Who Will Snag The Fourth and Final No. 1 Seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament?
Welcome to March. The best month of the year is finally here, and after what happened in 2020, this season's NCAA Tournament is going to be that much more special. Since it is the first day of the month, bracket projections are a hot topic among the college basketball universe. Today, we are going to focus on the top line of the March Madness bracket, which is going to be live in just 13 days. Unless something crazy happens, Gonzaga, Michigan, and Baylor are going to be No. 1 seeds in the tournament. That leaves room for one more school. Who are the options? There aren't many, and we broke it down on today's episode of the Barstool Bench Mob:
Houston (20-3, 13-3) - The Cougars are the team with the fewest losses among this group. The only issue with Houston is that they do not play in a good conference. The AAC is most likely sending just two teams to the Big Dance, so Kelvin Sampson's squad will have to run the table at the very least to still have a chance at the top line. But losses to Tulsa and East Carolina do not help.
Iowa (18-7, 12-6) - Look out, folks. Here come the Hawkeyes. They have one of the best players in the country on the floor in Luka Garza and sharpshooters in Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp, who are all veterans. Iowa has won five of its last six, and has a favorable schedule to end the regular season with a pair of home games against Nebraska and a struggling Wisconsin team.
Illinois: (18-6, 14-4) - In case you missed it, Illinois' best player, Ayo Dosunmu, remains out with a broken nose. He is not expected to be out too much longer, but the Fighting Illini obviously could use him back. Brad Underwood's squad has won nine of 10, but has a brutal schedule this week to close the regular season: @ Michigan and @ Ohio State. With that, however, they do control their own destiny to the 1 line.
Ohio State: (18-7, 12-7) - Last week, the Buckeyes were probably the favorite to be a No. 1 seed. But OSU has lost three straight games in the last eight days, and does not play again until Sunday (home vs. Illinois). The Bucks need a big run in the B1G tournament to get back into consideration.
Alabama: (19-6, 14-2) - The Crimson Tide is having a season that nobody saw coming. Everyone who follows college basketball knows how good of a coach Nate Oats is, but this is a team that can definitely make the Final Four. Even though the SEC is down this year, just two conference losses entering March is impressive.
Longshots: Florida State and Arkansas (if either win their conference tournaments, I think they have a chance to sneak onto the top line).
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