Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that was already starting to go haywire before the pairings came out Sunday.
Of the four top seeds, only UConn enters the tournament with a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.
Those weren’t the only surprises during the final hoops weekend before the sport’s main event took center stage.
Unexpected titles put teams like Oregon, North Carolina State and even Duquense, none of whom were expected to make the field, into the field of 68 via the automatic bid that goes to conference champions. The teams they defeated gobbled up a handful of the 34 at-large bids, shrinking the number of spots available for teams on the so-called bubble.
The final teams included Colorado, Virginia and, surprisingly, Boise State, which were not widely considered a bubble team. Those who missed out included Oklahoma, St John’s and Pittsburgh, many of whom were not expected to make it until Friday.
The tournament begins Tuesday with two First Four games, including a matchup between Virginia and a Colorado State team that few thought was in the bubble. The 32 first round matches will take place on Thursday and Friday. The Final Four will take place April 6-8 in Glendale, Arizona.
UConn, which opens Friday against Stetson, is the betting favorites and is trying to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07. The Huskies (31-3) are on a seven-game win streak and are tied with James Madison for the most wins in the country.
“We’ve been the best team in college basketball,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Obviously March Madness next week, who knows what happens there, but we’ve clearly been the best program in the country this year.”
The best conference? The SEC and Big 12 each placed eight teams in the bracket, followed by the Big Ten and Mountain West with six each.
The shrinking bubble took its toll on the selection committee.
“This year is more difficult than all my previous years combined. It’s just heartbreaking to know that some very good teams will unfortunately not be dancing,” Jamie Pollard, Iowa State’s athletic director in his fifth year on the committee, said on social media Saturday evening.