ESPN women's bracketologist Charlie Creme defends keeping Texas as No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Following an SEC Championship Game loss to South Carolina, Texas fell from No. 1 in the AP Top 25 to No. 5. But is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament also in jeopardy?

ESPN resident bracketologist Charlie Creme doesn’t think so. He explained on a conference call on Wednesday.

“Well the resume is there. Other than South Carolina, nobody has more Quad 1 wins than Texas,” Creme said. “They didn’t do themselves any favors, certainly, by the way they played in the SEC Tournament. Even their semifinal win was pretty shaky in terms of performance.

“But they have a win over South Carolina. Their loss to Notre Dame didn’t seem to bother the committee all that much in the two reveals, so I’m not going to put too much weight in a case against them to be a No. 1 seed.”

Texas finished the season with a 31-3 record, with losses only to Notre Dame and South Carolina (twice). And a win over South Carolina helps mitigate those losses somewhat.

The Longhorns lost on the road and in the SEC Tournament against the Gamecocks, but won at home. So where does the resume really gain steam?

“Really if you’re boiling it down I guess it comes down to Texas or UConn,” Creme said. “And Texas just has more good wins. Obviously it’s beneficial they play in the SEC and UConn plays in a weak Big East. But UConn also lost to Notre Dame. UConn lost to USC. Texas has that win over South Carolina, so does UConn. So those kind of common opponent things aren’t too different.

“But I think what it boils down to is Texas just has a lot more quality wins. And the schedules are very compatible. UConn’s non-conference schedule is better, Texas’ obviously the rest of the season is much better. So maybe it’s a thin slice of the pie here making Texas No. 1, but I think with all those Quad 1 wins it’s hard to go in any other direction.”

Texas has put together winning streaks of seven, nine and 15 games. Get a run like that going in the NCAA Tournament and it’ll be cooking.

Of course, that takes a little bit of doing. And a No. 1 seed always helps. The good news is Texas seems to be in shape to shore one up.