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

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)