They’re No. 1: Auburn, Tide, Duke, UF top reveal

Jeff BorzelloFeb 15, 2025, 01:44 PM ET

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• Basketball recruiting expert.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.Auburn is the general No. 1 seed in the NCAA

  competition guys’s basketball choice committee’s bracket preview, revealed Saturday afternoon, with the committee chair saying the Tigers were the consentaneous choice.”They are clearly

  our No. 1,” said North Carolina athletic director and committee chair Bubba Cunningham.Despite losing in your home to Florida last weekend, Auburn stayed the No. 1 group in the Associated Press survey for the fifth straight week. The Tigers have 13 Quadrant 1 wins, five more than any other group in the country, while also ranking No. 1 in 5 of the 7 metrics thought about by the choice committee.Alabama, Auburn’s opponent in Saturday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown, earned the No. 2 total seed Saturday afternoon. Duke was No. 3, while Florida edged out Tennessee for the final 1-seed. Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Cunningham said there were 5 groups debated for the four 1-seeds, however Florida’s win over Auburn

  gave the Gators the last spot over the Volunteers. With Texas A&M making the No. 6 total seed, five of the leading 6 groups were from the SEC.” The narrative since the season began was how strong Southeastern Conference groups are, which’s reflective in this top 16 reveal,” Cunningham said.”While each team is examined independent of their conference affiliation, there’s no getting away the fact that the league is on course for a historic season in regards to representation in the competition, specifically the extremely sought-after leading 16 seeds. Having five of the top six groups being from one conference is similarly impressive as it is uncommon. “All four 1-seeds in the 2023 mock bracket expose wound up as 1-seeds on Choice Sunday, while 3 of the 4 1-seeds in 2015’s mock bracket expose were 1-seeds a month later.Purdue and Houston joined

  the Volunteers and Aggies as the 2-seeds. Iowa State, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Arizona were the 3-seeds, while Texas Tech, Michigan, Kansas and St. John’s rounded out the top 16 as the 4-seeds. Iowa State and Kentucky have actually struggled for consistency in current weeks, with the Cyclones losing 4 of six before winning their past two games and Kentucky beginning 4-5 in SEC play before winning its past 2 games. However Cunningham pointed to injuries in the middle of those stretches– Milan Momcilovic for Iowa State, Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson for Kentucky– as mitigating aspects. “We believe they remain in the right spot,”he said.Cunningham said Michigan State and Marquette were likewise in the conversation for the final areas in the top 16.”With 5 first-year committee members, this was an important meeting, not just for the function of today’s unveiling but also to inform them about how picking, seeding and bracketing works,” he stated.

  “Going through this process will be valuable experience for them when we do it for real next month.” This is the only mock bracket reveal of the season. Choice Sunday is March 16.