The NCAA’s decision to unveil the top 16 NCAA Tournament seeds to date as of Feb. 11 will arrive at an interesting time for the Wildcats, who play at Oregon on Feb. 4.
If the Wildcats remain unbeaten in conference play through their Oregon trip next week, they will have an argument for a No. 1 seed.
Dave Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior VP for basketball championships, said the idea to reveal some early top picks received the support of both the NABC (basketball coaches) and CBS/Turner (sponsoring media), while it also was inspired by the College Football Playoff ratings releases.
Gavitt and Michigan State AD Mark Hollis, this year’s selection committee chair, said the reveal will aid exposure and transparency, though Hollis said it wouldn’t be practical to reveal an entire 68-team "field” in February.
“That would be fun for the fans but nearly impossible for the committee,” he said. “It’s a very abbreviated time we’re together in February. This is going to put us in position where we’re gonna have to pay a little more attention.”
