March Madness Brackets Set; Auburn (Men) and UCLA (Women) Top Overall Seeds

• The 68-team fields for the NCAA Tournaments on the men’s and women’s sides have been set after Selection Sunday.
• Auburn, Duke, Florida, and Houston are the #1 seeds on the men’s side, with Auburn as the top overall seed.
• For the women, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and USC are seeded #1, and UCLA is the top overall seed.

After four-plus months of college basketball action, the fields are finally set for the NCAA Tournaments on the men’s and women’s side. NCAA hoops are about to take over the sports spotlight for the next three weeks.

That means the top seeds have been decided. Of course, there was some controversy on seeding, and teams getting in that maybe shouldn’t have.  

Auburn Takes Top Men’s Seed over Duke, Florida, and Houston

Auburn and Duke were the best teams in the country all season on the men’s side, but it was the Tigers that claimed the top overall seed.

The Tigers will tip off their tournament on Thursday against either Alabama State or Saint Francis in the South Region. Florida, who won the SEC tournament after Auburn lost to Tennessee, will play first on Friday against Norfolk State in the West Region. The Gators might feel they should be the top overall seed after winning the SEC (which put a record 14 teams into the Tournament) Tournament, and winning at Auburn this season.

Duke heads the East Region and will take on American or Mount St. Mary’s on Friday. The Blue Devils are hoping that they’ll have Cooper Flagg on the floor after the star freshman was injured in their ACC Tournament opener. Duke is also a slight favorite in the March Madness odds over Auburn to win it all. Houston is the #1 seed in the Midwest Region, where they’ll face SIU Edwardsville on Thursday.

The biggest snub is probably Indiana, who lost out to North Carolina. The Tar Heels 22-13 this season, including 13-7 in the ACC, and lost to Duke three times, including in the ACC semifinals. Indiana was 19-13, but fell to Oregon in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. But North Carolina will go on to face San Diego State in one of the First Four games on Tuesday. The winner will be the #11 seed in the South.

UCLA is Top Women’s Seed Over South Carolina, Texas, and USC

The controversy on the women’s side came at the top as defending national champions South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and USC are the #1 seeds.

The Bruins will play either UC San Diego or Southern on Friday in Spokane Region 1. USC heads up Spokane Region 4 against UNC Greensboro on Saturday. South Carolina opens their NCAA title defense on Friday against Tennessee Tech in Birmingham Region 2. Texas will face either High Point or William & Mary on Saturday in Birmingham Region 3. The Gamecocks are the slightest of favorites over UConn, according to the women’s March Madness odds.

USC had a strong argument for the top overall seed as they beat UCLA twice this season, but the Bruins beat them in their third meeting, which was the Big Ten tournament final. UConn is now a #2 seed, but could have been a #1 over Texas. The two had the same record (31-3), and the Huskies rolled through the Big East tournament. The Longhorns were throttled by South Carolina in the SEC Tournament final.

Now, print off some March Madness squares and get ready for the Madness!