The good news for UMass is the Minutemen received a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, higher than expected. The bad news? UMass is one win from a date with perennial powerhouse Duke — in the Blue Devils‘ backyard.
UMass was placed in the Midwest Region will open play Friday in Raleigh, N.C., against the winner of a first-round game between Iowa and Tennessee. If the Minutemen advance, they will play the winner of Friday’s game between third-seeded Duke and 14th-seeded Mercer on Sunday.
Undefeated Wichita State is the top seed in the Midwest Region. Michigan is second. Louisville is a 4 seed, despite coach Rick Pitino‘s expectations of a 1 seed.
Harvard, champion of the Ivy League, is seeded 12th in the East Region and will play fifth-seeded Cincinnati on Thursday in Spokane, Wash. If the Crimson advance, they would play the winner of fourth-seeded Michigan State and 13th-seeded Delaware on Saturday.
Two other New England teams landed in the East Region. Providence is seeded 11th and will play sixth-seeded North Carolina on Friday in San Antonio. The survivor meets the Iowa State-N.C. Central winner on Sunday. UConn is seeded seventh and will play 10th-seeded St. Joseph’s on Thursday in Buffalo, with the victor playing the winner of Villanova-Milwaukee.
Virginia, which won the ACC regular-season title and beat Duke in Sunday’s conference championship game, is the top seed in the East Region. Villanova is seeded second, Iowa State third and Michigan State fourth.
Florida is the top seed in the South and the tournament’s top overall seed, while Arizona is the top seed in the West.