March Madness selection committee chairman: Dayton, Creighton, Clemson 'fighting' for No. 16 overall seed

NS_headshot_clearbackgroundby:Nick Schultz•02/17/24•

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The March Madness selection committee announced its current Top 16 seeds on Saturday with Selection Sunday just a month away. There didn’t seem to be many questions during the preview show – until the end, that is.

The committee put San Diego State as the last No. 4 seed in the field and the No. 16 overall seed. That’s where CBS’ Jay Wright had questions because in his predictions, he put Dayton ahead of SDSU.

Chairman Charles McClelland said the Flyers were part of the discussion, as were Creighton and Clemson. He added all three programs could be in play for that spot as the regular season starts to wrap up.

“Dayton was absolutely close,” McClelland said. “Great conversation about Dayton, as well as Creighton and Clemson – not in that particular order. But all three of those teams, right there on that 16-seed line fighting for it.”

A closer look at San Diego State, Creighton, Clemson and Dayton’s resumes

San Diego State entered Saturday ranked No. 15 in the NET rankings, while Creighton came in at No. 18 and Dayton was right behind the Bluejays at No. 19. Clemson checked in at No. 25. The Aztecs, fresh off last year’s Final Four appearance, have played more Q1 games than the other three teams and have a 5-6 record in those matchups.

That includes a big victory over New Mexico earlier this week, and it likely played a factor in the committee’s decision.

For comparison, Creighton is 4-4 in Q1 matchups, Dayton is 3-3 and Clemson is 4-4 in those games. However, Dayton has the best record of that group at 20-4, which is part of the argument for the Flyers to be ahead of San Diego State.

On3’s James Fletcher III had Dayton as a No. 5 seed in his latest March Madness Bracketology this week, with the Flyers – currently tied for first place in the Atlantic 10 with Loyola Chicago at 10-2 in league play – taking on Samford in the first round. Creighton and San Diego State were also No. 5 seeds and Clemson checked in as a No. 6 seed.

Clemson currently sits fifth in the ACC with a 7-6 record in conference play entering Saturday night’s game against NC State. Creighton, meanwhile, is 9-5 in the Big East and four games back of UConn, and San Diego State is a half game back of Utah State in the Mountain West at 9-4 in conference play.