INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Finally, the NCAA Tournament Field is set. Teams across the country tuned in to CBS for Selection Sunday; here, teams and fans found out their seeds and their first-round matchups. The 68-team tournament will begin on Thursday, March 18, with the First Four play-in games. For the first time, all games will take place in one city, Indianapolis, Ind. 

The Bracket

Top Seeds

No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan

In an unorthodox year, the top seeds are an equally unorthodox group. Of the four teams, Michigan stands alone as the only 1-seed to win an NCAA Tournament (1989). This season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have been the favorite since the beginning of the season. Led by Corey Kispert, Drew Timme, and Jalen Suggs, they went undefeated in the regular season. They look to be the first college basketball team to go undefeated since Indiana went 32-0 in 1975-76. 

First Four Matchups

No. 11 seed Witchita State vs. No. 11 seed Drake

In the No. 11 seed First Four matchups, the last four teams to make the tournament all play each other. For Wichita State, they were seemingly a lock for the NCAA Tournament before the conference tournament. Their 11-2 record in the American Athletic Conference was enough to secure the regular-season AAC Championship. However, a loss to Cincinnati in the conference tournament left them on the bubble.

For Drake, they received an at-large bid following a 2nd overall finish in the Missouri Valley Conference. They went 25-4 overall and 15-3 in the conference, eventually falling to No. 18 Loyola Chicago in the tournament championship. 

No. 11 seed Michigan State vs. No. 11 seed UCLA

For MSU and UCLA, the spot in the First Four matchups comes as a bit of a surprise. Entering the conference tournament, MSU’s wins against No. 1 seeds Illinois and Michigan and No. 2 seed Ohio State seemed to punch their ticket. However, when teams like Oregon State and Georgetown stole Automatic-Qualifier bids, they pushed MSU and UCLA down in seeding.

MSU will hope to find the team they were late in the Big Ten season when they upset 3 top-ten teams. They finished 9th in the Big Ten while losing to Maryland in the 2nd round of the Big Ten Tournament. For UCLA, they hope to find their stride after struggling to end the season. After a 4-game win streak In February, they dropped their last 4 games; that includes an upset loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament.

No. 16 Norfolk State vs. No. 16 Appalachian State

In the No. 16 seed matchups, AQ teams from smaller conferences compete for a chance to face off against the top seeds in the tournament. No team has ever come out of the play-in game as a No. 16 seed and then upset the No. 1 seed. In this matchup, the winner will face off against top-seed Gonzaga.

For Norfolk State, they finished 2nd in the Mid-Eastern Conference during the regular season but won the conference tournament. They had the best overall record in the conference at 16-7 but fell short in the conference with an 8-4 record. For App State, they pulled off multiple upsets in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to receive the AQ bid. After a 7-8 conference record finishing No. 7 overall, they had an uphill battle. However, they defeated No.1 seed Texas State, No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina, and No. 2 seed Georgia State to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third time ever. 

No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s vs. No. 16 Texas Southern

In this matchup, the winner faces the No. 4 overall seed, Michigan. For Mount St. Mary’s, they grabbed an AQ bid out of the Northeast Conference. After finishing No. 4 in the regular season, they used upsets of top seed Wagner and 2-seed Bryant to win the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship.

For Texas Southern, they also ran the table in their conference tournament despite finishing outside the top spot. A 10-3 conference record led to a No. 3 seed in the tournament in the regular season. However, they put on an impressive display in the SWAC Tournament. After a 3-point win over No. 2 seed Jackson State, they dominated No. 1 Prairie View to earn the AQ bid. Both Jackson State and Prairie View were undefeated in the conference before their losses to Texas Southern. 

West Region

Top seed: Gonzaga (26-0), WCC Regular Season and Tournament Champions

At-Large Teams: Oklahoma, Missouri, Creighton, Virginia, USC, Wichita St./Drake, Kansas, Oregon, VCU, Iowa

Prediction: In the West Region, all eyes are on top-seed Gonzaga. They will attempt to add 6 more wins to their total to match 1976 Indiana with a 32-0 record. Their biggest competition will be Iowa (21-8), which features presumptive National Player of the Year Luka Garza. In this region, the top 2 seeds seem to be on a collision course in the Elite Eight.

Team(s) to watch: No. 3 seed Kansas and No. 4 seed Virginia

In a pandemic riddled year, teams like Virginia and Kansas are sure to be on all basketball fans’ radar. Both teams had to concede their conference tournament games following positive COVID-19 tests. Now, their availability will be questionable. If they are unable to go, one of the first four teams out can replace them by Tuesday, March 14. The replacement teams, in order, are Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis, and Ole Miss. 

South Region

Top seed: Baylor (22-2), Big 12 Regular Season Champions

At-Large Teams: Baylor, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Villanova, Purdue, Texas Tech, Utah St, Arkansas, Florida, Virginia Tech, Ohio State

Prediction: This year, Baylor and Gonzaga have been thought to be in a league of their own. Baylor holds some of the most impressive wins of the year, including a double-digit win over Illinois back in December. Their only loss in the regular season came to Kansas following a span where 6 of 7 games got canceled. At first glance, they seem to have one of the easier paths to the Final Four of any of the top seeds. The only teams with 20 wins in their bracket are 2-seed Ohio State, 3-seed Arkansas, 11-seed Utah State, and 12-seed Winthrop.

Team(s) to watch: No. 2 seed Ohio State

Initially, the hopes in Columbus were high for this OSU team. They were in the initial tournament projections as a No. 1 and were playing great basketball. However, a 4-game losing skid near the end of the season dropped them off the 1-seed line. During the Big Ten Tournament, they looked like the team that deserved a top-seed early in the season. They beat Purdue in OT, took Illinois to OT in the Championship Game, and knocked off the top seed, Michigan. Duane Washington Jr. is playing his best basketball. He scored a career-high 32 points in the OT loss to Illinois.

Midwest Region

Top seed: Illinois (23-6), Big Ten Tournament Champions

At-Large Teams: Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Clemson, Rutgers

Prediction: Take one look at this bracket, and you will see a significant difference from the rest. For the Midwest Region, the number of conference champions outweighs the number of at-large teams. Initially, this may seem like a bad thing for top seed Illinois. More AQ teams usually means more teams who were at the top of their respective conferences. However, some of these teams were able to get in simply by running the table in their conference tournament. For example, 12-seed Oregon State would not be in the tournament without their Cinderella run to win the Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Even with their heavy conference champion bracket, expect Illinois to take advantage of their opponents with relative ease.

Team(s) to watch: No. 3 seed West Virginia and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State

During the regular season, the Big 12 has been the 2nd toughest conference behind the Big Ten. The two Big 12 teams in the Midwest Region, West Virginia and OK State, have a real shot at doing some damage. For West Virginia, they are a team that could have benefited from a full season. With many games canceled due to COVID, the Mountaineers still secured an 18-9 record overall. They beat teams like Texas and OK State while hanging in games with the Nation’s top teams, Gonzaga and Baylor.

However, West Virginia ended the season on a two-game losing skid to the same team; OK State. In March, a team like OK State can be very dangerous. In the regular season, their 20-8 record can be credited in large part to Cade Cunningham. He secured Big 12 Player of the Year honors as a freshman and is projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He led the upset of Baylor in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

East Region

Top seed: Michigan (20-4), Big Ten Regular Season Champions

At-Large Teams: Michigan, LSU, Colorado, Florida State, BYU, Michigan State/UCLA, UConn, Maryland

Prediction: Coming into the tournament, Michigan is by far the weakest top seed. During the year, their play had them in the conversation with Gonzaga and Baylor as legit national title contenders. However, the injury to senior forward Isaiah Livers makes this bracket as open as any. Head coach Juwan Howard knows all about what it takes during tournament time. This year, they are a No. 1 seed for the first time since Howard was a Michigan player.

“Right now, I’m just as calm as I can be. But I remember as a player, being a number one seed, being a number six seed, and also my junior year being a number three seed, there are a lot of different emotions going on as a player,” said Howard, reacting to his team’s selection as a No. 1 seed.

Team(s) to watch: No. 4 Seed Florida State

Another team that would have benefited from a full slate of games is Florida State. They finished 2nd in the ACC standings behind Virginia and lost in the ACC Tournament Championship to Georgia Tech. However, they had plenty of marquee wins. They beat regular-season champs Virginia by 21 points in head-to-head play. In their only other ranked game, they beat Clemson by 19 points. In the tournament, watch out for freshman guard Scottie Barnes. He does it all for Florida State and coach Leonard Hamilton, averaging 11 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.2 APG.