Teams vying for No. 1 NCAA seeds stated their cases and now it’s up to selection committee to decide

UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and Southern California have all stated their cases for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament with their stellar play this season.

It would be surprising if they don’t all end up on the 1-line Sunday night when the March Madness bracket is revealed by the selection committee. Where they are placed and who’s the overall No. 1 seed is still up for debate. Unlike previous seasons, there’s no dominant team that is the consensus choice.

This NCAA Tournament is only the second one in the past 19 years to have no teams entering March Madness with zero or one loss. The other time was in 2022.

More of the top teams went out and played tough non-conference games. Most of the four potential No. 1 seeds as well as UConn and Notre Dame faced off against each other either in conference play or non-conference matchups.

“We finally have more good teams wanting to play really good teams in their non-conference schedule early in the year,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Because what happens then is you not only get a … Well, I think this team should be ranked No. 1, I think that team should be ranked No. 2. Based on what? I don’t know. They just look like they’re a No. 2 or they’re a No. 3.

“So now you can actually put them head to head and say this is what it looks like.”

Auriemma’s team lost to Southern California and Notre Dame, but shocked South Carolina on the road last month.

“I think more and more schools are starting to do that, which obviously makes the game better, makes the TV people happy because they’re putting on a good product on television,” He said. “The kids like it.”

Here’s a look at the resumes of the top teams vying for the No. 1 overall seed:

South Carolina

Dawn Staley’s team went 2-3 against the other top teams with two victories over Texas. The Gamecocks lost in November to UCLA and fell to UConn last month. They have no other losses and won the SEC regular season and conference tournaments. Staley feels they should be No. 1 by how tough a schedule they’ve faced.

UCLA

The Bruins have just two losses on their schedule this season, both coming to rival USC. They went through a difficult Big Ten season and came away unblemished other than the losses to the Trojans. UCLA had a convincing win over South Carolina in November that vaunted them up to No. 1 for 12 weeks.

Texas

The Longhorns’ only losses came to South Carolina twice and Notre Dame and they have that one victory over the Gamecocks. They are tied with UCLA with 14 Quad 1 victories in the Net ratings for second most behind South Carolina’s 16.

Southern Cal

The Trojans have the two wins over UCLA and a victory at UConn which bolsters their No. 1 resume. A loss at Iowa might be the one that prevents them from reaching the overall No. 1.

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