NCAA Tournament 2012: Projecting the Top Seeds for the Big Dance

A few of college basketball's top dogs stumbled on Selection Sunday, potentially shaking up the chase for the NCAA tournament's four No. 1 seeds.

The brackets will be released in a matter of hours, but there's still plenty of doubt clouding the top of the leaderboard. Seven teams—Kentucky, North Carolina, Syracuse, Missouri, Ohio State, Kansas and Michigan State—have legitimate shots at landing one of the coveted top seeds.

But who will come out on top when the committee narrows the list to four? Here are my predictions.

Kentucky Wildcats

Despite losing in the SEC championship game, the Wildcats have to be a lock for the top overall seed.

They finished the season 32-2, with nine wins against the RPI Top 50 and 18 against the RPI Top 100.

Led by Anthony Davis, the Wildcats are unquestionably the most talented team in the country. They've got good outside shooters (Doron Lamb, Kyle Wiltjer), a solid point guard (Marquis Teague) and the most dominant big man duo in the nation (Davis, Terrance Jones).

UK only plays six guys with regularity, which is a bit worrisome for me. However, unless one of their top guys suffers an injury, the Wildcats should be the favorites against any team they play.

Syracuse Orange

Like Kentucky, Syracuse is perhaps also a guaranteed No. 1 seed. They finished with a 31-2 record, while going 5-0 against the RPI Top 25 and 11-2 against the Top 50.

They don't have a dominant player like Davis, but between Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine and C.J. Fair, the Orange are not exactly lacking in the talent department. They proved all season long that they can take out the top teams in the country, surviving a brutal Big East schedule.

Look for that regular-season experience to benefit them in the tournament.

North Carolina Tar Heels

This is where everything gets messy.

The Tar Heels are loaded with NBA-caliber players, but their resume pales in comparison to those of Missouri and Michigan State. 

UNC looked like they were coasting through the regular season, going just 3-4 against the RPI Top 25. They suffered a 10-point loss against a decent UNLV team and got stomped by 33 points against Florida State in their regular-season matchup.

Still, they're the second-highest scoring team in the country, and they lead the nation in rebounding. Kendall Marshall might be the best point guard in college basketball, and UNC's front line of Tyler Zeller John Henson and Harrison Barnes is unstoppable at times.

If Henson's wrist injury doesn't keep him out too long, the Tar Heels will have a great chance of winning the national title.

Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans need to take out Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game to lock up a No. 1 seed. As I'm writing this, they have a two-point halftime lead.

If they fall, look for Missouri to snatch the final top seed. But if the Spartans win, there's no way they'll be overtaken.

They have eight wins against the RPI Top 25, including blowouts of Florida State, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin (twice). Led by Draymond Green, the Spartans are as dangerous as any team in the country.