Three teams fighting for final No. 1 seed in March Madness

Houston plays BYU at the 2026 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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March Madness has college basketball fans buzzing once the brackets are unveiled, and the tournament magic and mayhem officially get started.

Before that can happen, teams are still competing in various conference tournaments. Some of those have strong implications about getting into the Big Dance, or the possible seeding for them, and particularly one of the final No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Heading into the weekend's action, all of the projected No. 1 seeds were still alive in their respective tournaments. The Duke Blue Devils were set to take on Virginia in the ACC Tournament final, while Arizona would play in the Big 12 Final. Additionally, Michigan was in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, as they took on a pesky Wisconsin team.

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Houston plays BYU at the 2026 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

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As of this writing, the projected No. 1 seeds of Michigan (30-2), Duke (31-2), and Arizona (31-2) were expected to hold steady regardless of the weekend's results. However, there were three teams still in contention for the fourth and final No. 1 seed: the Houston Cougars (28-4), UConn Huskies (29-4), and Florida Gators (26-6).

With Florida in action early, they would face Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Semifinals. A loss there could ultimately help give another team, such as Houston, the nod for that fourth and final top seed. However, to get there, Houston would need to defeat Arizona in their conference tournament final on Saturday.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller contends that the selection committee could give Houston the final spot if they win their conference tournament final based on the "every game matters" focus.

An interesting situation could arise for UConn, as they were set to do battle at Madison Square Garden against St. John's to crown the Big East champion. If both Florida and Houston were to lose, it would possibly open the door for UConn to grab that final No. 1 seed alongside Duke, Michigan, and Arizona.

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In addition to Houston and Florida conference tournament losses, UConn would also need to defeat St. John's. Each team defeated the other this season, and the two Big East foes meet in a rubber match at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, with MSG in New York City, almost like a home venue for the Red Storm.

The Huskies also defeated Florida earlier in the season, which would help their case for a top seed. However, the Gators have put in an impressive campaign since then to nearly lock up that final No. 1 seed.

That said, at worst, UConn and Houston seem headed towards No. 2 seeds, which wouldn't be a terrible predicament, depending on which other potential matchups the March Madness bracket brings.