Washington and Duke Move to the Top Line

WASHINGTON —  Duke shook things up in another championship performance, but Washington emerged as the biggest winner Sunday with an unexpected top seeding in the NCAA tournament’s 65-team field.

The Blue Devils defeated Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game at the MCI Center, prompting the Division I men’s basketball committee to give them the top spot in the Austin Regional. The move was somewhat surprising because Duke finished third in the ACC, behind regular-season champion North Carolina, seeded first in the Syracuse Regional, and runner-up Wake Forest.

But Duke is Duke.

The Huskies’ national profile apparently has improved.

Washington scheduled strong nonconference opponents, finished second to Arizona in the Pacific 10 Conference and Saturday defeated the Wildcats in the tournament championship game to solidify a position on the first line of the bracket at the Albuquerque Regional. Top-ranked Illinois, which won the Big Ten season and tournament titles, is seeded No. 1 in the Chicago Regional and overall.

Washington is in impressive company, especially for a team that was 10-17 two seasons ago.

“There’s a pretty big buzz around here right now, there’s a lot of excitement,” Coach Lorenzo Romar said in a telephone interview. “When I saw our name flash up there on TV, I was a little bit surprised.

“I wasn’t surprised because I didn’t think we were deserving, because I think we are deserving. It’s just that sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve.”

Bob Bowlsby, Iowa athletic director and chairman of the committee, said the 10-member group had no doubts about the Huskies.

“Washington had a tremendous year,” Bowlsby said in a conference call with reporters. “They’ve had a lot of good wins and they are a postseason-tournament winning team. We just felt like they deserved to be on line one.”

The Huskies (27-5) were 14th in the final regular-season Associated Press poll. However, they had the nation’s third-highest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking, according to Internet sites that attempt to re-create the formula the committee uses as a tool in the selection process.

Washington had nonconference wins over current No. 15 Utah, No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 20 Alabama and North Carolina State, which received an at-large bid. The committee prefers to reward teams that schedule quality nonconference opponents, perform well in league and advance deep in their conference tournaments. Washington met those criteria.

“When I realized today that we were No. 3 in RPI and that our conference was [in the top five], I thought we had a chance for a No. 1,” Romar said. “But I don’t know what goes on in those back rooms, I don’t know all the criteria that goes into it all, but I’m sure happy with the way it turned out.”

The Huskies could remain in the West for four rounds. They face 16th-seeded Montana (18-12) in the first round Thursday at Boise, Idaho.

Arizona (27-6), Stanford (18-12) and UCLA (18-11) from the Pac-10 received at-large bids. Arizona is seeded third in the Chicago Regional, Stanford is eighth in the Austin Regional and UCLA, apparently one of the last teams to make the field, is 11th in the Albuquerque Regional.

Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight leads Texas Tech (20-10) against UCLA in the first round. Stanford could face Duke in the second round.

Romar was pleased the Pac-10 placed four teams in the NCAA tournament after only three participated last season.

“We compete against each other for recruits, we compete against each other in the regular season and in the tournament,” he said. “But when it comes to this time of year, we all pull for each other to carry the conference flag and do a good job. I think we’re all big winners now.”

There also were some big losers Sunday.

Kentucky squandered a chance for a No. 1 seeding in a 70-53 blowout loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference tournament final. The fourth-ranked Wildcats (25-5) are seeded second in the Austin Regional.

“If they win the SEC championship they’re on line one,” Bowlsby said. “They were part of our contingency plan, as was Duke.”

Kansas (23-6) has the nation’s top RPI and was vying for a top seeding, but it lost in a semifinal of the Big 12 tournament. The Jayhawks dropped to No. 3 in the Syracuse Regional, which appeared to be the most formidable of the four regions with second-ranked North Carolina on top and Connecticut (22-7) seeded second.

“They were 5-5 in their last 10 games, and a loss in the semifinals of their tournament certainly hurt them,” Bowlsby said of the Jayhawks. “Unfortunately, we’ve only got four No. 1s and four No. 2s. That’s just the way it shook out.”

An early loss to North Carolina State in the ACC tournament proved costly for Wake Forest (26-5), which played without suspended All-American guard Chris Paul. The Demon Deacons, who at the start of the ACC tournament were in position to receive a No. 1 seeding, are seeded second in the Albuquerque Regional.

That’s fine with Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who said the Blue Devils (25-5) deserved a top seeding.

“We’ve played the toughest schedule within our conference, as far as the conference schedule,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re the conference [tournament] champion of the best conference. Usually, the conference champion of the best conference would get a No. 1.”

De Paul (19-10), Indiana (15-13), Maryland (16-12) and Notre Dame (17-11) were among the high-profile bubble teams excluded in a harder-than-expected process, Bowlsby said.

“There were over 70 institutions with 20 wins or more,” he said. “We had anticipated that the selection process would not be as difficult as it was.”