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Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh and defending champion Duke have been awarded the top seeds in this year’s NCAA tournament, an expanded version of March Madness that will include 68 teams.
The Buckeyes defeated Penn State 71-60 in the Big Ten tournament final on Sunday and were named the top seed in the entire field. They’ll play in the East region.
The tournament — and America’s most-celebrated office pool — starts Tuesday with the first of four first-round games — the "First Four," as it’s being called by the NCAA. Two of those games will pit the last of 37 at-large teams to make it into the field, an increase of three teams over years past.
Kansas is the Big 12 champion and will play in the Southwest, while Pitt earned a top seed despite losing in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament and will play in the Southeast.
Duke beat North Carolina to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and edge out Notre Dame for the last No. 1 seed. The Blue Devils, seeking to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07, will have to travel West to make the Final Four; that regional is set for Anaheim, Calif.
The tournament concludes with the Final Four in Houston on April 2 and 4.
