March Madness: Teams that were slotted to high and to low

We’ve finally arrived at the most magical time of the college basketball season: March Madness. With the tournament field now set, let’s look at five teams that were seeded too high or too low.

Underseeded: Michigan Wolverines (5 seed)

The Resume: 25-9 record, Big Ten Champions

Wins Over: Wisconsin (2x), Purdue (2x), Maryland

In what should have been one of the more impressive conference championship victories, the NCAA committee slotted Michigan as a five-seed despite their three consecutive wins over Top 20 teams.

What makes this ranking so egregious is when you compare it to that of Michigan’s Big 10 counterparts. Purdue and Maryland both earned four-seeds, while Wisconsin earned a three-seed, all better than the Wolverine’s team they lost to in the last five days.

While this Michigan team does have some unfortunate losses to Minnesota and Illinois, they’ve proven to have been playing their best basketball as of recent, winning in shootouts (81-80 over Maryland), and in slow, grind out games (59-53 over Wisconsin).

This seeding leaves Michigan with an unfortunate matchup vs. UC San Diego, one of the best mid-major teams in the nation. The Tritons thrive off creating turnovers and playing their own unique playstyle, a potential struggle for Michigan.

Even though the Wolverines are heading into the NCAA tournament on an incredibly hot streak, they were slighted greatly by the selection committee.

Overseeded: Texas A&M Aggies (4 seed)

The Resume: 22-10 record, Lost to Texas in the Second Round of the SEC Tournament

Wins Over: Auburn, Missouri, Ole Miss

As much as the SEC deserves respect for its historic level of talent, the Aggies benefited greatly from this conference’s dominance.

A&M finished the regular season with a whimper, losing in double overtime to their in-state rival Texas. That was their second loss to the Longhorns this season.

Texas A&M finished the season losing five of their last seven games, and while they did pull off a win against Auburn, that came after a 16-point loss to Mississippi State and a loss at home to unranked Vanderbilt.

If their seeding was selected before the conference tournament, a 4-seed would be appropriate. However, losing as six and a half point favorites in the first round should have knocked them down a seed or two.

This draw slots them to face Yale in the first round, a squad that upset four-seeded Auburn last year. While a second year of magic is certainly possible, Texas A&M still gained more than their fair share with their seeding.

Underseeded: Louisville Cardinals

The Resume: 27-7 Record, Lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament Final

Wins Over: Clemson (2x), North Carolina, West Virginia

Now yes, this resume doesn’t quite fit the profile of an “underrated” team. However, it was far from their fault.

Louisville went 18-2 against a weak ACC, with losses to Duke and Georgia Tech. Outside of the hiccup against the Yellow Jackets, the Cardinals had a very strong season, winning 19 more games than they did the previous season.

Their ACC semifinal win over Clemson showed the true profile of this team. Even with an off-game from the quarterfinal hero Chucky Hepburn, Terrence Edwards Jr. dropped 21 points to complement Hepburn’s 12 and a clutch block from Aboubacar Traore sealed the two point win.

Even with the weak conference, Louisville finds themselves three seeds lower than Clemson, a team they finished just one game worse than and beat twice this season.

Should Louisville be that much higher than the eight-seed? Probably not. Were they slightly disrespected by the selection committee? Absolutely.

Overseeded: Memphis Tigers (5 seed)

The Resume: 29-5 Record, AAC Conference Champions

Wins Over: Michigan State, Clemson, Missouri

You might think this is hypocritical, since I just called Louisville underseeded since they “can’t control who they play.”

Regardless, Memphis did not play a tough schedule. Their three marquee wins came in November and December, but they’ve played inconsistent basketball throughout the season.

The Tigers two losses in conference play came to Wichita State and Temple, two teams who finished .500 or below in conference play. They prefaced their win against Clemson with a loss to (brace yourself) Arkansas State, a team who just earned the three-seed… in the NIT.

Their conference tournament win also came with some bumps. They won by a combined four points against Tulane and Wichita State, and trailed at halftime to UAB in the championship game.

Memphis has firepower to go on hot streaks. PJ Haggerty is an uber talented sophomore guard who can score in bunches, and Tyrese Hunter has proven to be a solid number-two option.

However, the Tigers are also prone to cold stretches and games. Haggerty made 14 free throws against Tulane in the conference semifinals, but shot just 2-13. In the championship game, he shot 8-22, rates that don’t typically translate to success in the Big Dance.

Underseeded: BYU Cougars (6 seed)

The Resume: 24-9 Record, Lost to Houston in the Big 12 Semifinals

Wins Over: Iowa State (2x), Arizona, Kansas

In what might be the most criminal ranking on this list, BYU’s end of season hot streak has just a six-seed to show for it.

Heading into conference championship week, no one in the nation was hotter than the Cougars. They had won eight straight games and 12 of their previous 14.

In the conference semifinals, BYU took down the Iowa State Cyclones for the second time in three games (A team that, for the record, earned a three-seed in the NCAA tournament).

Yes, this team did get wiped by Houston in both their meetings, losing by a combined 51 points. However, Houston wiped everyone they played against. Their +15.7 margin of victory was fourth in the nation.

Unlike Memphis, BYU has played steady, elite basketball over the last month. They play an efficient style of offense, shooting 48% from the field as a team, good for 24th in the nation.

The Cougars play basketball in the way that teams find success in March. Combining that with the elite level in which they have been playing at, it’s a wonder how they only found a seven-seed.

Brendan Kern is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bwk537@psu.edu