Commentary

Jayhawks join No. 1 seeds

Syracuse and Kentucky remain a cut above, but Kansas and Ohio State join top line

Originally Published: January 23, 2012
By Joe Lunardi | ESPN Insider

Welcome back to the expanded edition of Joe Lunardi's Rundown. With the start of January, this series now features tournament odds, an element that will take you deeper into Bracketology. Bracketology provides a snapshot of how the bracket looks on a specific day, but, through the use of Lunardi's extensive database of previous seasons, tournament odds tell you how the bracket is likely to look come Selection Sunday.

Top line report

Let's get the easy part out of the way: Syracuse, the loss at Notre Dame notwithstanding, is still the No. 1 overall seed. And it's not especially close.

Kentucky, which figures to leapfrog the Orange in the polls, remains No. 2 where it counts. Both teams have one loss, but Cuse has it all over the Wildcats in every meaningful category.

The rest of the top line is an absolute mess. I could make a reasonable case for up to a half-dozen teams but am going with three-loss Kansas and three-loss Ohio State for the remaining No. 1 seeds. The scattered odds chart shows the tenuous nature of these selections, but let's examine the logic behind the Jayhawks and Buckeyes.


For Lunardi's in-depth report that goes beyond Bracketology, plus complete access to Insider's college hoops coverage, become an ESPN Insider.

Joe Lunardi | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com
  • Resident college basketball bracketologist for ESPN
  • Contributor to SportsCenter, ESPN Insider
  • Published first public bracket in 1995

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