Monday, March 13, 2006

a little bracket talk

I'd have to say the committee did a pretty good job of selecting the 65 teams this year... no huge surprises and no major snubs. I'd have put in Cincinnati instead of Air Force. So who pissed in Billy Packer's cheerios yesterday? We all know the MVC is no ACC, but they had 4 decent schools (some say 5) that were maybe a bit better than the 5th and 6th place ACC teams this year. I think Missouri St probably should have gotten the MVC's 4th bid instead of Bradley.

As far as seeds go, the biggest stand out is Tennessee as a 2 seed. What did they do to deserve that? Well they went 3-4 down the stretch and lost in the first round of the SEC tourney, doesn't sound like #2 seed material to me. Iowa's probably a bit over-seeded as well along with Syracuse who before the Big East tourney, probably wasn't even getting into the big dance. Georgetown's better than a 7 seed and will have to play Ohio State to make the Sweet 16.

Ahh and the Aggies will make their first appearance since 1987 gaining their first ever at-large bid. A 12 seed almost always beats a 5 in the tourney and I think A&M has maybe the best chance playing a slightly over-rated Syracuse team.

A few interesting Tourney facts:

• The last five national champions have come from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East.

• The lowest seed to make the Final Four were the #11 LSU Tigers in 1986.

• Since seeding began in 1979, on only three occasions have three No. 1 seeds made the Final Four (1993, 1997 and 1999).

A few other opinions on who made the dance:
Mid-major schools create major second-guessing

Cincy gets snubbed

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