March Madness - 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket
This is the eighth consecutive year that Kansas has been a #1 or #2 seed. North Carolina pulled a #1 seed despite being ranked 6th nationally. That marks the 16th time in history that they have been seeded #1. (#3 UCLA got the shaft with a third seed, but they might get their chance to show they deserved North Carolina's seed, because they are both in the South!)
Illinois State did not make it despite a 17-1 regular season conference record, 27-6 overall, and an RPI rank of 32nd in the nation. They were 6-5 against the top 150 teams. What killed them was that they lost big to Wichita State twice, including the final of the conference championship (the two teams split in the regular season). Since Wichita State is in the same conference and got a #10 seed in the big dance, the seeders saw no reason to install a second team from a conference that is mediocre at best.
Of course, some silly teams always get in automatically by winning their conferences. South Dakota State is in with an 18-16 record - and they had to win their last six games to get even to that level! That streak will end unless they can become the first #16 seed ever to defeat a #1.
USA Today opined about other possible snubs.
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