Seeds? Planted

The GIST: Men’s conference tournament finals tend to be lost in the Selection Sunday sauce, but this year’s grand finales — and the 21 top seeds who were left hoping for an at-large natty bid — were too wild to ignore.

NC State stuns the ACC: The No. 10–seed Wolfpack tore through four higher-seeded opponents — including regular-season champ UNC in Saturday’s shocking 84–76 finale win — to capture the ACC’s crown and secure a No. 11 seed in the national bracket. UNC had the last laugh, though, when they bagged their program-record eighth No. 1 national seed.

Defense wins Big 12 championship: Iowa State, the Big 12’s No. 2–seed, beat the top-seeded Houston Cougars at their own game: The Cyclones held the nation’s best defense to a measly 41 points to win Saturday’s final, landing themselves a national No. 2 seed in the process.

More top seeds stall out: The regular-season champs completely missed the Big Ten’s title game. No. 5–seed Wisconsin wrote over their disastrous end-of-season slide — and gave No. 1 Purdue flashbacks — with Saturday’s 76–75 semifinal win over the Boilermakers. Wisconsin fell to No. 2 Illinois 93–87 in yesterday’s conference final, but their rebound earned them a national No. 5 seed.

• It was a similar scene in the Pac-12, where No. 1–seed Arizona and No. 2 Washington State both lost in Friday’s semis, paving the way for No. 4 Oregon’s 75–68 Saturday dub over Colorado to secure their improbable ’ship — likely flipping the Ducks from the NIT to the Big Dance.

• In the SEC, the top three seeds failed their quarter-finals, allowing No. 4–seed Auburn to snag the auto-bid in yesterday’s tourney finish. What do you expect from a conference where four teams tied for second in the regular season?

Long Beach State coach goes out with a bang: The Beach’s athletic department fired 17-year head coach (HC) Dan Monson last Monday but allowed him to finish out the postseason. Monson turned his lame duck moment into magic, taking the Big West No. 4–seed Beach to the tournament title, securing their first March Madness berth in twelve years. Best day for the Beach since Barbie.

The GIST: To help you make your picks, a deep dive into the men’s basketball (MBB) and women’s basketball (WBB) March Madness brackets will hit your inbox tomorrow and Wednesday, respectively, but in the meantime, let’s break down some Selection Sunday stats.

Zero: The number of people more hyped than Texas’ women when they received their No. 1 seed. Pro tip: Turn down your volume before clicking that link.

• On the opposite end of the spectrum, zero people were less impressed than LSU WBB HC Kim Mulkey learning that her Tigers are a No. 3 seed. Hey, it worked out pretty well for them last year.

3: The number of 2023 Final Four teams (No. 1 UConn, No. 5 San Diego State, and No. 8 FAU) in the men’s East region, which is likely the toughest path to the Final Four across both brackets. Even more intimidating? That quadrant also includes four freshly-minted conference tournament champions (UConn, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Illinois, and No. 4 Auburn). Cutthroat doesn’t cover it.

6: The teams dancing for the first time. Conference tournament champions No. 15 Cal Baptist WBB, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi WBB, and No. 16 Stetson MBB are on to the first round, while No. 16 Presbyterian WBB and No. 16 Grambling State MBB will duke it out in “First Four” games this week.

• The only first-timer invited on an at-large bid? Columbia’s No. 12 women, who have a First Four date with Vanderbilt on Wednesday. When an impassioned HC speaks, the selection committee listens.

8: The most teams any conference is sending to March Madness. On the women’s side, the ACC and SEC have the most contenders, while the Big 12 and SEC each added eight in the men’s bracket.

10: How many mid-major teams scooped up at-large tickets. Eight men’s teams earned this distinction, while just No. 4 Gonzaga and the aforementioned Columbia made the women’s bracket without bringing home conference hardware first.

22: The number of schools sending their women and men to the Big Dance. Get you a team that can do both.

6:40 p.m. ET: The time when this year’s edition of the best tournament in sports officially tips off — Wagner and Howard MBB will fight for a No. 16 seed in a First Four bout tomorrow. LFG.

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Get’cha head in the college hoops game by joining The GIST’s Bracket Challenge today!

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