NCAA Tournament: Alabama named No 1 overall seed with murder case in background

The top overall seed, Alabama, have been on a roll despite being entangled in a murder case. Another No 1 seed, the defending national champions Kansas, are coming off a blowout loss and have a coach coming out of the hospital. Yet another, Houston, just watched their best player go down in a heap with a scary injury.

But most of the drama in picking this year’s bracket was resolved far before Selection Sunday.

Arizona State and Nevada made it off the bubble and into the 68-team field. Rutgers and Oklahoma State did not. Purdue, with 7ft 4in Zach Edey leading the way, edged out UCLA for the fourth and final No 1 seed.

And in a decision most observers saw coming, the selection committee left North Carolina, last year’s runner-up, out of the tournament. It made the Tar Heels the first team since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to start the season ranked No 1 in the Associated Press poll and finish it by not making the Big Dance.

The team they lost to in 2022, Kansas, are trying to become the first back-to-back NCAA champions since Florida in 2007. The Jayhawks earned the top seed in the West Region, where they are awaiting the return of coach Bill Self, who went to hospital last week complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance. He has been discharged and is expected back this week.

For the past two months, Alabama have been met with a near constant flow of headlines about a former player, Darius Miles, who is accused of capital murder in the January killing of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

The tournament begins on Tuesday with two First Four games. The full madness starts Thursday with the first round, with 16 games and 16 more the next day.

The Jayhawks are 9-1 to win the title, behind Alabama of the