March Madness - No. 1 Projected Seeds

by Joe Hachem | March 10, 2008 at 12:22 pm

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With madness in the air, the biggest question being asked around the NCAA basketball world is: Who will be the top seeds in the big dance?

North Carolina's 76-68 win over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday gave the Tar Heels a regular-season ACC title at 14-2 and a 29-2 overall mark. The win also makes the Tar Heels the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and likely top seed in the big dance.

Forward Tyler Hansbrough moved over the 2,000-point mark by scoring 16 points against Duke. He now has 2,001 for his career and is the sixth Tar Heel to reach the 2,000-point level.

The 29 victories for the Tar Heels in the regular season are an all-time high. The 1992-93 and 1997-98 teams that share the school record for number of victories at 34 won 28 and 27 games, respectively, in the regular season. The 1993 team won the national title.

North Carolina is a well-rounded powerhouse and will be among NCAA odds favorite's list to win it all. On Sunday, the selection committee should have no problem deciding where the Tar Heels are to be placed in the East bracket.

The Memphis Tigers are a solid contender to be the No. 1 seed in the South bracket. Forward Joey Dorsey had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Memphis to a 94-56 victory over UAB on Saturday that concluded a second straight perfect Conference USA season for the Tigers at 16-0.

The win was Memphis’ 39th straight in Conference USA play, and the Tigers enter the conference tournament as the top seed. The Tigers are an impressive 30-1 and poise a threat in both tournaments with its high-octane offense.

The Texas Longhorns' hard fought 62-57 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday gave them its share of the Big 12 regular season title for the second time in three years with a 26-5 record.

The win also clinched the top seed in the league tournament later this week, which Texas earned by beating the co-champion Kansas Jayhawks in February. The Longhorns end the regular-season at 26-5 overall and 13-3 in conference play.

Guard D.J. Augustin scored 20 points for the Longhorns over Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale. Texas could face the Cowboys again in just a few days, because the Longhorns play the winner of the Texas Tech-Oklahoma State first-round matchup in the conference tourney. A Big 12 tournament victory and wins over Kansas, Tennessee and UCLA this year would likely put them atop the Midwest bracket for the madness.

The UCLA Bruins are a solid selection to be the No. 1 seed in the West bracket. UCLA comes into the Pac-10 tournament as the top seed and are riding a seven-game winning streak.

The Bruins got a scare in its last game, as guard-forward Josh Shipp hit a rainbow jumper over the backboard with 1.5 seconds remaining to help rally UCLA from an 11-point deficit to an 81-80 win over the California Bears.

The win boosted the Bruins to an overall record of 28-3, going 16-2 in conference action. UCLA’s school-record 28th regular-season victory should be enough to earn them the top seed in the West. A conference win would certainly seal the deal.

Recap: North Carolina, Memphis, Texas and UCLA projected as No. 1's in this year's big dance.