Big East lands pair of No. 1 seeds in Sunday's midseason bracket reveal

Villanova guard Jalen Brunson (1) in action during an NCAA college basketball game against Butler, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, in Philadelphia. Villanova won 86-75. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson (1) in action during an NCAA college basketball game against Butler, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, in Philadelphia. Villanova won 86-75. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

If Selection Sunday were today, the Big East would have a pair of teams on the top seed line.

Villanova and Xavier both were among four No. 1 seeds when the men’s basketball selection committee revealed its in-season top 16 on Sunday afternoon.

The committee’s No. 1 overall team was Virginia, which stands alone atop the ACC and has a 12-2 record against Quadrant 1 and 2 teams. Joining the Cavaliers on the top seed line were Villanova, Xavier and Purdue.

The ACC landed the most teams in the committee’s top 16 with four as Duke (2), North Carolina (3) and Clemson (3) all joined Virginia. The Big 12 and Big Ten both landed three teams apiece in the top four seed lines.

Teams from out West were nearly snubbed entirely as only Pac-12 leader Arizona snuck onto the No. 4 seed line. Gonzaga did not make the top 16 despite a 23-4 record and marquee victories over Ohio State, Texas, Creighton and Saint Mary’s.

One mild surprise was Michigan State landing a No. 3 seed instead of a seed line or two higher. The message from the committee to the Spartans was that its strength of schedule hasn’t been good enough.

An even bigger surprise was Oklahoma’s inclusion in the top 16 at all. The Sooners received a No. 4 seed even though they’re just 16-8 overall and 6-6 in the Big 12, having dropped six of their last eight games.

Below is a look at the selection committee’s top 16 as announced on Sunday:

SOUTH REGION

1. Virginia (23-2, 12-1) (RPI: 1, KenPom: 1) (Record vs. Q1: 7-1) (Record vs. Q2: 5-1) (Marquee wins: at Duke, North Carolina, Clemson) (Losses: at West Virginia, Virginia Tech)

2. Cincinnati (22-2, 11-0) (RPI: 10, KenPom: 4) (Record vs. Q1: 4-2) (Record vs. Q2: 8-0) (Marquee wins: at UCLA, Houston, Temple x2) (Losses: at Xavier, Florida)

3. Michigan State (24-3, 12-2) (RPI: 22, KenPom: 6) (Record vs. Q1: 3-2) (Record vs. Q2: 5-1) (Marquee wins: Purdue, North Carolina, Nebraska) (Losses: Duke, at Ohio State, Michigan)

4. Tennessee (18-6, 8-4) (RPI: 13, KenPom: 12) (Record vs. Q1: 4-6) (Record vs. Q2: 5-0) (Marquee wins: North Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky x2) (Losses: Villanova, North Carolina, at Arkansas, Auburn, at Missouri, at Alabama)

EAST REGION

1. Villanova (23-2, 10-2) (RPI: 3, KenPom 2) (Record vs. Q1: 9-1) (Record vs. Q2: 4-1) (Marquee wins: Xavier, Tennessee, Gonzaga) (Losses: at Butler, St. John’s)

2. Duke (19-5, 7-4) (RPI: 8, KenPom: 5) (Record vs. Q1: 4-4) (Record vs. Q2: 4-1) (Marquee wins: Michigan State, at Miami, Florida) (Losses: at Boston College, at NC State, Virginia, at St. John’s, at North Carolina)

3. Texas Tech (21-4, 9-3) (RPI: 13, KenPom: 7) (Record vs. Q1: 6-3) (Record vs. Q2: 5-1) (Marquee wins: at Kansas, at TCU, West Virginia) (Losses: Seton Hall, at Oklahoma, at Texas, at Iowa State)

4. Ohio State (22-5, 13-1) (RPI: 11, KenPom: 17) (Record vs. Q1: 2-4) (Record vs. Q2: 5-0) (Marquee wins: at Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan) (Losses: Gonzaga, Butler, Clemson, North Carolina, Penn State)

MIDWEST REGION

1. Xavier (23-3, 11-2) (RPI: 2, KenPom: 13) (Record vs. Q1: 7-3) (Record vs. Q2: 7-0) (Marquee wins: Cincinnati, Butler x2, at Creighton) (Losses: at Villanova, Arizona State, Providence)

2. Auburn (22-3, 10-3) (RPI: 7, KenPom: 8) (Record vs. Q1: 5-3) (Record vs. Q2: 6-0) (Marquee wins: at Tennessee, at Missouri, Middle Tennessee) (Losses: Temple, at Alabama, Texas A&M)

3. Clemson (20-4, 9-3) (RPI: 4, KenPom: 15) (Record vs. Q1: 4-4) (Record vs. Q2: 6-0) (Marquee wins: at Ohio State, North Carolina, Miami) (Losses: Temple, at North Carolina, at Virginia, at NC State)

4. Oklahoma (16-8, 6-6) (RPI: 21 KenPom: 28) (Record vs. Q1: 6-5) (Record vs. Q2: 1-3) (Marquee wins: at Wichita State, at TCU, Kansas) (Losses: Arkansas, West Virginia, at Kansas State, at Oklahoma State, at Alabama, at West Virginia, at Texas, at Iowa State)

WEST REGION

1. Purdue (23-4, 12-2) (RPI: 12, KenPom: 3) (Record vs. Q1: 5-3) (Record vs. Q2: 6-1) (Marquee wins: Arizona, Butler, Louisville) (Losses: Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Ohio State, at Michigan State)

2. Kansas (19-6, 8-4) (RPI: 6, KenPom: 15) (Record vs. Q1: 9-3) (Record vs. Q2: 5-3) (Marquee wins: at West Virginia, Texas A&M, TCU x2) (Losses: Arizona State, Washington, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, at Oklahoma, at Baylor)

3. North Carolina (19-7, 8-5) (RPI: 6, KenPom: 10) (Record vs. Q1: 7-5) (Record vs. Q2: 7-1) (Marquee wins: Duke, Clemson, at Tennessee, Ohio State) (Losses: Michigan State, Wofford, at Florida State, at Virginia, at Virginia Tech, NC State, at Clemson)

4. Arizona (20-6, 10-3) (RPI: 19, KenPom: 23) (Record vs. Q1: 3-3) (Record vs. Q2: 6-3) (Marquee wins: Texas A&M, Alabama, Arizona State) (Losses: Purdue, at Washington, NC State, SMU, at Colorado, UCLA)

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Jeff Eisenberg is a college basketball writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!