Time To Go Dancing!

As everyone who follows sports knows, this past Sunday was Selection Sunday for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament--affectionately known as The Big Dance--which begins today! Every year, tens of thousands of people fill out brackets at home or at the office filling it out on everything from actual basketball knowledge to mascots to uniform colors. Usually, college basketball knowledge gets you no further in the brackets than picking based on which teams would get a higher score in Scrabble. The college basketball 3-Point line is the great equalizer. Any team in the country can have one or two guys who can light it up from that line... and that can propel teams you've never heard of into the elite eight. Additionally, more-so than any other sport--college or pro--one player can control a college basketball game... literally willing his team to victory. So, because of all that, brackets are as unpredictable as the winds *looks to the skies*.
Now I'm not necessarily going to give you my brackets here, but I am going to talk a little about who got lucky and who got the shaft (which may literally be the same thing... even though they sound different). Ignoring who got in and who's out... I'm going to focus on the Seeding and the placement of teams in the bracket. I've heard from a few 'experts' that seeding doesn't matter because you're going to have to play good teams eventually... the following is me telling them that they're full of it.

The MidWest: I personally think this is the toughest region in the tournament full of teams that could possibly make waves in other regions. Florida, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Notre Dame could all make the Elite Eight if they were in other regions... but they won't, since they're all in the same bracket.

Who got lucky? Maryland. As a 4 seed, Maryland has the easiest draw into the Sweet 16... playing Davidson and then the winner of Butler/Old Dominion. Granted, I don't think Maryland will get it to the Sweet 16, but this is the easiest draw in this tough region.

Who got the shaft? Notre Dame. After an above average year in the talented Big East, ND gets a 6 seed against one of the best schools you've never heard of, Winthrop. I wouldn't be surprised to see ND get bounced in the first round, even though they have the kind of talent that could lead them to the Elite Eight.

First Round Game I Want To See: 6 Notre Dame/11 Winthrop. Winthrop will stick around and, even though I'll be rooting for ND, I always love seeing Mid-Majors compete and go deep into the tourney.

The West: Kansas gets the number 1 seed, even though I have yet to be impressed by them. The West has some interesting match-ups, and even though there are really no 'sexy' picks in the West, there are a ton of college basketball giants in this bracket (Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, and I'll even though Illinois in there for no reason). Let's check it out.

Who got lucky? Southern Illinois. Granted they've played well all year, but the number 4 seed might be pushing it. Besides, their draw--Holy Cross than Virginia Tech/Illinois winner--should not be very much of a challenge for, supposedly, on of the 16 best teams in the nation (being a 4 seed, the lowest they could be in the eyes of the selection committee is 16th).

Who got the shaft? Duke. Duke hasn't been very 'Dukey' this season... but a 6 seed allows Duke to be the underdog (which makes them dangerous). Even though the seeding is low, I think it might be a blessing for the Dukies. Unfortunately, Pitt probably awaits Duke if they can even beat Virginia Commonwealth (which is a big IF, since VCU is an experience mid-major that might be posed to make some waves in this tourney).

First Round Game I Want To See: 7 Indiana/10 Gonzaga. Both of these teams have had tournament success recently, so I look forward to seeing which team can use experience to get the upper-hand.

The East: I think this region will almost definitely not have the one-seed making it to the Final Four. Number 2 Georgetown (who could be a 1) and number 4 Texas would both not be a surprise to me if they ended up in the Final Four instead of North Carolina. As a matter of fact, I would probably give UNC, Georgetown, and Texas the same odds to be in the Final Four.

Who got lucky? Washington State. Playing Oral Roberts, then the Vanderbilt/George Washington winner should not be much of a problem for Washington State (who should not be a 3 seed, by the way). Could they make it to the Sweet 16 without much trouble... or could they get bounced by Oral Roberts just so I can make "oral" jokes for weeks? We'll find out soon enough.

Who got the shaft? Texas. Are you trying to tell me that Texas isn't better than Wash St.? Seriously? Texas should be the 3 seed in this region. I see Texas and UNC in the Sweet 16 and I see that as one of the best games of the tourney (As such, if one of the other teams messes up that potential match-up, I'll be pissed!).

First Round Game I Want To See: 8 Marquette/9 Michigan State. Izzo and his former assistant square off in what should actually, bias aside, be a very good game.

The South: In my opinion, this is the weakest of all regions, full of teams that don't impress me. Most of the top seeds--2 seed Memphis, 4 seed Virginia, 5 seed Tennessee--I wouldn't have going very far in any other region.

Who got lucky? Ohio State. Ohio State could very well breeze though this weak-ass region. I think Central Connecticut State, the BYU/Xavier winner, and the Tennessee/Long Beach/Virginia/Albany winner will pretty much offer OSU no challenge. That pretty much puts Ohio State in the Elite Eight without blinking. That's what I call a good draw.

Who got the shaft? Louisville. Yes Louisville is effectively playing at home (in Lexington, KY), but playing Stanford's literal Twin Towers and then (probably) Texas A&M is a horrible draw for the perennial power. I think Louisville will be lucky to make it to the Sweet 16, even playing in-state.

First Round Game I Want To See: 6 Louisville/11 Stanford. I want to see how the Kentucky crowd reacts to Louisville. Will they cheer for the 'home' team... or will they root for whoever ISN'T Louisville (in this case, Stanford)?

Final Four? I'm not telling mine. But I will say that I have no higher than a 3-seed in my Final Four (a 1, two 2s, and a 3). Maybe I'm not imaginative, or maybe I think the top of the basketball seeds are that good, but I don't see a 'no-name' surprising anyone a year after George Mason's run. NO ONE will be over-looked this year.
And I can't wait. There is some very good basketball to be seen this year. Let the games begin!