NCAA Tournament Bracket Is Set; Let the Games Begin

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Hoops junkies as the NCAA Basketball Tournament is set, with the play in games (now called the “First Four” instead of the First Round, a welcome change) beginning March 15th. Actual First Round action begins March 17th. Here’s a few thoughts on the tournament:

Kansas, North Carolina, and Oregon all won both their conferences’ regular season and tournament titles, and although some eyebrows were raised that Oklahoma was #2 in the West Region behind Oregon, the Sooners finished third in the Big 12 and lost five of their last 11. The Ducks have won eight in a row, including victories over #15 Arizona and #12 Utah in the conference tournament. The other #1 seed is Virginia. The Cavaliers were second in the ACC and lost the Conference Tournament game to North Carolina, while the #2 seed, Michigan State, finished second in the Big Ten but won the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans have won 13 of 14 as well, so we’re a little surprised by this one. We could see this one settled at the Elite Eight level, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

On the other hand, is there really that much difference between and one and two seed? With the high number of upsets this season there were few totally dominant teams, and many of them could justifiably be seeded higher or lower than they were. There’s no easy road to the Final Four ever, and it’s especially true this season. It also makes for a real crapshoot when one is filling out a bracket for the office pool.

Xavier is the #2 seed in the East region, and could face #3 West Virginia in the third round. The Musketeers had a great season, but West Virginia’s stifling press defense could win the day. The Mountaineers finished second in the Big 12, and won six of their last seven, (including three victories over teams in the Top 25) before bowing to Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship.

Keep an eye on the two representatives from the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State won the regular season crown before losing to Northern Iowa in overtime in the conference tournament . The Shockers ended up as a eleventh seed in the South Region, and will be in one of those First Four games against Vanderbilt. A lot of folks think Wichita State is seeded too low and could make some serious noise in the tournament. The Shockers allowed just 59.3 points per game, best in the country. Northern Iowa is the eleventh seed in the West Region. The Panthers were 22-12 on the season, but got red hot at the end, winning 12 of their last 13. They too had a good defense, allowing 62.9 points, 11th best in the nation. Northern Iowa upset then #1 North Carolina in Cedar Falls back in November, so when the Panthers are on, they’ve proven they can beat anybody.

Speaking of currently hot teams, Seton Hall came out of nowhere to beat both Xavier and Villanova and win the Big East Tournament championship. The Pirates have won 12 of 14 going into the tournament, and are the sixth seed in the Midwest Region.

Kentucky finished in a tie with Texas A&M for the Southeast Conference regular season title. It turns out they met in the SEC Conference Tournament final, and the Wildcats pulled out an 82-77 victory. The ‘Cats were only rewarded with a number 4 seed in the East. We guess that’s what happens when you enter the tournament with a 26-8 record instead of 34-0 like they did last year.

Here’s some highlights of the Kentucky vs. A&M game. Ironically, Texas A&M actually wound up with a #3 seed in the West.