[Printable NCAA tournament bracket]
The NCAA men’s tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday with Auburn announced as the No. 1 seed playing out of the South region.
Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East, Houston is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and Florida is the No. 1 seed in the West after beating Tennessee in the SEC championship game. Tennessee, Michigan State, Alabama and St. John’s earned No. 2 seeds.
North Carolina and Texas survived their wait on the bubble. Indiana did not.
Auburn secured the No. 1 overall seed thanks to winning the SEC regular season and producing a 28-5 record while playing the nation’s second-hardest schedule.
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The Tigers lost three of their last four games, including a defeat to Tennessee in the SEC tournament semifinal. But the NCAA tournament committee overlooked Auburn’s late-season struggles and rewarded an overall résumé that features the best regular season in an SEC that that produced a record 14 NCAA tournament teams.
Auburn edged out a 31-3 Duke team loaded with projected NBA talent that beat Auburn in December and was historically dominant in a 19-1 conference run to the ACC regular-season title. Duke then backed up its regular season with an ACC tournament championship and enters NCAA tournament play with a nation’s best 20.8-point average margin of victory.
If Cooper Flagg returns healthy from a sprained ankle, Duke will be the favorite to win the championship in the eyes of many. But it was dinged by the committee for its strength of schedule (57th) while playing in a down ACC.
Auburn, meanwhile, produced the nation’s most Quad 1 wins, going 16-5 against those opponents. Each of Auburn’s five losses (Duke, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Alabama) came against teams that are highly seeded in the NCAA tournament. Led by National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome, Auburn will look to convert the No. 1 overall seed into the program’s first NCAA championship.
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/Saint Francis (Lexington, Thursday, 2:50 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton (Lexington, Thursday, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego (Denver, Thursday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 4 Texas A&M vs No. 13 Yale (Denver, Thursday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 San Diego State/No. 11 North Carolina (Milwaukee, Friday, 4:05 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb (Milwaukee, Friday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico (Cleveland, Friday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant (Cleveland, Friday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 1 Duke vs. American/No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s (Raleigh, Friday, 2:50 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor (Raleigh, Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty (Seattle, Friday, 10:10 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron (Seattle, Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 6 BYU vs. VCU (Denver, Thursday, 4:05 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana (Denver, Thursday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt (Cleveland, Friday, 3:15 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris (Cleveland, Friday, 12:40 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville (Wichita, Thursday, 2 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia, (Wichita, Thursday, 4:35 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese (Providence, Thursday, 3:15 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point (Providence, Thursday, 12:40 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier (Milwaukee, Friday, 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy (Milwaukee, Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State (Lexington, Thursday, 9:25 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford (Lexington, Thursday, 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (Raleigh, Friday, 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (Raleigh, Friday, 9:25 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State (Seattle, Friday, 2 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon (Seattle, Friday, 4:35 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake (Wichita, Thursday, 7:35 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington (Wichita, Thursday, 10:10 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas (Providence, Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 2 St. John’s vs. No. 15 Omaha (Providence, Thursday, 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS)
SEC: 14 bids, an NCAA tournament record
Big Ten: 8 bids
Big 12: 7 bids
Big East: 5 bids
ACC: 4 bids
MWC: 4 bids
WCC: 2 bids
All other conferences: 1 bid each
