Virginia, Kansas, Villanova, Xavier Are Top Seeds In NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament 2018

ACC champions Virginia received the No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection Sunday night.

NCAA Tournament 2018 Preview

The Cavaliers are thus the favorites to reach their first Final Four in 34 years. Virginia defeated North Carolina 71-63 on Saturday to win the ACC title and finish 31-2. The other top-seeded teams this year are Big East champions Villanova; Big 12 regular season and tournament champions Kansas; and Big East regular season champions Xavier.

Arizona State, Syracuse and Oklahoma also made the cut. Baylor, Louisville and Oklahoma State didn’t make it, and Notre Dame was the last team left out of the field.

St. Mary’s also missed out despite boasting a 28-5 record.

Defending national champions North Carolina earned the No. 2 seed in the West and will open against first-time Tournament entrants Lipscomb in Charlotte on Friday. The Tar Heels are 33-1 in NCAA tournament games in North Carolina, their only loss having come in 1979.

The tournament starts Tuesday with first-round games in Dayton, with UCLA facing St. Bonaventure. Arizona State and Syracuse will play each other Wednesday.

The Midwest region features top seed Kansas, No. 2 seed Duke, and No. 3 seed Michigan State — all of whom were ranked in the top 4 in the Associated Press poll.

The Final Four will be March 31 and the championship game will be held April 2.

Several college basketball teams, of course, are still facing scrutiny from the FBI, who is investigating said programs for illegal recruiting tactics and other corruption charges relating to payments to players and their families, and bribing officials and advertisement executives.

Two of the teams implicated in the scandal — Arizona and Auburn — received high seeds, with the Wildcats given the No. 4 seed in the South bracket and the Tigers seeded fourth in the Midwest region.

Here is the full tournament bracket for March Madness 2018:

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: Kris Jenkins #2 of the Villanova Wildcats drives to the basket against Cole Huff #13 of the Creighton Bluejays during the Big East Basketball Tournament – Championship Game at Madison Square Garden on March 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)