A wild Saturday of college basketball brought both clarity and chaos to the top seed line in CBS Sports Bracketology with five weeks remaining until Selection Sunday. The chaos came in the fight for the final No. 1 seed after Illinois fell 85-82 in overtime at Michigan State.
The Illini did no significant harm to their resume by falling in a tight Big Ten road game against the No. 10 Spartans, but they are back on the No. 2 line as the revolving door for the final spot on the top line continued.
Rising to take their place is Houston, which stated its case during a 77-66 road win over No. 16 BYU late Saturday night. It’s the Cougars’ best true road win of the season, and it improved their Quad 1 record to 6-2.
But the race for the final No. 1 seed remains tight, with UConn, Iowa State and Illinois squarely in the hunt. Here is a quick glimpse at how things look at the top, according to the CBS Sports Bracketology model.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out the full field of 68 at the CBS Sports Bracketology hub.
No. 1 seed clarity
The clarity came with some daylight developing (for the time being) among the first three No. 1 seeds. Arizona extended its lead in the race to be No. 1 overall with a 37-point beatdown of Oklahoma State. In addition to being the only unbeaten high-major team remaining, the Wildcats now also rank No. 1 in Wins Above Bubble (WAB) and are also first in the NET and at KenPom. Massive challenges are coming, starting on Monday night at Kansas, but the Wildcats are entering the fray on solid ground.
Indiana makes big jump
Indiana climbed comfortably into the field following its overtime win against Wisconsin. Oklahoma State took one on the chin against Arizona — as mentioned above — but the Cowboys haven’t gotten the boot just yet. That’s partially because Seton Hall and New Mexico both lost Saturday after entering among the “First Four Out” and also because Ohio State didn’t play Saturday. But if the Buckeyes topple No. 2 Michigan on Sunday, our model projects they will enter the field.
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