Chris Reynolds clarifies why Houston finished above Kansas as a No. 1 seed

Houston and Kansas were two of the best college basketball teams all season long. There’s no debating that fact. However, when splitting hairs only between the two, many would have leaned the way of the Jayhawks.

Even so, the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament didn’t follow that majority as they gave the nod to the Cougars as the field’s No. 2 overall seed. From what committee chairman Chris Reynolds said, they decided how Houston performed even in losses was what pushed Kelvin Sampson’s team over the edge in comparison with Bill Self’s

NCAA Selection Committee Chair Chris Reynolds explains why Houston was kept at No. 2 over Kansas. pic.twitter.com/YrmUXOFzba

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“When you look at Houston, a combined 15-1 in Quad 1 and 2, compared to Kansas, 21-7 in Quad 1 and 2? Houston? They were competitive in all their games they lost, except for today. And we understand. today, they were without their best player,” said Reynolds. “So, for that reason, we kept Houston at No. 2.”

No one could match up with Kansas’ 17-7 record in Quad 1 games. Even so, it seems Reynolds and the committee put more value on Houston only losing three games this season. That point was also reinforced by the fact that one came against No. 1 overall seed Alabama, one came by just one point to Temple, and the final one to Memphis in the AAC Championship Game came without the help of star guard Marcus Sasser.

There’s no point in breaking down their resumes anymore because, now, the field is the field. The only way to prove who’s better from this point is for them to meet in the Final Four inside NRG Stadium and settle it that way.

Reynolds shares how the committee selected the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seeds

We officially have our NCAA Tournament bracket and, with it, the big dance’s quartet of No. 1 seeds. After a season of jockeying, Alabama, Houston, Kansas, and Purdue earned their rights as the best of the best in their regions according to the selection committee.

How did they determine they would go with the Tide, Cougars, Jayhawks, and Boilermakers, though? Well, from what Chris Reynolds, the chairman of the committee, said following the reveal of the bracket on CBS? He highlighted consistency across the entire season as the separating factor for this group of teams.

“It was an interesting process and it took a little while,” Reynolds said. “However, what I will say is those teams at the top? They performed consistently throughout the year. We considered about six or seven teams at the top. But, at the end of the day, those four teams were the teams we selected.”

From what Reynolds said, a couple of No. 2 seeds could have snuck in and taken one of these spots. With that said, these are the four teams that the committee believed best modeled the season-long consistency that they looking for.