Tag: No. 1 Seed

Texas Basketball: Examining the importance of earning the No. 1 seed

Beating Kansas can make Texas’ tournament path less restrictive in March.

The Texas Longhorns have not reached the Sweet 16 since 2008. That season, Texas ultimately fell to the Memphis Tigers in the Elite Eight.

Rodney Terry’s team will look to snap that abysmal streak with a berth in this year’s Round of 16. They can increase their chances of reaching that goal by winning games like Monday night’s matchup against Kansas and earning a No. 1 seed.

Last week’s wins over then No. 7 Kansas State and No. 11 Baylor are important for a number of reasons. The most important reason revolves around bolstering a No. 1 seed resume.

For starters, only one No. 1 seed has lost to its first opponent in a tournament model of 64 teams or more. Virginia fell to UMBC in 2018.

Escaping past the next opponent has been difficult in recent years, but the odds of a first round exit are slim for most teams.

On top of that, No. 1 seeds are nearly twice as likely to reach the Final Four as No. 2 seeds. Since the tournament grew to over 64 teams, over 52% of tournaments have seen two or more No. 1 seeds reach the Final Four.

Put simply, Texas can do nearly as much to determine its fate during the regular season as it can in March. With wins over Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor and TCU in hand, a win at No. 9 Kansas can inch the Longhorns closer to a deep tournament run.

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Chiefs clinched AFC’s No. 1 seed with win over Raiders in Week 18

With their win over the #Raiders in Week 18, the #Chiefs have officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye week in the first round of the playoffs.

With their 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18, the Kansas City Chiefs have accomplished a key goal in the AFC playoff race.

After clinching a playoff berth and the AFC West division back in Week 15, they’ve also now clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC conference. That means, they’ll receive the coveted bye week in the first round of the playoffs. Remember, only one team per conference gets a bye week to start the playoffs now. The Chiefs were the No. 2 seed in the playoffs last year and were last a No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2020.

Clinching the No. 1 seed was made easier with the Week 17 game between the Bills-Bengals being declared a “no contest.” As a result, NFL owners approved changes to the 2022 playoffs, changes that could impact Kansas City as the No. 1 seed. Basically, the AFC title game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played a different number of regular season games and the lower-seeded team could have been the No. 1 seed in the AFC under normal circumstances.

Here’s a chart with those scenarios (via NFL Research):

On a much smaller note, the Chiefs also accomplished a sweep of the AFC West with this win over Las Vegas. They have six combined wins against the Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos on the year. That’s no easy feat in and should again put the league on notice that the AFC West still is Kansas City’s to lose.

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Chiefs path to No. 1 seed always meant defeating Raiders in Week 18

Even before the NFL’s resolution for the AFC playoffs, the #Chiefs knew their path to the No. 1 seed meant getting a win against the #Raiders.

It’s been a tumultuous week in the NFL.

Between the concern for Buffalo Bills S Damar Hamlin and the uncertainty surrounding AFC playoffs seeding, the Kansas City Chiefs have been trying to compartmentalize and focus on the things they can control. Even before the NFL’s recently-passed resolution involving playoff seeding and the AFC title game, the team knew that they had to prepare to get a win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18.

“Yeah so, we know with whatever scenario we’ve got to go play to try to win the football game,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said on Wednesday. “That’s what we have to do. It wouldn’t have mattered before, we would still have to do that, so that’s what we’re going to do. And the players have worked through practice and done a nice job with it up to this point.”

Getting the No. 1 seed in the AFC has been a season-long goal for Kansas City. We’ll never know the would-be results of the Bills-Bengals game in Week 17, but a possible outcome was for the Chiefs to enter this week with the same level of control they have now.

That level of control: Defeat the Raiders and become the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

“It’s been one of our goals since the beginning of the season – win the division, get the number one seed, be able to get an extra bye week in before the playoffs start,” Chiefs TE Travis Kelce said on Thursday. “And that’s always on our mind and we know what’s at stake – it’s been at stake and we’ve been trying to play our tails off to put ourselves in the best position when it comes playoff time.”

Leading up to Week 18, the team hasn’t had many conversations about what the league would do and how it would impact their pursuit of the No. 1 seed. Instead, they’ve been focusing on preparing to face a bitter division rival in the regular season finale. They know that winning the game in front of them will lead to the best results, no matter what decisions are made by the NFL.

“The thing we talked about the most is the game plan, the process, going through that (and) staying in tune with that at this time,” Reid said on Thursday. “That’s what we can control. I’ve never been concerned with all that other stuff, it’s about what you can control right now and then it’s taking care of business. Do your best that you can do.”

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Auburn’s latest Bracketology updates moves them from Midwest Region

Auburn moves over in the latest Bracketology update.

In the two most recent updates for the NCAA Tournament, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Auburn Tigers as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest region out of Chicago.

However, while they are remaining a No. 1 seed, they have been projected to the East Bracket. New No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks take their place in the midwest.

With the update, Auburn would take on the winner of Norfolk State and Texas Southern in their opening matchup in the Field of 64. The winner of the game would then play the winner of the 8/9 matchup of Iowa State and Wake Forest.

In the East region, Auburn would be joined by the Arkansas Razorbacks as the No. 6 seed. Their bracket also has No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Duke, and No. 5 Ohio State.

Other SEC Teams:

  • No. 2: Kentucky (Midwest)
  • No. 4: Tennessee (South)
  • No. 5: Alabama (West)
  • No. 6: LSU (Midwest)
  • No. 6: Arkansas (West)

The Florida Gators are listed by Lunardi as the ‘Next Four Out’. Their win over Auburn on Saturday isn’t exactly moving the needle for them with their inconsistent play throughout the season. A strong showing in the SEC Tournament plus an upset win over Kentucky would go a long way in getting them to the dance.

Contact/Follow us @AuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Melvin Ingram III and Nick Bolton’s late-game heroics keep Chiefs alive in AFC No. 1-seed race

Ah yes, a classic Melvin vs. Melvin showdown.

The Kansas City Chiefs spent most of Saturday’s road matchup against the Denver Broncos playing catch-up. They took a brief three-point lead early in the third quarter, but Denver quickly answered with a 47-yard touchdown from Melvin Gordon III to retake the lead. A Chiefs field goal cut that lead to 21-20, but Denver was driving to extend its lead.

That’s when the Kansas City defense stepped up to make one of the best plays of the season.

With the ball at the nine, Gordon was stuffed in the backfield by linebacker Melvin Ingram III, and he lost possession. Nick Bolton scooped it, shrugged off a would-be tackler in Denver quarterback Drew Lock and found paydirt 87 yards later. That touchdown ultimately proved to be decisive in a 28-24 win for the Chiefs.

The play preserved Kansas City’s hopes at earning the top seed in the AFC playoffs, a spot it is currently battling for with the Tennessee Titans. It also established Ingram as the NFL’s One True Melvin (there can only be one, I don’t make the rules).

The Chiefs, who finished the regular season at 12-5, still need some help if they’re going to clinch a bye during the wild card round, and the odds don’t exactly look great.

In spite of the win in Week 18, they still need a loss from the Titans, who conclude the season with a road matchup against the 4-12 Houston Texans. It would take a fairly massive upset for Kansas City to avoid playing next weekend, but the victory keeps that scenario in play.

Regardless of how the seeding ultimately breaks down, it’s been a phenomenal turnaround for the Chiefs during the second half of the season. The defending AFC Champions — who began the year just 3-4 and looked like they could miss the playoffs entirely — have rallied in recent weeks. Kansas City is 9-1 since then with the only slipup coming against Cincinnati last week.

As one of the hottest teams in the league right now, the Chiefs will be a popular pick to emerge out of the scrum of similarly situated AFC teams. If the Texans can stun Tennessee, Kansas City will need to win one less game to make that happen.

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AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs lose No. 1 seed in Week 17

The #Chiefs will need some luck to recapture the No. 1 seed next week. | from @WesleyRoesch

After holding on to the No. 1 seed for a couple weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs have lost the top spot in the AFC with one week to go.

The Chiefs’ 34-31 loss to the Bengals in Week 17 made K.C. fall to the No. 2 seed, while the Tennessee Titans moved up to the No. 1 spot. Here’s how the standings look:

AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs keep No. 1 seed after Week 16

The #Chiefs hang on to the No. 1 seed, and they have a chance to clinch it next week. | from @WesleyRoesch

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The Kansas City Chiefs remain on top of the AFC after another dominant performance. Their 36-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed them to keep the No. 1 seed with two weeks to go. The Chiefs also clinched the AFC West division title for the sixth consecutive year, guaranteeing them a playoff spot.

Here’s how the AFC looks after Week 16:

AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs take No. 1 seed in Week 15

The #Chiefs have captured the No. 1 seed thanks to a win and a little magic over the weekend. | from @WesleyRoesch

The Kansas City Chiefs have done what seemed impossible just weeks ago: They’ve taken the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff race.

The Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 34-28 in an overtime thriller this past Thursday, and the stars aligned for K.C. to move from No. 3 to No. 1 after Sunday’s batch of games.

Here’s a look at the current AFC playoff standings:

With 4 games to go, Packers are the new No. 1 seed in the NFC

If the season ended today, the Packers would get the first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Thanks to a win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night and the Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night, the Green Bay Packers are the new No. 1 seed in the NFC with four games to go in the 2021 season.

The Packers, at 10-3, would win a three-way tiebreak with the Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers based on conference record. Matt LaFleur’s team is 8-2 against the NFC, while the Cardinals and Buccaneers are 6-3. The Packers also have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cardinals.

If the season ended today, the Packers would get the conference’s only first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

If the Packers win out, it won’t matter what happens with the Buccaneers or Cardinals; LaFleur’s team will secure the No. 1 seed. Green Bay plays two more games against the NFC North (vs. Vikings, at Lions) and AFC North (at Ravens, vs. Browns).

The current NFC standings and playoff matchups:

Standings

1. Green Bay Packers (10-3)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3)
3. Arizona Cardinals (10-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (9-4)
5. Los Angeles Rams (9-4)
6. San Francisco 49ers (7-6)
7. Washington Football Team (6-7)

Playoff matchups

Football Team at Buccaneers
49ers at Cardinals
Rams at Cowboys

Week 15 opponents

Packers: at Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
Buccaneers: vs. New Orleans Saints (6-7)
Cardinals: at Detroit Lions (1-11-1)
Cowboys: at New York Giants (4-9)
Rams: vs. Seattle Seahawks (5-8)

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Chiefs clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed with 17-14 win over Falcons in Week 16

The Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 1 seed for the AFC.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially the No. 1 seed in the AFC after a 17-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. They clinch the No. 1 seed with a week to spare in the NFL’s regular season.

The Chiefs have now locked up the coveted first-round bye week. It’s the only bye week available to teams in the AFC conference with the new expanded playoff format for the 2020 postseason. The No. 1 seed also means they won’t leave Arrowhead Stadium until they reach Super Bowl LV and head down to Tampa Bay.

This is now the fourth time in franchise history that Kansas City has been the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The most recent occasion came back in 2018 when the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed against the Raiders in Week 17 with a 12-4 record. They’d go on to reach the AFC Championship Game that year, but fall to the New England Patriots. Prior to 2018, Kansas City was the top-seeded team in 1995 and 1997 but failed to win a playoff game in the divisional round in each of those years.

After winning Super Bowl LIV last season, the Chiefs will have a chance to do more as the No. 1 seed than they’ve ever done in franchise history. All they need to do is persevere through the playoffs and to Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay. That’s been the goal all season long and week-by-week they’ll get closer to that goal throughout the playoffs.

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