Kentucky claims top overall seed, Duke #1 in South

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Monday, March 16, 2015
Kentucky claims top overall seed, Duke #1 in South
The NCAA Basketball Tournament picks are out

Kentucky's chasing history, trying to become the first undefeated champion in March Madness since Indiana in 1976.

The Wildcats are seeded first overall in the NCAA tournament and tops in the Midwest Region, in search of six more wins for a perfect season.

The other No. 1 seeds are Villanova in the East, Duke in the South and Wisconsin in the West. The Badgers (31-3) secured the first top seed in program history after overcoming an 11-point deficit Sunday against Michigan State to win 80-69 in overtime.

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For UNC and NC State, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack spots in the bracket were guaranteed, but both teams were watching eagerly to see exactly where they'd land in terms of region and seeding.

And after playing themselves into the ACC title game, UNC was hoping to reap some benefits despite falling to the Fighting Irish for the title.

The Tar Heels find themselves as the 4th seed in the West Region and will face Ivy League champ and 13th seed Harvard on Thursday in Jacksonville.

As for the Wolfpack, they are the 8th seed in the East Region and will face 9th-seeded LSU in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

The No. 2 seeds are Kansas in the Midwest, Virginia in the East, Gonzaga in the South and Arizona in the West.

Kentucky defeated Arkansas 78-63 on Sunday to improve to 34-0. The Wildcats will open Thursday against the winner of Tuesday's play-in game between No. 16 seeds Manhattan and Hampton.

Another play-in game will match No. 11 seeds Boise State against Dayton, both of which were at-large bubble teams.

Other teams that made it off the bubble included UCLA and Texas, both given No. 11 seeds and not forced to play in a play-in game. BYU and Mississippi also made it as No. 11 seeds and will meet in a play-in game.

Colorado State, Temple, Old Dominion and Miami were among those left out. CSU and Temple both had RPIs more than 20 points better than Ole Miss.

The Big 12 and Big Ten led the way by placing seven teams each in the bracket.

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