2020 March Madness Bracketology – Favorites to Land No. 1 Seeds in the NCAA Tournament: The 2019-2020 College Basketball regular season is hitting its home stretch, and while conference tournaments are on the horizon, everyone’s focus is starting to shift to March and the NCAA Tournament.
Some teams are fighting just to have a chance to be a part of March Madness, but for the top teams in the country, it is all about putting themselves in the best position to make a run to the Final Four and compete for a national title. Landing one of the four No. 1 seeds is a big first step, but earning a spot on the top line is easier said than done, even for great teams.
Nothing is set in stone, even this late in the season, but there are a few teams that have put themselves in prime position to land a No. 1 seed. Let’s take a closer look at the squads who have established themselves as the clear frontrunners to be ranked atop one of the four regions when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed.
2020 March Madness Bracketology: Favorites to Land No. 1 Seeds in the NCAA Tournament
The Frontrunners
Baylor Bears (24-1, 13-0 Big 12)
Baylor lost to Washington in its second game of the season, and the Bears haven’t lost since. They are a perfect 7-0 against quality opponents, which includes a road win over conference rival Kansas. They are absolutely suffocating opponents with their defense, holding opponents to just 58.2 points per game, tied for the third-best mark in the country. Baylor has a go-to scorer in guard Jared Butler, but it is the consistent effort on the defensive end that has the Bears cruising towards a No. 1 seed. Sitting fourth in BPI and boasting the best Strength of Record in the country, I think it takes multiple losses down the stretch to move Baylor off the top line.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-1, 12-0 WCC)
The Bulldogs might not play in the toughest conference, but early in the year, they took out Oregon in a neutral site contest and went on the road to beat Arizona and Washington. Plus, their recent 30-point thumping of Saint Mary’s on the road is pretty impressive. Gonzaga is an offensive juggernaut, featuring seven players scoring in double figures and five players who can hurt opponents from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also rank second in the country in shooting percentage and ninth in 3-point shooting. There isn’t a big margin for error with a weak strength of schedule, but Gonzaga ranks third in BPI and fourth in Strength of Record. That resume is beefy enough to survive one loss, and I don’t see them slipping up more than once before the NCAA Tournament, if at all.
Kansas Jayhawks (23-3, 12-1 Big 12)
Yes, the Jayhawks have three losses on their resume, but none of them are overly damaging. Kansas lost by two in its opener against a Duke squad ranked in the top five, lost by one on the road to a ranked Villanova team and lost to Baylor, the No. 1 team in the country. The Jayhawks have taken care of business against everyone else, and they currently rank second in BPI and in Strength of Record. Not to mention that their out-of-conference win against Dayton early in the year looks more impressive by the day.
Kansas has one of the more balanced teams in the country, and while the Jayhawks boast a top-10 scoring defense, they also have a dynamic duo capable of taking over games offensively. Point guard Devon Dotson and center Udoka Azubuike are both in the Wooden Award conversation. A win in their upcoming rematch against Baylor would likely wrap up a No. 1 seed for the Jayhawks, but even if they lose, they still have a great chance of landing a top seed.
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