I’m filling out my brackets and scoresheets, but I’ll try to blog a bit in between the regionals.
So far, no surprises: the #1 seeds are Duke, UConn, Villanova and Memphis (in that order).
UPDATE: GW is an #8 seed???? I’m thinking Gonzaga might only be a #4, then, if the committee is taking such a poor view of teams from weak conferences with excellent records. (On the other hand, Billy Packer thinks the Pops injury might be the reason for the low seed, which wouldn’t have any implications for the Zags. We’ll see.
UPDATE 2: No Redick-Morrison matchup, at least not before the Final Four.
And Southern Illinois as an #11 seems a bit low (Lunardi had the Salukis as a #8), suggesting 4 teams at most for the MVC. Crap.
UPDATE 3: Gonzaga gets a #3 in Memphis’s region. First they have to get past #14 Xavier, then potentially #6 Indiana or #11 San Diego State, and then potentially #2 UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen. Oh, I would LOVE that game. I’d be irrepressible all week before it. :) If the Zags get to the Elite Eight, they face a possible rematch with Memphis, one of the three teams that beat them this season. Redick-Morrison would be a national semifinal, if the teams get that far.
By the way, UCLA ahead of Gonzaga is re-damn-diculous. Just saying.
Bradley is in, but only a #13 seed. (Lunardi had them as a #10.) The committee clearly is not buying the hype about the Missouri Valley. Missouri State and Creighton are not going to make it, and I’d be sweating if I were Northern Iowa (though I think they’ll still get in).
This is not a good year for the mid-majors, in terms of the committee’s choices.
UPDATE 4: Utah State getting in: awesome.
But… Air Force?!?!?!
And… HOLY COW… either Northern Iowa or Cincinnati is NOT dancing. The bubble is tapped out.
UPDATE 5: Tennessee as a #2 seed, ahead of Gonzaga, is even more ridiculous than UCLA as #2 seed, ahead of Gonzaga. Lunardi had the Vols as a #5! How do they deserve a #2? Huh? This is a dumb, dumb bracket. Not impressed with the committee this year. (Seriously: AIR FORCE?!?!?!)
The remaining Lunardi Top 5 seeds who haven’t been bracketed yet are: Ohio State, Boston College and Florida. So presumably those are your #2 through #4 in the Minneapolis region.
UPDATE 6: Northern Iowa gets in!!! MVC gets 4, like I predicted as soon as I saw Southern Illinois’s seed.
So, no Cincy; Seton Hall instead. Odd.
Boston College as only a #4? When Tennessee is a #2? I don’t get it. And the Eagles are rewarded for their awesome ACC Tournament performance with a ticket to Salt Lake City to play Nevada in the second round? Bull.
UPDATE 7: By the way, I’m glad George Mason got in. They definitely deserved it. But Air Force getting in ahead of teams like Cincinnati, Missouri State and Hofstra is an absolute travesty. And Utah State… well, not sure if they deserve it, but I’m happy for them.
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Categories: NCAA Basketball & Pools
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March 12th, 2006 at 6:07:58 pm
It moves too fast for me, I’ll just wait until espn uploads it.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:11:21 pm
A&m gets in
March 12th, 2006 at 6:12:10 pm
Cals in
March 12th, 2006 at 6:19:21 pm
Ankansas in
March 12th, 2006 at 6:19:51 pm
Bucknell is a 9 seed baby!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:20:06 pm
Bradleys in
March 12th, 2006 at 6:21:02 pm
UCLA a 2 seed?
Alabama is in!
Gonzagas a 3 seed
March 12th, 2006 at 6:21:25 pm
Bama rated TWO seeds higher than SIU is pure BS.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:23:05 pm
5 BE teams in so far.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:24:36 pm
Bama will not win the first round.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:26:59 pm
Uconns bracket is up
March 12th, 2006 at 6:27:39 pm
Uconn gets albany
March 12th, 2006 at 6:28:13 pm
YES!!! UAB GETS IN!!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:29:06 pm
UTAH STATE GETS IN
TENNESSE A 2?
March 12th, 2006 at 6:29:35 pm
WITCHITA STATE A 7
PLAYS SETON HALL!!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:30:17 pm
AHHH MICHIGAN STATE GETS IN
MASON IS IN!!!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:30:53 pm
Air Force is in!!!
A possible Kentucky Uconn second round match-up?
March 12th, 2006 at 6:32:06 pm
Yea Billy! Arizona/ Wisconsin 8/9. ROFLMAO!!!! Wrong bracket, prick.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:33:14 pm
lol
March 12th, 2006 at 6:33:56 pm
If cinci and WV gets in thats a record 8 teams in for the BE
March 12th, 2006 at 6:35:09 pm
In other news Uconn Won’t Win the national title because of their Region
March 12th, 2006 at 6:35:24 pm
One could make an argument that, on the season’s merits, Gonzaga should be seeded higher than fUTLA. But there’s no way I have Gonzaga beating fUTLA in my bracket. fUTLA is far too well-rounded for a team like Gonzaga. I suspect the oddsmakers in Vegas will agree, when we start to see betting odds.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:35:51 pm
Gonzaga should be a 4, especially if GW is a 8..
Zags played 2 real tough opponents in my eyes..
UCONN AND MEMPHIS.
Pitt a 5 is a joke as well. They killed Nova, seemed like the Conference tourneys ment nothing. Tennessee a #2?
March 12th, 2006 at 6:36:23 pm
Arizona in!!!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:37:04 pm
bc a 4 seed
March 12th, 2006 at 6:37:48 pm
Tennessee is not a 2 seed, but a 3 seed would be fair for them. The SEC was a very good conference this year, and they beat Texas at Texas I believe. Pearl’s style and schemes are going to be very tough for tourney opponents.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:37:50 pm
BC walks to Sweet 16.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:37:59 pm
no surprises in this bracket so far
BIG EAST MAKES A RECORD!!
March 12th, 2006 at 6:38:50 pm
CINCINATTI LEFT OUT
March 12th, 2006 at 6:40:30 pm
Seton Hall in, Cincy out??
BC doesnt have a walk into the sweet 16, both Pacific and Nevada are good coached teams.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:41:38 pm
CBS is disgusted cincy didn’t get in
UCONN has the death bracket
March 12th, 2006 at 6:42:25 pm
Boy, this is a tough year to fill out
March 12th, 2006 at 6:46:19 pm
Did everybody leave now?
March 12th, 2006 at 6:46:35 pm
I dont like Gonzaga match-ups..
Xavier plays a in your face defense. And if they get Indiana in the round of 32, that could be a killer :(
I can see Indiana pounding Gonzaga.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:46:44 pm
BUZZMASTER
Some channel that’s not ESPN, NBC, FOX or ABC …
Matt (NJ)
I’ve got my white board and magic marker ready
Mike (Kansas)
Rock Chalk Jayhawk BABY!
Clark (NC)
Can’t they shorten the selection show to 30 minutes
BUZZMASTER
If it takes American Idol an hour to ditch two singers, then 60 minutes to select 64 teams isn’t too bad, is it?
Dave (CT)
I’ve got my bubble chart ready
March 12th, 2006 at 6:48:05 pm
I disagree completely with Brendan about BC. They got the best possible placement to advance to a regional final.
I always wanted my eastern team to travel west. It was (and remains) less loaded than the eastern/southern brackets.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:48:59 pm
the commisioner is on tv now.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:50:24 pm
Ed, I disagree with you completely. BC Is a VERY solid team who deserved at leats a 3 seed. A 4 seed is fitting, but a match-up against Neveda is not
March 12th, 2006 at 6:54:21 pm
This guy is a liar. Conference totals not taken into consideration? Liar.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:54:48 pm
Wow, CBS is absolutely RIPPING The Commisioner.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:55:36 pm
The MVC getting four in is a joke..
Cincy should be in.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:56:44 pm
Whos your sleeper?
March 12th, 2006 at 6:58:26 pm
I agree with Coach K. BC is going to Indy.
March 12th, 2006 at 6:59:02 pm
Teams that should have not been in: Utah State, Air Force, and Bama
Shoukd Have Gotten in: Florida State, Cincy, and Michigan ( i don’t like them, but they deserved it )
March 12th, 2006 at 8:46:04 pm
I love my Vols, but them managing a 2 seed is just crazy. Now, if they had kept up the play they had shown through the rest of the season for the last two weeks, then maybe, yeah, I see a #2. After the last several games, thought, I felt a #4 would have been about right.
But, their reward for getting a #2 seed is an absolutely SICK matchup against a #15 seed Winthrop team. Those dudes can ball. As much as I hate to say it, that could be your BIG first round “upset.” UT is too high, Winthrop is too low. In reality, that should be more like a 4-13/5-12 matchup. Maybe that’s how the committe looked at it?
Anyway, GO VOLS.
GO TIGERS GO!
March 12th, 2006 at 9:07:09 pm
Agreed… I have Winthrop preliminarily picked to pull the upset, clearing the way for Wichita State to reach the Sweet 16 (joining fellow MVCers Northern Iowa). :)
March 12th, 2006 at 11:03:45 pm
God I hope you pick that. I’m glad you all are forgetting how Bruce Pearl teams do in tourneys….
March 12th, 2006 at 11:46:59 pm
Oh, I’m not forgetting how Coach Pearl does…that’s why I love the fact that he’s here.
The only thing I see out of my Vols is that they’re finally running out of gas. They killed themselves with the high-intensity full court press through the first half of the schedule, and it showed in the latter part.
The only other view of it I could take is that the Vols really only started losing games at the end to teams that had seen them on the court before. Maybe some familiarity finally found a game plan to beat them. Maybe the NCAAs will be different.
We’re already ecstatic over the season to this point here in Knoxville. Heck, a winning season and a decent run in the NIT would’ve been a welcome improvement. But a frickin’ number TWO seed in the Big Dance? Un.Freaking.Believable.
This is the first time in a LONG time that both of my alma maters have had decent chances to make deep runs in the tourney.
A second round matchup for my Memphis Tigers against Arkansas concerns me a bit though. I’m not sure Bucknell is any better.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Go TIGERS Go!
Go VOLS!
March 13th, 2006 at 9:14:39 pm
thanks for the love for George Mason.