Louisville:
1. Louisville
16. North Carolina A&T (MEAC)
8. Ohio
9. DePaul
Ames:
5. Gonzaga (West Coast)
12. Boise State (Mountain West)
4. Iowa State
13. Lamar (Southland)
At first, I wasn’t sure why the ESPN crew was surprised that Louisville was a higher 1 seed than Notre Dame. Upon closer examination, I get it, even if I ultimately agreed with the committee. Both teams went 14-2 in the ACC, but Notre Dame won head-to-head and has a better RPI. That loss to North Carolina hurts, but the Irish didn’t have Jackie Young. When seeding teams, the committee is supposed to look primarily at what a team is NOW, not the personnel it had THEN. Either way…both are 1 seeds.
College Park:
6. Central Michigan (MAC)
11. Clemson
3. Maryland (Big Ten)
14. American (Patriot)
Palo Alto:
7. Missouri
10. Rice (CUSA)
2. Stanford
15. Mercer (Southern)
Alas, out of the two Pac-12 2 seeds, Stanford drew the short straw and (for now) has to play in the Chicago Region, rather than Portland. It’s entirely reasonable, however, that the Pac-12 title game ends up being a battle for the right to play in Portland, or maybe even for a 1 seed. Notre Dame and Louisville are in the same conference, so at least one of them has to lose in the conference tournament.