Gonzaga, Auburn lead NCAA men’s committee’s initial rankings

By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer

Gonzaga, Auburn, Arizona and Kansas hold No. 1 seeds in the initial rankings for the committee that will select the field for next month’s 68-team men’s NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs were the top overall seed ahead of the Tigers in rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. Committee chairman Tom Burnett says the margin between them is “razor thin.” Those two teams have held the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll for the past five weeks. Reigning national champion Baylor, Kentucky, Purdue and Duke were the No. 2 seeds in the four bracket projections.