Undefeated, top-ranked Kentucky was selected the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, while Wisconsin, Duke and Villanova received the other No. 1 seeds in the tournament.
The seedings and matchups for the 68-team field were announced Sunday afternoon, with the Final Four set for April 4 in Indianapolis, followed by the national final on April 6.
The selection committee made several controversial decisions regarding its choices of the 36 at-large teams, with UCLA, Indiana, Mississippi, BYU, Texas and Boise State making the field, while Temple, Colorado State, Miami (Florida), Old Dominion, Tulsa and Texas A&M were among those left out.
There was no debate about Kentucky, however.
At 34-0, the Wildcats swept through the Southeastern Conference with a roster so talented that Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said the top five on the Wildcats’ bench could be the second-ranked team in the nation. Kentucky is No. 1 in the Midwest and plays its first two tournament games in Louisville, Ky.
The No. 2 seed in Midwest is Kansas, the Big 12 regular-season champ, and the Jayhawks would face Kentucky in the Elite Eight if both teams get that far. Notre Dame, the ACC tournament champ, is No. 3 in the Midwest, with Maryland at No. 4.
Wisconsin, which beat Michigan State in overtime in the Big Ten title game Sunday, is the No. 1 seed in the West, and selection committee chairman Scott Barnes said the Badgers would have been a No. 1 seed even if they had lost to the Spartans.
Wisconsin won a school-record 31 games in claiming the Big Ten championship in the regular season and the postseason tournament. Ryan guided the Badgers to the Final Four in Arlington, Texas, in 2014 behind All-America forward Frank Kaminsky. Now a senior, Kaminsky was the West Region Most Outstanding Player in 2014 before the Badgers lost to Kentucky in a national semifinal.
Arizona, which received consideration for a No. 1 seed, according to Barnes, is the No. 2 seed in the West, and would face No. 3 seed Baylor if both teams reach the Sweet 16.
North Carolina is the No. 4 seed in that region.
Villanova received the top seed in the East, while Virginia, the ACC regular-season champ, is the second seed. The Cavaliers seemed to be in line for a No. 1 seed until they lost to North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals.
Even at 32-2, Villanova lacked the pristine resume of some of the competition for a top seed. The Big East regular-season and postseason champions went 5-1 against teams ranked in the RPI Top 25, and wins at Butler, at Providence and against VCU in Philadelphia don’t stack up in terms of pure cachet to several No. 2 seeds. The Wildcats mastered the tests they received, and the selection committee rewarded them.
Oklahoma of the Big 12 got the No. 3 seed in the East and will play America East champ Albany on Friday, and Louisville is No. 4.
Duke, which won neither the ACC regular-season nor tournament title, earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
Virginia and Duke met just once in the regular season, and the Blue Devils won — in Charlottesville — which helped provide separation in the final conversation for the top line. Duke also won at Wisconsin and at Louisville and had a 30-point victory over Notre Dame.
Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament champion, is the No. 2 seed in the South, with Iowa State No. 3 and Georgetown No. 4
The four at-large teams forced to play first-round games were BYU, Mississippi, Dayton and Boise State. That means they were the last four teams to get into the field.
Barnes said Temple would have been the next team to receive an at-large bid, and the Owls were doomed when Wyoming won the Mountain West Conference tournament title Saturday, removing one of the expected at-large spots.
Defending national champion Connecticut needed to beat SMU in the American Athletic Conference final Sunday to make the field, but the Huskies lost. Barnes did not say which at-large team would have been eliminated if UConn had earned an automatic berth.
UCLA, Indiana and Texas not only made the field but were not among the First Four teams that have to play first-round games Tuesday or Wednesday. That means they got into the tournament with room to spare.
The Big 12 and Big Ten both got seven teams into the 68-team field, while the ACC and Big East had six apiece.