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NCAA Bracket 2018: How Selection Committee ranked 68 teams helps explain UK getting brutal South Region

A look at how the committee ranked all 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Basketball: SEC Tournament-Kentucky vs Texas A&M Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

How on Earth did the Kentucky Wildcats get a 5 seed in arguably the hardest region in the NCAA Tournament?

If you know about the S-curve, it’s a method that the committee tries to use when constructing the four regions that make up the field of 68 teams.

As it turns out, UK was the 17th-ranked team by the NCAA Selection Committee, one spot behind the Arizona Wildcats.

Virginia, who is the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance, is also the top seed in UK’s region. So in theory, if the S-curve is used, they should get the worst 2 seed, the best 3 seed, the worst 4 seed and the best 5 seed in their region. That’s how the S-curve works.

For the most part, that’s how it played out, as the South Region features the worst 2 seed (Cincinnati), the second-best 3 seed (Tennessee), the worst 4 seed (Arizona) and the best 5 seed (UK).

It’s unfortunate for UK, but it does help dispel the conspiracy theories that the committee is out to get John Calipari and UK. It’s just a flawed system that UK ends up being a victim of far too often.

Here is a look at how all 68 teams were ranked by the committee:

  1. Virginia (31-2)
  2. Villanova (30-4)
  3. Kansas (27-7)
  4. Xavier (28-5)
  5. North Carolina (25-10)
  6. Duke (26-7)
  7. Purdue (28-6)
  8. Cincinnati (30-4)
  9. Michigan St. (29-4)
  10. Tennessee (25-8)
  11. Michigan (28-7)
  12. Texas Tech (24-9)
  13. Auburn (25-7)
  14. Wichita St. (25-7)
  15. Gonzaga (30-4)
  16. Arizona (27-7)
  17. Kentucky (24-10)
  18. West Virginia (24-10)
  19. Clemson (23-9)
  20. Ohio St. (24-8)
  21. Florida (20-12)
  22. Miami (FL) (22-9)
  23. Houston (26-7)
  24. TCU (21-11)
  25. Texas A&M (20-12)
  26. Arkansas (23-11)
  27. Nevada (27-7)
  28. Rhode Island (25-7)
  29. Seton Hall (21-11)
  30. Creighton (21-11)
  31. Virginia Tech (21-11)
  32. Missouri (20-12)
  33. Butler (20-13)
  34. Kansas St. (22-11)
  35. Providence (21-13)
  36. Alabama (19-15)
  37. NC State (21-11)
  38. Florida St. (20-11)
  39. Texas (19-14)
  40. Oklahoma (18-13)
  41. UCLA (21-11)
  42. St. Bonaventure (25-7)
  43. Arizona St. (20-11)
  44. Syracuse (20-13)
  45. San Diego St. (22-10)
  46. Loyola Chicago (28-5)
  47. New Mexico St. (28-5)
  48. Davidson (21-11)
  49. South Dakota St. (28-6)
  50. Murray St. (26-5)
  51. Buffalo (26-8)
  52. UNCG (27-7)
  53. Col. of Charleston (26-7)
  54. Marshall (24-10)
  55. Bucknell (25-9)
  56. Montana (26-7)
  57. Wright St. (25-9)
  58. SFA (28-6)
  59. Lipscomb (23-9)
  60. Georgia St. (24-10)
  61. Cal St. Fullerton (20-11)
  62. Iona (20-13)
  63. UMBC (24-10)
  64. Penn (24-8)
  65. Radford (22-12)
  66. LIU Brooklyn (18-16)
  67. N.C. Central (19-15)
  68. Texas Southern (15-19)