NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SELECTION SUNDAY

All seeds planted

Louisville tops field; Kentucky makes NIT

Kansas guard Travis Releford (left) and center Jeff Withey celebrate with teamamates after learning their NCAA tournament assignment during a Selection Sunday viewing party Sunday in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas, a No. 1 seed, is scheduled to face Western Kentucky in the second round on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas guard Travis Releford (left) and center Jeff Withey celebrate with teamamates after learning their NCAA tournament assignment during a Selection Sunday viewing party Sunday in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas, a No. 1 seed, is scheduled to face Western Kentucky in the second round on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

Louisville is the top seed in the NCAA tournament after a topsy turvy season in college basketball, capped by another round of upsets over the weekend.

But that other Kentucky team, the one down the road in Lexington, won’t even get a chance to defend its national title.

The Big East champion Cardinals surged to the top of the 68-team bracket released Sunday, joined by Kansas, Indiana and Gonzaga as No. 1 seeds, but the school that won it all a year ago was left out of the field.

Kentucky was hoping the committee would overlook a dismal performance in the SEC Tournament, but the Wildcats will have to settle for a spot as a No. 1 seed in the second-tier National Invitation Tournament.

“You’ve got to earn it each and every year,” said Xavier Athletic Director Mike Bobinski, who chaired the selection committee.

As if that’s not bad enough for Kentucky fans, Louisville (29-5) gets to open the tournament on Kentucky’s home court, Rupp Arena, about 75 miles down the road in Lexington. The Cardinals will face either Liberty or North Carolina State in a second-round game Thursday.

Kentucky plays an NIT game Tuesday - on the road because Rupp is taken for the NCAAs- at Robert Morris.

Bobinski said last week he thought as many as seven teams could be in the running for No. 1 seeds, the result of a season in which five teams swapped the top ranking in The Associated Press poll, capped by West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga (30-2) moving to the lead spot for the first time.

Only four No. 1 spots were available, and Louisville, fourth in last week’s AP poll, was rated No. 1 overall by the committee.

Louisville bounced back after enduring a three-game losing streak in January after it rose to No. 1 in the poll. A few weeks after that, Louisville lost a five-overtime game at Notre Dame.

The Cardinals have won 10 consecutive, capped by a stunning turnaround in the championship game of the Big East tournament. They trailed Syracuse by 16 points early in the second half, but turned up the full-court pressure and won in a romp, 78-61.

The Big East, in its final year before the basketball-only schools break away to form their own league, led the way with eight teams in the NCAA field.

“We are ecstatic to be the No. 1 seed, particularly after finishing off one of the greatest conferences in the history of college basketball with a Big East championship,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Our players showed incredible grit to come back from 16 points down. We know we will be challenged right away in one of the toughest brackets that I’ve seen in quite some time. I think our guys are up for the challenge. We look forward to it.”

Kansas (29-5), which started the week No, 7 in the AP poll, moved up to take the second overall seed after an impressive run through the Big 12 tournament, punctuated by a 70-54 victory over rival Kansas State in the title game. No. 3 Indiana (28-6) is third overall despite falling to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals. Gonzaga claimed the last of the coveted No. 1 seeds, edging out Atlantic Coast Conference champion Miami.

A No. 1 has never lost to a 16th-seeded team.

“It’s going to happen,” Kansas Coach Bill Self said. “A 16 is going to beat a 1 eventually. Certainly we don’t hope that happens. I’ll pull for all the 1 seeds to make sure that doesn’t happen, but it will [eventually[. There’s more parity this year than years past. This is a unique tournament. I haven’t studied the bracket, but I would expect the unexpected. There will be a lot of mild upsets in this tournament.”

Miami became the first ACC team to be denied a top seed after winning both the regular season and the conference tournament in the ACC.

“We try to control the things we can control,” Coach Jim Larranaga said. “We have no control over that. Wherever they seed us, wherever they send us, whoever we play, we’ll get ready just like we do for every game.”

The Hurricanes were among the No. 2 seeds with conference rival Duke, Georgetown from the Big East, and Big Ten tournament champion Ohio State.

“Miami had a tremendous year. They are a great basketball team,” Bobinski said. “If we had five spots, Miami would be there with us.We have great appreciation for the year Miami has had. In the final analysis, we put Gonzaga just ahead of them. But it was very, very close.”

Duke cost itself a shot at a No. 1 seed when it lost to Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. Georgetown lost in the Big East semifinals and settled for a No. 2 as well, but Indiana was in no danger of dropping off the top line, despite its loss to the Badgers. Bobinski said the Hoosiers’ overall body of work was good enough to ensure they didn’t fall below one of the top four spots, no matter what happened Sunday.

The tournament begins Tuesday with two games in Dayton, Ohio. Everyone is trying to get to Atlanta for the Final Four, which begins April 6 at the Georgia Dome.

If Louisville advances to the round of 16, there’s a chance Pitino would get to match up with Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, a regional MVP on Pitino’s Kentucky team that made it to the Final Four two decades ago.

“I hope we get the opportunity. That would be nice,” Ford said. “I agree with the NCAA committee that they’re the No. 1 overall seed, after watching them play (Saturday) night and what they’ve done lately in the Big East. That’s, I would say, definitely the team to beat at this point.”

Gonzaga, on a 14-game winning streak, takes on Southern in the second round of the West Regional at Salt Lake City. And even though Gonzaga is new to being a No. 2 seed, but Zags are making their 15th consecutive NCAA appearance, a mid-major program that has shown it can hang with the big boys.

“In our judgment that’s a very complete and very strong basketball team,” Bobinski said.

On Friday, Kansas faces Western Kentucky in a South Regional second-round game in Kansas City, Mo., while Indiana opens in Dayton at the East Regional against either LIU Brooklyn or James Madison, another of the “First Four” contests.

There won’t be a repeat champion.

Kentucky, restocking after losing all five starters (three freshmen and two sophomores) to the NBA after winning the 2012 title, was starting to mesh in February when it lost freshman center Nerlens Noel, the nation’s leading shot-blocker, to a season-ending knee injury in a loss to Flordia.

An upset over Florida boosted Kentucky’s stock heading to the SEC tournament. But the Wildcats (21-11) lost to Vanderbilt 64-48 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

“That was a tough way to finish if you’re going to impress upon us that you’re one of the best teams in the nation,” Bobinski said.

The Big East (eight) had the most teams, followed by the Big Ten with seven, but the less-glamorous leagues also did well. Middle Tennessee was the last of the at-large teams to make the field, beating out power-conference teams such as Tennessee, Iowa, Alabama and Virginia. Not to mention Kentucky.

Middle Tennessee lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Hot Springs after winning the regular-season title, which in previous years might have been enough to knock them out of the NCAAs.

The Blue Raiders (28-5) are headed to the tournament, helped by Mississippi’s victory over Florida in the SEC championship game Sunday. Middle Tennessee had beaten the Rebels.

“We looked at a Middle Tennessee team that is a veteran team, and their ability to win on the road,” Bobinski said. “They had no rough patches along the way, and their win over Ole Miss looks better at this point in time.”

Oklahoma State’s Ford said he expects the NCAA Tournament to mirror the up-and down regular season.

“More than any year I can remember, I don’t think seeding really matters. I really don’t,” he said. “Probably if you’re a (No.) 1 seed, your first game, you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting by that. Then even after that, I think it’s throw it up in the air. I looked at some of those games. Even a lot of the No. 1 seeds have some tough second-round games.”

At a glance

FIRST ROUND At UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Liberty (15-20) vs. N.C. A&T (19-16), 5:40 p.m.

Middle Tennessee (28-5) vs. Saint Mary’s (Cal) (27-6), 8:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

LIU Brooklyn (20-13) vs. James Madison (20-14), 5:40 p.m.

Boise State (21-10) vs. La Salle (21-9), 8:10 p.m.

SECOND ROUND

EAST REGIONAL

THURSDAY’S GAMES At Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.

Butler (26-8) vs. Bucknell (28-5), 12:40 p.m.

Marquette (23-8) vs. Davidson (26-7), 30 minutes following At HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.

UNLV (25-9) vs. California (20-11), 6:27 p.m.

Syracuse (26-9) vs. Montana (25-6), 30 minutes following

SOUTH REGIONAL

THURSDAY’S GAMES At The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.

Michigan (26-7) vs. South Dakota State (25-9), 6:15 p.m.

VCU (26-8) vs. Akron (26-6), 30 minutes following

MIDWEST REGIONAL

THURSDAY’S GAMES At Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.

Louisville (29-5) vs. Liberty-N.C. A&T winner, 5:50 p.m.

Colorado State (25-8) vs. Missouri (22-10), 30 minutes following At The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.

Michigan State (25-8) vs. Valparaiso (26-7), 11:15 a.m Memphis (30-4) vs. Middle Tennessee-Saint Mary’s (Cal) winner, 30 minutes following At HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.

Saint Louis (27-6) vs. New Mexico State (24-10), 1:10 p.m.

Oklahoma State (24-8) vs. Oregon (26-8), 30 minutes following

WEST REGIONAL

THURSDAY’S GAMES At Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City

Pittsburgh (24-8) vs. Wichita State (26-8), 12:40 p.m.

Gonzaga (31-2) vs. Southern (23-9), 30 minutes following

Arizona (25-7) vs. Belmont (26-6), 6:20 p.m.

New Mexico (29-5) vs. Harvard (19-9), 30 minutes following

Top to bottom 1. Louisville 2. Kansas 3. Indiana 4. Gonzaga 5. Miami (FL) 6. Duke 7. Georgetown 8. Ohio State 9. New Mexico 10. Florida 11. Michigan St. 12. Marquette 13. Michigan 14. Kansas St. 15. Saint Louis 16. Syracuse 17. Oklahoma St. 18. UNLV 19. Wisconsin 20. VCU 21. Arizona 22. Butler 23. Memphis 24. UCLA 25. Creighton 26. San Diego St. 27. Notre Dame 28. Illinois 29. North Carolina 30. Colorado St. 31. Pittsburgh 32. No. Carolina St. 33. Missouri 34. Temple 35. Wichita St. 36. Colorado 37. Cincinnati 38. Villanova 39. Iowa St. 40. Oklahoma 41. Minnesota 42. California 43. Oregon 44. Belmont 45. Boise St. 46. St. Mary’s (CA) 47. Ole Miss 48. Bucknell 49. La Salle 50. Middle Tenn 51. Akron 52. New Mexico St. 53. So. Dakota St. 54. Montana 55. Davidson 56. Valparaiso 57. NW St. (La.) 58. Harvard 59. Fla. Gulf Coast 60. Pacific 61. Iona 62. Albany (NY) 63. Western Ky. 64. Southern U. 65. LIU Brooklyn 66. James Madison 67. N.C. A&T 68. Liberty

Top 16

Top four seeds in each of the four regionals:

MIDWEST 1. Louisville (29-5) 2. Duke (27-5) 3. Michigan State (25-8) 4. Saint Louis (27-6)

SOUTH 1. Kansas (29-5) 2. Georgetown (25-6) 3. Florida (26-7) 4. Michigan (26-7)

EAST 1. Indiana (27-6) 2. Miami (27-6) 3. Marquette (23-8) 4. Syracuse (26-9)

WEST 1. Gonzaga (31-2) 2. Ohio State (26-7) 3. New Mexico (29-5) 4. Kansas State (27-7)

Sports, Pages 15 on 03/18/2013

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