Clemson considered a No. 1 Seed in reseeded Sweet 16
Who doesn't like a little hypothetical tournament talk this time of year? For crying out loud, your bracket is already a mess thanks to a historic weekend of upsets. You might as well look into the fantasy side of sports.
Now that we know the actual pairings in the Sweet 16, why not look at what the tournament pairings would be if they ever add a reseeding process?
ESPN's Myron Medcalf reseeded the field, and he's in buying into Clemson.
In an article published today, Medcalf looked at the Sweet Sixteen teams and put together his seedings after reexamining the field, and he really likes the Clemson Tigers.
In the reseeding process, Medcalf took the remaining sixteen teams and seeded them as either a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, or No. 4, essentially reranking the remaining teams into groups of four.
The top seed according to Medcalf is No. 1 Villanova. The Duke Blue Devils moved up from a No. 2 seed to become the second No. 1. Medcalf's third No. 1 seed belongs to; you guessed it- Clemson.
Medcalf wrote:
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"Clemson (Reseed: 1; previous seed: 5) The Tigers reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years after Sunday's 84-53 win over an Auburn team that had claimed a share of the SEC championship. Gabe DeVoe led four double-digit scorers with 22 points. This is an elite defensive squad that recorded a 46-for-80 combined mark inside the arc in wins over New Mexico State and Auburn, a pair of good teams. Clemson skated by NMSU and embarrassed Auburn. This is a balanced group that has helped Brad Brownell continue his "How you like me now?" tour after he started the season with an uncertain future." |
The final No. 1 seed in Medcalf's bracket is West Virginia, who was also a No. 5 seed to start the tournament.
By the way, Medcalf lists Kansas as a No. 3 seed and the 10th best team remaining in the field.
Based on Medcalf's work, a newly minted No. 1 seed Clemson would face Cinderella No. 4 seed Loyola-Chicago for the chance to get to the Elite Eight.