Kentucky, the number one team in the nation, alongside North Carolina, Syracuse and Michigan State are the number one seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament, with the 68 team field kicking off on March 13, with the First four beginning their play two days ahead of the rest of the pack.

Whatever your opinion is about the expanded field (I hate it for one), it looks like it’s here to stay. Giving more team the opportunity to keep the bubble from bursting or just create some incredible sensation has people excited. And it brings in more money, which is probably the real deal.

For the first time, the selection committee released the full 1-68 rankings they used to spread the teams around the Regional brackets and build the tournaments.

The First four will take place on March 13 – Mississippi Valley State vs Western Kentucky (South), BYU vs Iona (West) and on March 14 – Lamar vs Vermont and California vs South Florida, both in the Midwest Regional.

South Regional

#1 Kentucky vs #16 Mississippi Valley State or Western Kentucky

#8 Iowa State vs #9 Uconn

#5 Wichita State vs #12 VCU

#4 Indiana vs #13 New Mexico State

#6 UNLV vs #11 Colorado

#3 Baylor vs #14 South Dakota State

#7 Notre Dame vs #10 Xavier

#2 Duke vs #15 Leigh

West Regional

#1 Michigan State vs #16 Long Island

#8 Memphis vs #9 Saint Louis

#5 New Mexico vs #12 Long Beach State

#4 Louisville vs #13 Davidson

#6 Murray State vs #11 Colorado State

#3 Marquette vs #14 BYU or Iona

#7 Florida vs #10 Virginia

#2 Missouri vs #15 Norfolk State

East Regional

#1 Syracuse vs #16 UNC Asheville

#8 Kansas State vs #9 Southern Mississippi

#5 Vanderbilt vs #12 Harvard

#4 Wisconsin vs #13 Montana

#6 Cincinnati vs #11 Texas

#3 Florida State vs #14 St Bonaventure

#7 Gonzaga vs #10 West Virginia

#2 Ohio State vs #15 Loyola (MD)

Midwest Regional

#1 North Carolina vs #16 Lamar or Vermont

#8 Creighton vs #9 Alabama

#5 Temple vs #12 California or South Florida

#4 Michigan vs #13 Ohio

#6 San Diego State vs #11 North Carolina State

#3 Georgetown vs #14 Belmont

#7 Saint Mary’s vs #10 Purdue

#2 Kansas vs #15 Detroit

For two schools – South Dakota State and Norfolk State, it’ll be their first appearance ever in the NCAA tournament.

The Big East led all conferences with 9 teams in the tournament, followed by Big Ten and Big 12, with six teams each. The ACC has five, the Mountain West and the SEC with four teams. The Atlantic 10 with three teams, the Pac-12 with two only.