The final week of our poll—yes, our work is done here, it's up
to the real committee to take over now—mostly just scrambled
our seedlings a bit. Only reeling New Mexico (loser to BYU and
Utah) and Arkansas (beaten by both Mississippi and Alabama)
dropped out, with Cincinnati and Illinois taking their places.
This week's major conference tournaments could greatly influence
the field, especially since the committee puts such emphasis on
how teams did in their last 10 games. By that measure, Duke's
win over North Carolina would seem to assure the Blue Devils the
No. 1 seed in the East by virtue of their record 15 wins in ACC
play. The Tar Heels' two losses in eight days would seem to
relegate North Carolina to the South, no matter what happens in
the ACC tournament.
Here's what we'll be watching for this week as selection Sunday
approaches. Where will the committee put Kentucky? The Wildcats,
thanks to their win in South Carolina, look like the strongest
No. 2 seed. Our pollsters thought that earned them a ticket out
of the East, where they'd face Duke. So we moved them to the
Midwest.
We're also watching the WAC tournament to see if Utah earns a
No. 2 seed in the NCAAs. A loss could send them down a notch or
two. Also, the inaugural Big Ten tournament might help clarify
whether Purdue, Michigan State (loser to the Boilermakers in
East Lansing) or Illinois (winner at Indiana for a share of the
Big Ten title) is the real league power. Having gotten a taste
of how difficult the process is, we wish the committee luck.
EAST
1. Duke (27-2)
2. Stanford (24-4)
3. Michigan State (20-6)
4. Princeton (25-1)
SOUTH
1. North Carolina (27-3)
2. Connecticut (26-4)
3. TCU (26-4)
4. South Carolina (21-6)
MIDWEST
1. Kansas (31-3)
2. Kentucky (26-4)
3. Purdue (24-6)
4. Cincinnati (23-5)
WEST
1. Arizona (26-3)
2. Utah (25-2)
3. Mississippi (21-5)
4. Illinois (21-8)
Issue date: March 9, 1998
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