Folks, we are officially on 1-seed watch. Michigan State basketball was not exactly sitting pretty for a top-three seed a few weeks ago after a blowout road loss to Wisconsin, but things have changed quickly.
There were a few teams lobbying for that final 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament with Arizona, Duke, and Michigan likely having locked up three of them.
UConn had been slotted into that last 1-seed, but the Huskies would have to likely run the table through the Big East Tournament given how weak it’s been this year. Florida, Houston, and Michigan State were considered to be the other contenders for that final 1-seed.
Houston beat Oklahoma State on the road on Saturday in a thriller, staying in the race, Florida faces Kentucky early on Saturday evening, and Michigan State will be in Ann Arbor to face No. 3 MIchigan on Sunday afternoon.
UConn, however, dropped a game and will likely be left out of that 1-seed conversation — for now.
The Huskies will likely be in the conversation, especially if they can win the Big East Tournament next week with a win over a team like St. John’s to capture the crown. However, if any of the teams mentioned above win out, I would assume they’ll be slotted just ahead of the Huskies.
Here’s the order in which I think the remaining contenders are most likely to capture the final 1-seed:
- Florida
- Michigan State
- UConn
- Houston
Florida has been one of the hottest teams in the country, but they do face somewhat of a trap game in the season finale at Kentucky. They are easily the most likely to be a 1-seed out of the four teams right now, but Michigan State is right there, and a win over Michigan on Sunday might just convince the selection committee that the Spartans are deserving.
Houston, in my opinion, has the lowest odds simply because they have been trending in the wrong direction lately. UConn is probably just above Houston in terms of 1-seed odds.
The door has been cracked open, ever so slightly, but I like Michigan State’s chances to steal a 1-seed if it can find a way to win out.