The field of 68 was announced hours ago, and let's get right to the knee-jerk reactions:
Texas A&M's snub was criminal. One thing I absolutely hate about the selection process is that the NCAA committee dropped how a team fared in the last ten games as part of its criteria. Texas A&M was sensational at the end of the year. They won eight of their last 10, have 23 wins on the season, and took home two Quad 1 wins in the last 72 hours. They have Auburn, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Arkansas (twice) as quality wins. This is a team that found its stride late and are getting punished for it. Criminal.
Who would I have taken out for A&M? Michigan. At 17-14, they got rewarded for a very strong schedule. But A&M definitely finished stronger and, on a neutral court, I'd take the Aggies over Michigan right now. I might be dead wrong on that, but after what I saw this weekend, I felt A&M deserved it.
Will the Big Ten redeem itself? Last year, the committee put nine Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten then epically flopped, going 8-9 in the tournament. This year, the committee once again awarded the Big Ten nine bids. Will they do better than last year? One has to believe that, if the Big Ten flops again, the committee won't be as generous in 2023.
Two double-digit teams to like are Loyola of Chicago and Iowa State. The committee did Ohio State no favors by pairing them up with the Ramblers, whose defensive prowess and deliberate attack make them dangerous every single March. As for Iowa State, they struggled late in the year, but get LSU right after the firing of Will Wade and the release of a particularly brutal notice of allegations. LSU is a talented team, but will their heads completely be in it with all the drama that just occurred?
The early dark-horse is Tennessee, who was underseeded as a three and likely will take it out on Longwood, making their NCAA debut. The Volunteers are a hot team right now and could be a sleeper pick for the national title. For now, they need to reach their first-ever Final Four, which won't be entirely easy with Arizona and Villanova, but is doable for Rick Barnes and company.
Bellarmine should be in the tournament. I think the "transition period" rule is ridiculous. Bellarmine won their tournament and should have been given an invite to the dance. Having said that, Jacksonville State-Auburn will be an enjoyable game, mainly because both teams can shoot very well from behind the arc.
The toughest region? I'm going to take the East, mainly because Kentucky is a lethal number two and can give Baylor all they can handle. They also have a hot Virginia Tech as an 11-seed playing Chris Beard's Texas squad and 30-2 Murray State as the trickiest seven seed out there. A potential in-state battle between Murray State and Kentucky could be pretty epic.
Wyoming vs. Indiana is one of the most intriguing First Four matchups we've had. The game being in Dayton helps IU, but Wyoming's been good all year and Graham Ike and Hunter Maldonado have given teams fits all year. It'll be interesting to see them match up against an Indiana team that's found their stride.
The first top seed to fall will be... this is close, but I'm leaning towards Baylor. The Bears don't seem to have the same magic that they did last year. Either Boise State or Marquette could be tricky for Gonzaga in the second round, as well.
The team hardest to predict is... Alabama, and it's not even close. The Crimson Tide have beaten two of the top seeds in this tournament (Gonzaga and Baylor). They also have some horrendous losses, notably to Georgia and Missouri. Alabama seems to play to the level of its competition, and they're a team that lives and dies behind the arc. If they get on a hot streak, they could be the talk of the entire tournament. If they don't, they could be out in the first round.
The early Final Four prediction. I have to say, this is the toughest year in a long time to pick a bracket. But for the Final Four, I'll go with Texas Tech in the West, Kentucky in the East, and Wisconsin in the Midwest. I'm at a toss-up between Arizona and Tennessee in the South. I'm leaning Arizona, but that could quickly change to Tennessee.
March 14, 2022
Bob Gross:
The Selection process for the NCAA basketball tournament has become as scandalous as the “country club” favoritism that happens in the process of selecting the four playoff teams in college football. The favoritism that is shown to certain teams and conferences is sickening. I would love for the committee to explain to me how Texas A&M is not one of the 68 best basketball programs in America…..I will wait. I would also like them to explain how the Big10 is somehow America’s “power conference” in basketball…….placing 9 teams in the tournament. including a team just 3 games over 500 and 4-5 in their last 9 games….in over a 23-8 team that was 8-2 in it’s last 10 in a MAJOR conference, including a playoff win against a two seed in the NCAA’s. Unreal. No other conference received nearly the favoritism that the big 10 did, even though they have not had a national champion in over 20 years….this has happened time and time again, too….where is the out of conference and playoff “dominance” that should be associated with this?? How has the big 10 done in comparison to the ACC, SEC, and Big East….who get far fewer selections??? Also, with many, many first and second round oustings, which I believe will again be the case this year. Time for an impartial committee that gives everyone a fair shot.