March 7, 1999

By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Top-ranked Duke, Michigan State, Auburn and Connecticut were selected Sunday as the No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils (32-1), the first team to go 16-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will take their 27-game winning streak into a first-round game in the East Regional at Charlotte, N.C., on Friday against Florida A&M. At 12-18, the Rattlers, who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, are the only team in this year's field with a sub-.500 record.

Michigan State (29-4), the Big Ten champion, was chosen No. 1 in the Midwest Regional and will play on Friday against Mount St. Mary's, the Northeast Conference champions coached by 800-game winner Jim Phelan.

Auburn (27-3), which lost to Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals, opens play in the South Regional on Thursday in Seattle against Winthrop, the Big South champions and one of five teams in the tournament for the first time.

Connecticut (28-2) was the only top seed moved out of its natural region. The Big East champions will play in Denver on Thursday against Texas-San Antonio, which won the Southland Conference.

NCAA Tournament Seedings

By The Associated Press

SOUTH
1. Auburn
2. Maryland
3. St. John's
4. Ohio State
5. UCLA
6. Indiana
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse
9. Oklahoma State
10. Creighton
11. George Washington
12. Detroit
13. Murray State
14. Samford
15. Valparaiso
16. Winthrop

WEST
1. Connecticut
2. Stanford
3. North Carolina
4. Arkansas
5. Iowa
6. Florida
7. Minnesota
8. Missouri
9. New Mexico
10. Gonzaga
11. Pennsylvania
12. Alabama-Birmingham
13. Siena
14. Weber State
15. Alcorn State
16. Texas-San Antonio

EAST
1. Duke
2. Miami
3. Cincinnati
4. Tennessee
5. Wisconsin
6. Temple
7. Texas
8. College of Charleston
9. Tulsa
10. Purdue
11. Kent
12. Southwest Missouri State
13. Delaware
14. George Mason
15. Lafayette
16. Florida A&M

MIDWEST
1. Michigan State
2. Utah
3. Kentucky
4. Arizona
5. North Carolina Charlotte
6. Kansas
7. Washington
8. Villanova
9. Mississippi
10. Miami, Ohio
11. Evansville
12. Rhode Island
13. Oklahoma
14. New Mexico State
15. Arkansas State
16. Mount St. Mary's