Auburn and Duke have essentially cemented themselves as the two surefire No. 1 seeds ahead of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament. However, plenty of other programs could make noise throughout the tournament. Former Ohio State standout and NBA player turned CBS Sports analyst Clark Kellogg recently spoke about the depth of the field on BetMGM’s You Better Your Bet.
“I would take the field,” Kellogg said when asked if he’d bet on the favorites or someone else to win the national championship. “I just think there are so many really good teams out there that are going to be seeded outside of the top four seed lines.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see any No. 1 seeds in San Antonio,” Kellogg continued.
He noted that three or four other schools not named Auburn or Duke have a chance to claim the remaining two No. 1 seeds. Houston, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee are among them, but their title odds are long when compared to the Tigers and Blue Devils.
Auburn is a +325 title favorite at BetMGM and Duke isn’t far behind at +375. Houston (+750), Florida (+900), and Alabama (+1100) round out the top five. The SEC’s wealth of talented teams could very well pull off an upset and prevent this year’s tournament from being a two-horse race until the very end. Fierce conference tournament play could help set the tone for what programs are built to go the distance.
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