(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)
Just 72 hours ago in this space, we posited that Tennessee had taken over the final No. 1 seed from Arizona. Then on Saturday, the Volunteers lost at home to Kentucky. Arizona lost at USC. And North Carolina beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. So now what?
While it’s not Blind Resume Challenge time, take a look at these three with the names gone and decide which one deserves the No. 4 overall seed (numbers as of Sunday night).
Final No. 1 seed — Blind resumes
| Team A | Team B | Team C | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NET |
4 |
5 |
7 |
|
KenPom |
6 |
5 |
8 |
|
BPI |
4 |
5 |
11 |
|
SOR |
11 |
5 |
4 |
|
KPI |
6 |
3 |
5 |
|
Road |
7-4 |
8-3 |
8-2 |
|
Q1 |
8-3 |
7-6 |
7-4 |
|
Q2 |
6-3 |
6-1 |
6-2 |
|
Noncon SOS |
13 |
16 |
23 |
That is … so close. Team A is Arizona, Team B is Tennessee and Team C is UNC. Missing from the chart is Arizona’s Quad 3 loss at Oregon State — the other two contenders don’t have a setback outside the first two quads. Throw in the Wildcats’ losses to Stanford and USC, and that convinces us that it’s going to be the Volunteers or Tar Heels on the top line. But which one?
It’s so tight that North Carolina’s nonconference home win over Tennessee might serve as the de facto tiebreaker….
