ESPN 'Bracketology' experts break down NCAA Tournament one-seed selections

With the NCAA Tournament field officially set, ESPN’s “Bracketology” experts discussed the committees choices on the one-seed line. College basketball analysts Rece Davis, Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas and LaPhonso Ellis were all on-hand to share their opinions on the March Madness bracket, along with their choices for upsets.

This year, the number one overall seed went to Alabama with Houston, Kansas and Purdue each earning a one-seed as well.

CLICK HERE to WIN March Madness Prizes in On3’s Bracket Challenge

ESPN analysts break down NCAA Tournament one-seeds

“Could this be the year that one-seeds are extraordinarily vulnerable? Choosing them seemed to be a relatively easy task,” opened Davis as they began their breakdown. “I don’t think there’s a lot of controversy there. I think you could’ve made a case for Texas, but there was nothing that was overwhelming there to say ‘that’s a bad pick at the one-seed.'”

“I think Alabama is the worthy overall number one,” answered Bilas. “Even though that’s a young basketball team, they’ve proven to be tough, resilient, they’re super talented and they’ve got… basically they’re two-deep at every position. And if Mark Sears starts shooting a little bit better, I like Alabama’s chances in that region.”

“The only interesting thing about the one-seeds is that you have two one-seeds that have guys injured right now. You have Kevin McCullar and obviously Marcus Sasser. Now they’re deserving ones but it will be interesting to see if those guys are ready to play come that first weekend,” added Greenberg.

“I have no issue with them, obviously Kansas is a deserving one because they have more Quad 1 wins than anyone else out there. Jalen Wilson has had a spectacular year so I have no issues with it at all,” finished Ellis.

The ESPN analysts seemed to agree almost down the line with the selection committee this year, with Texas being a two-seed as the only conversation they felt could be had. However, as Davis and Greenberg alluded to in their explanations, the injury concerns surrounding Kansas and Houston left some questioning if the one-seeds were the actual tournament favorites — even if they were deserving.