RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  Upsets and wild finishes have altered the NCAA Tournament landscape for No. 1 seeds Virginia and North Carolina in their bids for the Final Four.
Now the Cavaliers (28-7) have a favorable draw after the Spartans lost to 15-seed Middle Tennessee in the tournament’s biggest upset.
KenPom’s top-ranked team meets No. 4 seed Iowa State (23-11) in Chicago on Friday. Win that, and the Cavaliers will face a double-digit seed  either 10-seed and ACC leaguemate Syracuse (21-13) or 11-seed Gonzaga (28-7)  for their first Final Four since 1984.
Preseason No. 1-ranked North Carolina (30-6) did the expected by reaching Friday’s games in Philadelphia. The other top seeds  No. 2 Xavier, No. 3 West Virginia and No. 4 Kentucky  weren’t so lucky.
UNC faces No. 5 seed and Big Ten regular-season champion Indiana (27-7) in the first tournament meeting between the two since 1984, when the Hoosiers upset the Tar Heels to end Michael Jordan’s college career.
Kansas’ bracket largely went according to plan entering Thursday’s games in Louisville, Kentucky.
No. 2 seed Villanova (31-5), a contender for its own 1-seed entering Selection Sunday, lurks in the other end of the bracket. The Wildcats meet No. 3 seed Miami (27-7) to give this region three of the top 11 teams in KenPom’s rankings, the toughest of the four fields.
So much for the Jayhawks getting a favorable draw as the tournament’s top overall seed, even as they’re savoring being back in the Sweet 16 after two opening-weekend exits.
The bottom of the bracket features national player of the year candidate Buddy Hield and No. 2 seed Oklahoma (27-7), one of six teams to hold the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 this year. The Sooners face 3-seed Texas A&M (28-8) fresh off the Aggies’ miracle comeback to beat Northern Iowa in double overtime.