over regular season and conference tournament champion Houston. The Tigers are seeded based on their entire body of work, but the team that's taking the floor this week is much better than what those early-season numbers suggest. 

No. 8 seeds 

North Carolina | San Diego State | Seton Hall | Boise State

Top team — San Diego State, Midwest Region: North Carolina is a total wild card team, capable of losing to Marquette in the first round or beating Baylor and making the Sweet 16. While I acknowledge that ceiling, for "best" I'll side with the consistency of San Diego State and its elite defense, which rates No. 2 in the country in adjusted efficiency according to KenPom. 

No. 7 seeds 

Murray State | USC | Ohio State | Michigan State 

Top team — Murray State, East Region: The gaudy 30-2 record with an undefeated showing in conference play is more a reflection of Murray State's makeup than its strength of schedule, as the same matchup problems the Racers caused for Ohio Valley Conference opponents are still going to be a factor in the NCAA Tournament. KJ Williams, the OVC Player of the Year, could be a breakout star with his versatility as a double-double machine with the ability to step outside and shoot the 3. 

No. 6 seeds

Texas | LSU | Colorado State | Alabama 

Top team — Colorado State, South Region: One team (LSU) just fired its coach and two teams (Alabama, Texas) enter the NCAA Tournament at the end of a year that has, to this point, fallen short of preseason expectations. That's not the case with Colorado State, as David Roddy and the Rams have one of their best teams of the last decade eyeing to crash the Sweet 16 for the first time since the field expanded to 64 teams.   

No. 5 seeds 

Saint Mary's | Iowa | Houston | UConn 

Top team — Iowa, Midwest Region: The Big Ten Conference Tournament champions have one of the best players in the country, and their current form suggests the offensive firepower should carry them at least through the first weekend. This 5-seed line has several worthy contenders for "best team," but none of Saint Mary's, Houston or UConn have an individual that can take over a game like Keegan Murray. 

No. 4 seeds 

UCLA | Providence | Illinois | Arkansas 

Top team — UCLA, East Region: After dealing with injuries all throughout the season I think the UCLA we will get in the NCAA Tournament will be better than the performances from the regular season, as a whole, suggest. The Bruins, a team that's moved up inside the top 10 to No. 7 in adjusted efficiency margin at KenPom, being arguably under-seeded by the committee makes "best team" easy, but I don't want to rule out the potential for a pair of high-ceiling teams like Illinois and Arkansas from making a deep run. 

No. 3 seeds 

Purdue | Wisconsin | Tennessee | Texas Tech 

Top team — Tennessee, South Region: In general, I think I'd take the No. 3 seeds over most of the No. 2 seeds if forced to make this same "best team" analysis among the eight squads on both lines. Purdue would be a worthy choice for best No. 3 if not for the defensive concerns, and the same goes for Texas Tech on the flip side with questions about offense. Wisconsin, meanwhile, does have some injury concerns regarding Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis. Tennessee, on the other hand, just put the clamps on everyone it played en route to an SEC Conference Tournament title and has a good argument for being snubbed out of a 2-seed.  

No. 2 seeds 

Kentucky | Auburn | Villanova | Duke 

Top team — Kentucky, East Region: The Wildcats had a shot at No. 1 seed prior to their SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Tennessee, so the bounce down to the No. 2 line makes splitting hairs a little easier. It's less about any shortcomings for Villanova, Duke or Auburn as much as it is the strength of this Kentucky team. 

No. 1 seeds 

Baylor | Kansas | Arizona | Gonzaga 

Top team — Gonzaga, West Region: There is plenty to debate regarding the seed list and how it stacks up to our own rankings, but there's no controversy regarding the overall No. 1 team in the field. Gonzaga may or may not win it all, but it's undeniably the best team in the country as the 2022 NCAA Tournament tips off.