No. 1 Seeds Ready To Dance

by Joe Hachem | March 18, 2008 at 09:15 am

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No. 1 Seeds Ready To Dance

Now that the field is set, let's take a look at each of the four No. 1 seeds representing its respective brackets, starting with the North Carolina Tar Heels (32-2), who are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and claimed the top ranking in the final regular-season poll.

The Tar Heels captured the Atlantic Coast Conference championship Sunday solidifying its top spot in the East bracket. An 86-81 victory over Clemson in the ACC title game gave the program a record 17th conference title.

Led by Tyler Hansbrough, the Tar Heels won’t have to leave their home state on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. North Carolina’s first two games are scheduled for Raleigh and its next two would be in Charlotte.

North Carolina’s extraordinary offensive abilities cast a shadow over its often erratic defense, being No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency, but No. 24 in defensive efficiency.

North Carolina opens the NCAA tournament Friday against the winner of the opening-round game on Tuesday between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary’s.

Memphis (33-1) is from the Conference USA and earned the No. 1 seed in the South bracket with the nation's best record. This is Memphis’ third consecutive 30-victory season.

The Tigers went 19-0 in C-USA play with a 20.2 margin of victory. They are No. 3 in the nation in defensive efficiency.

Memphis added a third straight C-USA tournament championship to its third consecutive regular-season title by routing Tulsa 77-51 Saturday for a 42nd straight league win.

The Tigers will meet No. 16 Texas-Arlington in the opening round on Friday. NCAA odds will have Memphis listed as the huge favorites over Texas-Arlington, who is in the big dance for the first time ever.

Kansas (31-3) beat Texas 84-74 in the Big 12 final Sunday, in a game everyone agreed would be for top seeding. The 84-74 victory over Texas gave the Jayhawks a No. 1 seed in the Midwest bracket and its sixth Big 12 title in 12 years.

The Big 12’s regular-season co-champions are incredibly well-rounded, and the Jayhawks have reached their peak at the right time on both sides of the ball, placing in the top 2 in the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

The Jayhawks won’t have to go far for its first game in Omaha against No. 16 Portland St. on Thursday in the opening round. Kansas has lost in the first round in two of the past three tournaments. The Jayhawks lost as a No. 3 seed (to Bucknell) in 2005 and as a No. 4 (to Bradley) last season. However, they'll have history on their side this year: A No. 1 seed has never lost in the first round.

UCLA (31-3) has been a top team all season and won the Pac-10 tournament to get the nod as the No. 1 seed in the West bracket. It's UCLA’s first No. 1 seed since 1995, when they won their 11th national championship. (get your all of your ncaa odds here)

The Bruins 67-64 victory over Stanford on Saturday gave them its third-consecutive Pac-10 crown and tenth consecutive win. The Bruins are balanced and one of two teams to rank in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency.UCLA will open Thursday against No. 16 Mississippi Valley State in Anaheim, just a 46-mile trip by bus from their Westwood campus.