Gonzaga, Baylor top NCAA committee's initial rankings

Sat, Feb 13, 2021
By AARON BEARD (AP Basketball Writer)

Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and Ohio State are the top seeds in the initial rankings for the committee that will ultimately select the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs were the top overall seed, followed by the Bears in rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. It's a snapshot of the top 16 seeds with a month to go before Selection Sunday. Gonzaga and Baylor have been 1-2 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll all season and remain unbeaten.

The third-ranked Wolverines were the third No. 1 seed, followed by the fourth-ranked Buckeyes. Another Big Ten team, sixth-ranked Illinois, was the top No. 2 seed and fifth overall.

Five Big 12 teams appeared in the list, with West Virginia and Oklahoma sitting as No. 3 seeds, while Texas Tech and Texas were No. 4s.

Villanova, Alabama and Houston joined Illinois as the other No. 2 seeds. Virginia and Tennessee joined the Mountaineers and Sooners as No. 3 seeds, while Iowa and Missouri were the other No. 4 seeds.

The entire tournament will be played in the state of Indiana because of the coronavirus pandemic, so the brackets lacked their traditional geographic names. Selection Sunday is March 14, with the Final Four taking place in Indianapolis April 3, followed by the national championship game two days later.

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