Defending national champion UConn, one day away from winning the Big East tournament and improving to 31-3, was chosen as the men's No. 1 overall seed Sunday during the NCAA Tournament selection show.
The Huskies, who have won seven straight and finished 7-2 this season against teams in the Associated Press Top 25, are joined on line 1 by Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, three teams that have consistently been in the top 10 first. during 2023-24, but lost in their respective conference tournaments last week.
UConn will open its title defense at Barclays Center in Brooklyn against Stetson on Friday. If the Huskies advance, they will play either Florida Atlantic or Northwestern.
“It's tough no matter where you are,” UConn coach Dan Hurley told ESPN's Bracketology panel after the selection show. “There is so much depth in college basketball these days. This time of year it comes down to who plays their identity best.”
For the Cougars and Boilermakers, Sunday's picks mark the second time in as many years they landed at No. 1. They were joined last season by Alabama and Kansas, whose names were mentioned this season but not on the top line.
Houston will have to face the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars manage to reach their first Final Four since 2021. The Cougars were rewarded for being the Big 12 regular season champions and reaching the title of the conference tournament. game before losing to Iowa State. They will face No. 16 seed Longwood, the Big South champion, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the first round on Thursday. Houston will be the number one seed for the third time in school history.
“Longwood is a champion, that's what I know about them,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said in his media availability after the selection show when asked about the Cougars' first opponent. “They just won a championship.”
For North Carolina, its No. 1 ranking is its fourth and final, and it came after much debate in the committee. The Tar Heels will open Thursday in Spokane, Washington, against a winner of Tuesday's First Four.
“There was a lot of discussion, obviously, North Carolina understood it,” Charles McClelland, chairman of this year's committee, said on the CBS selection show. “We looked at some head-to-heads, but overall, North Carolina had a great season. They did what they were supposed to do in the regular season.”
Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, speaking to reporters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after the show, agreed with McClelland.
“We are the No. 1 seed because of the work this team has done this season,” he said. “I'm proud of how they've worked all season, how they've played, how they've prepared and how, since the start of the season, they've wanted to be a team.”
Purdue will also play a First Four powerhouse. The 29-4 Boilermakers will begin their run Friday in Indianapolis. Purdue, which lost in the first round last season to Fairleigh Dickinson, has won six of its last seven games.
“Our goal was to get back to where we were last year and obviously play better and win games,” Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters in West Lafayette, Indiana, after the selection show. “But this is a real tribute to our guys… You don't start number one next year. You have to earn it, and our guys have earned it.”
Purdue's path could include a matchup with No. 4 seed Kansas or No. 5 seed Gonzaga, two teams used to having much better seeds this time of year, just to reach the Sweet 16. And to reach the Finals Four, the path could go through second-seeded Tennessee or third-seeded Creighton, both coming off disappointing appearances in their conference tournaments.
Hurley's team has been the most dominant for much of the season, and the Huskies continued that trend last week at Madison Square Garden. Purdue had the best collection of wins and Houston was No. 1 in most metrics, but its upsets in the Big Ten and Big 12 tournaments, respectively, loomed large in the committee room on Sunday.
With several upsets in the conference tournaments this weekend and several automatic bid teams stealing spots from bubble teams, McClelland called this year's decisions among “the most difficult” in years.
The Big East was one of the conferences that was well represented on the outside of the cut line. And Hurley, speaking to reporters in Storrs, Connecticut, after the selection show, took issue with St. John's and Seton Hall, two of the Huskies' conference rivals, not participating in the tournament.
“I'm probably a little embarrassed for the league, for such a proud league,” Hurley said of the Big East, which finished with three tournament teams, including Marquette and Creighton. “This whole thing is kind of a game of stratagem. And it really comes down to what the committee values.”
Both the SEC and Big 12 put eight teams in the field, while the Big Ten and Mountain West each had six.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
