It’s been a topsy-turvy weekend in the college basketball conference tournaments, starting with a massive upset in the Big East quarterfinals, where Villanova fell to Seton Hall, opening up a No. 1 seed in the all-important March Madness bracket. That made a possible Big 10 final between Michigan and Wisconsin particularly important, as the winner of that hypothetical match up would likely have been crowned the replacement No. 1-seeded team.
Instead though, Wisconsin has fallen to Michigan State in the Big 10 semis 83-75, breaking the race for the last No. 1 seed wide open and setting up the first ever meeting between Michigan and Michigan State in a Big 10 tournament.
Here’s a look at the teams that could steal the No. 1 seed now that the Big 10 final does not have the same implications as it did when the Wisconsin Badgers were still in contention. With Syracuse, Kansas, Wisconsin and Cincinnati all having lost in their conference tournaments in rather unimpressive style, any one of these three could still sew up the ever-valuable top seed.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Contenders for a March Madness No. 1 Seed
Virginia Cavaliers
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers have been running hot, and held off a pesky Pitt team in the ACC semifinals to earn their first berth in the tournament final since 1994. They will be in tough against the Duke Blue Devils, who are playing very well. Still, if they can beat Duke, they would likely grab the Selection Committee’s top honours on Sunday as Duke offers them a valuable win against a Top-10 opponent.
Louisville Cardinals
Rick Pitino’s team has put together another deadly run to make the AAC championship game on Saturday, after routing Houston 94-65 in the semifinals. A win over UConn in the final puts the defending champions in line to grab a potential No. 1 if Michigan and Virginia don’t get the results they’re hoping for.
Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines were ranked eighth in the nation going into their conference tournament, but have proceeded to have an exceptional run, capped by a huge win over the talented Ohio State Buckeyes. While they stood to gain from playing Wisconsin in the Big 10 semifinals, a win over their rivals Michigan State would likely give them the No. 1 seed, particularly if Virginia loses.
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