2024 NCAA Tournament: Why North Carolina earned final No. 1 seed over Iowa State in March Madness bracket

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Iowa State made an impressive late surge into contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but even an authoritative victory over Houston in the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game wasn’t enough for the Cyclones. In the end, North Carolina claimed the fourth No. 1 seed despite falling short in the ACC Championship Game against NC State on Saturday.

In a 68-team bracket full of controversial placements, the UNC vs. Iowa State debate is one of the most consequential. Relegated to a No. 2 seed, the Cyclones will be forced to navigate an East regional that is topped by No. 1 overall seed UConn. They could also be pitted in a potential Elite Eight game against a surging No. 3 seed in Illinois, which just won the Big Ten Tournament.

The Huskies are the reigning national champions and have won 21 of 22 games entering the Big Dance. It’s a treacherous path for the Cyclones, who tore through the Big 12 Tournament with three straight blowout victories against quality foes.

So why did the Selection Committee seemingly disrespect ISU? It had a lot to do with the Cyclones’ strength of schedule — or lack thereof.

“Iowa State, a magnificent team,” selection committee chair Charles McClellan said on the CBS Selection Show. “Great wins, great tournament. But we did look at that nonconference strength of schedule. And we talked about this all along. We look at the entirety of the season, from the first game all the way until the last. When we added it all up, we felt like Iowa State was appropriately placed on that two line.”

Rigging the system?

Iowa State played the No. 351 nonconference slate, per KenPom. By contrast, North Carolina’s nonconference schedule ranked No. 36 as the Tar Heels picked up wins over Tennessee and Oklahoma while falling against UConn, Kentucky and Villanova.

ISU’s top nonconference win came against a non-NCAA Tournament team (Iowa), and the Cyclones suffered losses against…

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Author : David Cobb

Publish date : 2024-03-17 23:22:42

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