2011 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: #1 Seeds

Written by Jack Jones - Google +

The NCAA Tournament is just about ready to get started. All of this year’s #1 seeds are deserving and they also just happen to be some of the most successful teams in the history of college basketball. Let’s get to know the top seeds in this year’s NCAA tournament bracket by looking back at some of their most impressive accomplishments.

Ohio State Buckeyes – East Region

Ohio State has appeared in the Final Four 10 times.
One of those appearances (1999) was officially vacated by the NCAA because of recruiting violations by former coach Jim O’Brien (fired in 2004).
They haven’t won the National Championship since 1960, their one and only title.
That 1960 team featured Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas, as well as Hall of Fame coach Bobby Knight (as a reserve forward).
The Buckeyes’ last appearance in the NCAA Championship Game came in the 2007 tournament, their first appearance since 1962.
Current Buckeye star David Lighty is just the third player in Ohio State history to reach 1,000 points with 300 assists and 500 rebounds.

The Buckeyes play their first round game against the winner of the Texas San Antonio/Alabama State play-in game. If you are making NCAA basketball picks on who will make the weekend, it won’t matter which team Ohio State faces.

Kansas Jayhawks – Southwest Region

The Jayhawks have won 707 games between the 1985-86 and 2009-10 seasons and are one of three programs to have over 2,000 wins in their history (the others are Kentucky and North Carolina).
Kansas had a 69-game home winning streak that was ended this year on January 22nd against the Texas Longhorns.
The Jayhawks rank #1 all-time in seasons with a winning record (92), Consensus First Team All-Americans (20), and Conference Championships (54).
They’ve appeared in the Final Four 13 times, winning the championship on three occasions (1952, 1988, 2008).
2011 marked the 10th time (and the 4th time in 5 years) that Kansas has been a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas plays against Boston in their first round game on Friday, March 18th. Our NCAA tournament odds list the Jayhawks as 22.5-point favorites with an over/under set for 136 points.

Pittsburgh Panthers – Southeast Region

2011 marks the 23rd (and 10th straight) appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
In those 23 appearances they have earned:
- 7 Sweet Sixteen appearances (1957, 1974, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009)
- 3 Elite Eight appearances (1941, 1974, 2009)
- 1 Final Four appearance (1941)
Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon is the only coach in the team’s history to lead the Panthers to 7-straight NCAA Tournaments, he has also won more games (214) in his first eight seasons as a head coach than anyone else in NCAA history in that same time period.
2011 is the second time that Pittsburgh has been a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (the other was in 2009). They have also been a #2 seed twice and a #3 seed five times.

Both college basketball handicappers and Pittsburgh will have to wait to see who wins between North Carolina-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock for who they will match up with in the first round this year.

Duke Blue Devils – West Region

Duke is a 4-time NCAA champion (and the defending champ this year) and has appeared in the championship game in the NCAA tournament 10 times.
Legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski has lead the Blue Devils to all 4 of their titles (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010)
2011′s NCAA tournament bracket has Duke listed as a #1 seed for the 12th time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. From 1998 to 2006 Duke was a top seed in 8 of 9 seasons and, from 1998 to 2002 they were a #1 seed five consecutive times.
Duke’s History in the NCAA Tournament:
- 35 appearances
- 90 victories
- 25 Sweet Sixteen appearances
- 18 Elite Eight appearances
- 15 Final Four appearances
- 10 Championship game appearances
- 4 NCAA Championships

Duke drew #16 seed Hampton for the first round of the tournament. You can start your NCAA basketball handicapping now as the Blue Devils are 22.5-point favorites in this match up and the total is currently listed at 134.5 points.

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