The one sure thing about conference tournament season is that there are going to be upsets, and the results on Thursday were pretty upsetting for some teams.
Duke made a quick exit in the ACC Tournament after losing Tobacco Road rival NC State, and the Blue Devils dropped down to a 4-seed as a result. NC State needs to win the ACC Tournament title to make the NCAA Tournament, and the Wolfpack will now face Virginia this afternoon for a berth in the championship game to keep those hopes alive. Kentucky, meanwhile, replaced Duke as a 3-seed.
Duke's loss could also impact the battle for the fourth No. 1 seed. North Carolina will not get a chance to get the best possible win available to them in their league. That is important in a battle with Tennessee, which will have nothing but Quad 1 opportunities all the way through the SEC Tournament.
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Creighton, another 3-seed in my projected NCAA Tournament bracket, was upset by Providence. However, the Bluejays are still a 3-seed on Friday morning. The Friars have played themselves onto the bubble and will face Marquette in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
The Atlantic 10 Tournament was turned on its head with all four top seeds losing on Thursday. Five-seed VCU is now in the bracket as the AQ place holder. This is a bid-stealing situation as Dayton is still in the bracket as an at-large team.
The Flyers were one of the teams "also considered" for a spot in the selection committee's top 16 revealed on Feb. 17. Since then, Dayton has lost at VCU, George Mason and Loyola in addition to the defeat to Duquesne on Thursday. Now, the Flyers sit as a 10-seed in the bracket.
The Missouri Valley could also have a bid-stealer if Indiana State is selected as an at-large team. My bracket has another one with South Florida, the top seed in the AAC Tournament. The Bulls are an unlikely at-large team despite winning the league by two games.
Only seven of the tournaments completed so far were won by the top seed. Eleven No. 1 seeds have already lost and the average seed of the teams to beat them is an 8. They're not just losing, but they're going out early.
We will see if the trend continues Friday with top seeds South Florida, Purdue, UC Irvine, Tennessee and Grand Canyon taking the floor for the first time in their conference tournaments.
Check out Palm's latest bracket, Bubble Watch and full field of 68 at the Bracketology hub.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm's latest bracket, Bubble Watch and full field of 68 at the Bracketology hub.
