Seeding Capacity: Kansas and UNC Have Been There/Done That as #1 Seed

Former national champions Marquette (41 victories) and Utah (37) have won a significant number of NCAA playoff games yet never received a No. 1 seed since seeding was introduced in 1979. It's virgin territory for majority of DI institutions, but the top spots are old hat for Kansas and North Carolina as they're revisiting the pedestal. KU might not want the designation inasmuch as the Jayhawks failed to reach the Final Four as a #1 seed five times this decade. Meanwhile, #7 South Carolina became the eighth team seeded seventh or worse this decade to reach F4.

KU was beaten in 2017 Midwest Regional final by Oregon, a #1 seed the previous season among seven former NCAA Tournament champions never to rank atop the AP national poll during the regular season. Duke, accorded a No. 1 seed eight times in a nine-year span from 1998 through 2006, and Kentucky are connected with North Carolina and Kansas among the following four universities seeded #1 at least a dozen times:

16 - North Carolina (1979-82-84-87-91-93-94-97-98-05-07-08-09-12-16-17)
13 - Duke (1986-92-98-99-00-01-02-04-05-06-10-11-15)
13 - Kansas (1986-92-95-97-98-02-07-08-10-11-13-16-17)
12 - Kentucky (1980-84-86-93-95-96-97-03-04-10-12-15)