March Madness Looms

March Madness Looms

 

The NCAA revealed its midseason bracket over the weekend, with preliminary seeding for March Madness, which starts next month. Virginia is currently the top seed in the South Region, followed by Cincinnati, Michigan State and Tennessee in the two through four spots. Villanova sits atop the East Region, with Duke, Texas Tech, and Ohio State in tow. Purdue holds the top spot in the West Region, in front of Kansas, North Carolina and Arizona. Xavier, Auburn Clemson and Oklahoma round out the bracket in the Midwest Region.

The seeding comes on the heels of the most recent top-25 rankings, which place Virginia at No. 1 in the country after a hectic week full of losses for ranked teams. Michigan State stands at moves up from No. 2 from No. 4, and Villanova lost the top spot, moving down to No. 3 after a surprise loss to Big East opponent St. John’s, who also beat No. 12 Duke just a few days prior. Ohio State is up to No. 8 from No. 14 after some Big-10 wins. Purdue falls to No. 6 after losses to Michigan State and Ohio State. No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 25 Arizona State are back on the list after being knocked off due to strings of losses. Oklahoma is down to No. 17 from No. 23 last week after suffering some Big XII conference losses, though ESPN’s obsession with the Sooners’ Trae Young continues to be as strong as ever.

The tournament seeds are very likely to change as time goes on and teams rise and fall in the rankings. Either way, we are certain to see another March Madness full of heart-pounding action as another college basketball champion is crowned.