Selection Sunday-NCAA tournament thread

Few predictions:

Overseeded: Notre Dame, North Carolina, Arizona
Underseeded: Belmont, St. Louis, New Mexico
First Four mid-major reach: Southern Miss
First Four major reach: Iowa
Unexpected non-First Four inclusions: Middle Tennessee, Alabama
Unexpected exclusions: LaSalle, Boise State, California
Team everyone is bracing to get in but won't: Kentucky
Top NIT seeds: Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, California
12-seed or lower that makes the second weekend: South Dakota State
Popular Cinderella pick that never finds a pumpkin, goes out hard in the first game: Bucknell
Top seed that doesn't escape the first weekend: Gonzaga
Odds of 15-over-2: 50-1 (subject to change once the bracket is set; FGCU is most likely of the teams often talked about as a 15 to win)
Odds of 16-over-1: 3,000-1 (barring an underseeding of a 15 or 14-type, this year's 16s are pretty damned weak, no matter what you think of the 1-seeds)
Odds that SJ explodes in butthurt over meanness to mid-majors: 1-500

 

Bracket Matrix Rundown

01 -- Louisville, Indiana, Gonzaga, Duke
02 -- Kansas, Georgetown, Miami, Michigan State
03 -- New Mexico, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan
04 -- Kansas State, Syracuse, Marquette, Arizona
05 -- Oklahoma State, Saint Louis, Wisconsin, UCLA
06 -- UNLV, Pittsburgh, Butler, Notre Dame
07 -- Virginia Commonwealth, Nort Carolina, Colorado State, Creighton
08 -- Memphis, North Carolina State, Illinois, San Diego State
09 -- Missouri, Oregon, Minnesota, Cincinnati
10 -- Colorado, Wichita State, Iowa State, Temple
11 -- Oklahoma, Villanova, California, St. Mary's
12 -- BELMONT, Boise State, Middle Tennessee State, LaSalle, Mississippi, BUCKNELL (LaSalle-Ole Miss would be play-in game)
13 -- Akron, Valparaiso, Davidson, New Mexico State
14 -- South Dakota State, Harvard, Northwestern State, Montana
15 -- Iona, Florida Gulf Coast, Pacific, Albany
16 -- Western Kentucky, LIU-Brooklyn, James Madison, Southern, Liberty, North Carolina A&T (Liberty-NC A&T would be play-in game)

First Four Out: Tennessee, Kentucky, Southern Miss, Virginia
Others: UMass, Iowa, Alabama, Maryland, Baylor

 

NCAA Tournament? Who gives a shit? I'll be glued to the NIT pairings later on (bashes head repeatedly on desk).

I'm going to laugh my ass off if Indiana blew their chance at the Indy Regional and have to go via D.C. or Arlington. The butthurt among Hoosiers fans would be priceless.

 

VCU getting a 4 seed was unthinkable four years ago.

Just replace Lee's statue on Monument Avenue with Smart's.

 

Not a chance VCU is getting a top 4 unless they beat St. Louis by 60. Look at the 4-line on the matrix -- do they really rate over Marquette, Arizona, Kansas State and Syracuse? Or Wisconsin and UCLA on the 5 line?

I suspect that the selection committee either formally or informally has the St. Lou-VCU winner as a 5 seed and the loser as a 6.

Still, the idea that VCU might play the winner of a play-in game two years after being in one themselves is pretty heady stuff.

 

Not tournament-related per se, but I just got done with Alexander Wolff's SI piece about the Big East. What a trip down memory lane, although they included a picture but no name-check of Wendell Alexis.

 

Wow. I'm impressed.

Will keep this for future reference and reserve the right to be unimpressed before sundown.

 

Saw these on other boards:

- Unless Baylor somehow sneaks in, ZERO teams from Texas in the field. Considering Austin is one of the eight pods, ticket sales might suffer there.

- Could have a Tennessee-MTSU possible play-in game.

- Doubt Lunardi's pods are correct. Marquette (4), Arizona (5), Saint Louis (4) and Wisky (5) as the "home" teams in San Jose? Yikes.

- A 10th-seeded Cincy team could luck out and get to play in Lexington (easy drive of 85 miles. About as close as Louisville to Lexington).

- Miami and Duke both screwed by this year's eight pods. No where to send them to.

 

Austin will be OK. They'll get a Big XII team or two (and/or New Mexico).

Duke will go to Philly and be OK with it.

The western pods will be more difficult. Figure Arizona goes to SLC? Then some unlucky 3 or 4 might find themselves in San Jose with a 5/6 UCLA.