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In the NCAA’s early bracket reveal, Baylor is a No. 1 seed. Gonzaga is the top ranked team, and Baylor comes in second.
Over the last few years, the selection committee reveals their top 16 teams and shows what the bracket would be for those teams if the season ended today.
It’s not too surprising that Gonzaga and Baylor are the top two teams. Both are astronomically ahead of the remainder of the field in every metric. The only real debate, if both teams keep winning, is if Gonzaga or Baylor will be the top team.
With the NCAA Tournament all taking place in Indiana, there isn’t a giant advantage to being the top ranked or second ranked team. There’s no geographic advantage this year, and the opponent differences are minimal for the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the field. But it’s nice to say you’re the top overall seed, so hopefully the Bears can edge out Gonzaga if both teams finish the season unblemished.
Something hopeful for teams on the 1 line: We’ve had the Feb. bracket reveal deal since 2017. Every year saw three of the four No. 1s in Feb. hold the 1 line on Sel. Sunday. (That was on pace to continue last yr.) In '17, '18 and '19, one of the Feb. 1s went on to win the title.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 13, 2021
Including this year, Baylor has earned a No. 1 seed three times in the early bracket reveal. In 2017 and 2020 the Bears were No. 1 seeds. They ended up a No. 3 seed in 2017, and sadly, we did not get a 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Dan Gavitt on a positive test among a Tier-1 individual in Indianapolis during the NCAA Tournament:
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 13, 2021
"We will contact trace and isolate that individual, but it should not eliminate a team."
Mitch Barnhart, Kentucky’s Director of Athletics is the NCAA’s Selection Committee Chairman. It’s funny that when Kentucky is truly awful—they have to win the SEC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament—he chairs this committee. He’ll not have to worry about recusal. He outlined that, “It’s not the committee’s job to speculate or say what if they had more games.”
Barnhart said the margin was, “Razor thin” when discussing Baylor and Gonzaga.
Michigan and Ohio State joined Gonzaga and Baylor on the top line.