Unofficial Standings as of 3/19/17 on RoadtoNationals.com
Rank
| Rank | Team Name | RQS | Region | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 198.010 | SC | Big 12 |
| 2 | LSU | 197.865 | C | SEC |
| 3 | Florida | 197.635 | SE | SEC |
| 4 | Utah | 197.550 | NC | PAC-12 |
| 5 | UCLA | 197.500 | W | PAC-12 |
| 6 | Alabama | 197.355 | C | SEC |
| 7 | Michigan | 197.135 | NE | Big Ten |
| 8 | Oregon State | 197.115 | W | PAC-12 |
| 9 | Denver | 197.040 | NC | Big 12 |
| 10 | Georgia | 197.005 | SE | SEC |
| 11 | Boise State | 196.910 | W | MRGC |
| 12 | Kentucky | 196.845 | C | SEC |
| 13 | Washington | 196.735 | W | PAC-12 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 196.725 | SC | Big Ten |
| 15 | Missouri | 196.540 | SC | SEC |
| 16 | California | 196.515 | W | PAC-12 |
| 17 | Iowa | 196.510 | NC | Big Ten |
| 18 | Southern Utah | 196.380 | NC | MRGC |
| 19 | Illinois-Champaign | 196.365 | SC | Big Ten |
| 20 | George Washington | 196.340 | SE | EAGL |
| 21 | Auburn | 196.265 | C | SEC |
| 22 | Eastern Michigan | 195.970 | C | MAC |
| 23 | West Virginia | 195.920 | SE | Big 12 |
| 24 | Utah State | 195.915 | NC | MRGC |
| 25 | Arizona | 195.880 | SC | PAC-12 |
| 26 | Ohio State | 195.825 | C | Big Ten |
| 27 | Arkansas | 195.775 | SC | SEC |
| 28 | Central Michigan | 195.765 | C | MAC |
| 29 | Iowa State | 195.750 | NC | Big 12 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | 195.745 | NE | EAGL |
| 31 | Kent State | 195.720 | C | MAC |
| 32 | Stanford | 195.695 | W | PAC-12 |
| 33 | Penn State | 195.590 | NE | Big Ten |
| 34 | BYU | 195.460 | NC | MRGC |
| 35 | North Carolina | 195.430 | SE | EAGL |
| 36 | Minnesota | 195.420 | NC | Big Ten |
Regional hosts are shown in bold.
If these hold true, the following Top 18 teams form trios of seeded squads:
OU, Kentucky, Washington (Host)
LSU, Boise State, Nebraska (Host)
Florida (Host), Georgia, Missouri
Utah, Denver, Cal
UCLA, Oregon State, Iowa
Alabama, Michigan, Southern Utah
The first three trios form perfectly acceptable Regional Seeds. The Florida trio does contain a number of SEC teams, which the Committee that does the seeding likes to avoid (a high number of teams from the same Conference or Region).
The other three trios could be seeded at Illinois, Arkansas or West Virginia. The Illinois location would be considered the strongest of the three, with the Illini impressing at the Big 10s. The trios are also generally seeded with preference to geography of the highest seed. It's not clear how the Committee would chose to seed these remaining locations. Arguments could be made for any of the three combinations. If we go by the highest ranked and geographic proximity, Utah/Denver/Cal would start first and may be sent to Arkansas, which has a shorter travel time from SLC than Illinois. Then UCLA/Oregon State/Iowa could be sent to Illinois, and Bama/Michigan/SUU placed in WVU. As we outlined previously, Utah/Denver/Cal could be sent to Illinois instead, causing a different mix at Arkansas and WVU, respectively.
The remainder of the fields are set with teams 19 to 36, with selections based on geographic proximity, with the previous concerns with Conference and Region (and an implied concern with rank).
Nominally, the seedings are created through a bracket system that places teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 on the left side of a bracket and 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 on the right side of the bracket. Since as mentioned previously, the Florida trio has a high concentration of SEC teams, it will likely get populated with non-Seeded teams that are non-SEC, to avoid a heavy set of teams in conference re-matches.
Official seedings will be announced by the NCAA, in a Selection Show set for Monday, March 20th at 4pm ET.