| Change |
Team |
W-L
(ATS)
|
Power Rating
|
Team Comments |
| 1 |
1 |
 |
Kentucky |
32-2
(12-20-1)
|
-18.40 |
The 'Cats suffered a surprising loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC final, but it had no effect on the bracket. Kentucky is the No. 1 overall seed and the favorite to win it all. |
| 2 |
2 |
 |
Syracuse |
31-2
(17-15-0)
|
-18.00 |
UK all but wrapped up that top seed when 'Cuse fell to Cincinnati in the Big East semifinals. Jim Boeheim insists his team will be better in the Dance than its relatively lackluster play in MSG. |
| 3 |
4 |
1 |
North Carolina |
29-5
(18-15-0)
|
-17.20 |
Amazingly enough, not one of the top three overall seeds won its conference tournament. UNC, though, was without John Henson and still almost prevailed in the ACC. |
| 4 |
5 |
1 |
Missouri |
30-4
(18-9-2)
|
-17.05 |
Somehow the committee seeded Missouri fourth the worst of the No. 2 seeds. Good news for the Tigers is they are coming off a Big 12 title and are in a region with the worst No. 1 seed-Michigan State. |
| 5 |
3 |
2 |
Kansas |
27-6
(16-15-1)
|
-16.90 |
Yet another regular-season conference champion went down in its tourney as Kansas fell to Baylor. Nonetheless, the Jayhawks are playing in the Midwest Region and thus are on course for St. Louis. |
| 6 |
9 |
3 |
Michigan St |
27-7
(21-10-0)
|
-16.70 |
There was no No. 1 seed curse in the Big Ten for Michigan State, which beat the Buckeyes for the title. The win gave the Spartans the top seed in the West as they positioned themselves to get yet another Final Four for Tom Izzo. |
| 7 |
7 |
 |
Ohio St. |
27-7
(17-12-0)
|
-16.30 |
In a virtual playoff for the last No. 1 seed, MSU avenged its recent loss to the Buckeyes. Will more depth than usual pave the way for a longer NCAA run than usual for Ohio State? |
| 8 |
6 |
2 |
Duke |
27-6
(13-20-0)
|
-16.00 |
Duke is limited on offense even with Ryan Kelly. Without Kelly, the Blue Devils are borderline stagnant, especially against a defensive force like Florida State. Will Coach K be able to lead this squad to a marquee regional final against Kentucky? |
| 9 |
16 |
7 |
Baylor |
27-7
(12-15-0)
|
-15.55 |
According to these power rankings, the committee got it right with No. 8 overall Duke playing No. 9 overall Baylor in a Sweet 16 showdown. The Bears performed well in their tournament, upsetting Kansas before falling to Missouri. |
| 10 |
10 |
 |
Murray St. |
30-1
(14-11-2)
|
-15.50 |
The Racers took care of business in the Ohio Valley and head into the Big Dance with a 30-1 record. No six seed can be considered a Cinderella if it makes a run, but nobody wants to play this mid-major juggernaut. |
| 11 |
8 |
3 |
Marquette |
25-7
(16-12-1)
|
-15.15 |
Marquette dropped its Big East opener to Louisville, a loss that looks OK as the Cards went on to win the whole thing. Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder will help the Golden Eagles rebound in the NCAAs. |
| 12 |
12 |
 |
Wichita St. |
27-5
(16-13-0)
|
-14.80 |
The Shockers are suddenly a bit under the radar having lost in the MVC Tournament and sitting idle for more than a week. They will have a chance to shock Kentucky, though, if they advance two rounds. |
| 13 |
19 |
6 |
Louisville |
26-9
(18-13-1)
|
-14.40 |
The Cardinals were not in good form heading into the Big East Tournament, but it all turned around for Rick Pitino, Peyton Siva and company. They climbed to a four seed for their efforts but have a tough matchup with Davidson. |
| 14 |
25 |
11 |
Florida St. |
24-9
(18-13-0)
|
-14.00 |
Is there anyone who doesn't think Leonard Hamilton should be coach of the year? FSU beat both UNC and Duke twice this season and captured the ACC title in impressive fashion. |
| 15 |
11 |
4 |
Indiana |
25-8
(17-10-0)
|
-13.95 |
The loss of Verdell Jones III is a big one for the Hoosiers. Cody Zeller and Christian Watford will have to lead the way if Indiana wants to make it to Atlanta and face Kentucky. |
| 16 |
14 |
2 |
Wisconsin |
24-9
(16-14-0)
|
-13.70 |
Wisconsin got past Indy in the Big Ten Tournament but it did not have enough to beat Michigan State. Everyone seems to be sleeping on the Badgers with Vanderbilt near them in the bracket. |
| 17 |
15 |
2 |
Michigan |
24-9
(17-12-1)
|
-13.15 |
After a 6-1 overall and 6-1 ATS streak, the Wolverines went 0-2 ATS in the Big Ten Tournament and got slammed by Ohio State. Now they go up against Ohio, a dangerous conference champion. |
| 18 |
33 |
15 |
Vanderbilt |
24-10
(17-13-0)
|
-13.00 |
It's hard to beat a team three times in the same season, especially when that teams is as good as Vanderbilt. The Commodores stunned Kentucky and are suddenly a trendy pick for the Final Four. |
| 19 |
20 |
1 |
Memphis |
26-8
(17-12-2)
|
-12.85 |
It was more of the same for Memphis, which once again cruised to the Conference USA title. But an eight seed is out of the ordinary and the Tigers may have to go up against Michigan State in the second round. |
| 20 |
21 |
1 |
St. Mary's |
27-5
(14-13-0)
|
-12.75 |
St. Mary's outlasted Gonzaga in a wild West Coast Conference final that required extra time to be decided. Get your popcorn ready for a potential second-round matchup between the Gaels and Kansas. |
| 21 |
13 |
8 |
Temple |
24-7
(17-14-0)
|
-12.70 |
Drexel (and others) cannot be happy with Temple, whose loss to UMass in the Atlantic 10 Tournament ultimately led to a bubble spot evaporating. The Owls will look to rebound against either Cal or South Florida. |
| 22 |
22 |
 |
Creighton |
28-5
(15-14-0)
|
-12.15 |
Creighton and the rest of the MVC teams will be well-rested as their tournament concluded well over a week ago. But getting an eight seed (three spots behind Wichita State) is not nice for the conference champion. |
| 23 |
17 |
6 |
Georgetown |
23-8
(15-11-0)
|
-12.05 |
The Hoyas' inconsistency continued in New York, where it rolled over Pitt then lost to Cincinnati (in overtime). In keeping with the team's style, some will have the Hoyas in the Final Four and some will have them losing to Belmont. |
| 24 |
31 |
7 |
Cincinnati |
24-10
(15-13-0)
|
-11.75 |
When the Bearcats brawled with Xavier early in the season, nobody could have expected to see them in the Big East title game. Louisville finally ended the team's run, but Cincy climbed to a No. 6 seed in the Dance. |
| 25 |
26 |
1 |
Florida |
23-10
(12-15-1)
|
-11.55 |
The Gators scraped past Alabama in the SEC Tournament then gave Kentucky a scare in the semis. But they are one of the more under-seeded teams in the NCAA and have to play Virginia in the first round. |
Power Ratings compute offensive and defensive statistics into one number for each team, while accounting for factors like recent performances and strength of schedule. Power Ratings can be used as a baseline for relative spread index to compare current or future match-ups between two teams. The relative spread does not account for non-statistical factors like home-field advantage, recent injuries, game time decisions, rivalries, publicity, and weather.