Simply getting into the NCAA Tournament is the goal for most Division I basketball teams. For elite, ranked teams, though, the situation is quite different. Top squads that hope to make an Elite Eight or Sweet 16 run need all the help they can get on Selection Sunday; a bad draw, and the dreams of champagne and T-shirts and net-cutting go out the window.
This year, the usual selection-day woes some teams experienced were compounded by a new “pod” seeding system, which attempted to put more teams closer to their home courts than before in first- and second-round games, regardless of seed. A novel idea, but guaranteed to produce many winners and losers. Here they are.
Winners: Big Three: Duke (1), Kansas (1) and Maryland (1)
All three of these teams were locked in as top seeds before their conference tournaments even started. All three have easy paths to the Final Four. All three were essentially granted home-court advantage, thanks to the selection committee’s new pod seeding system,
Maryland: East one-seed Maryland plays its first two games in Washington, D.C. Terps forward Chris Wilcox, he of the 40-inch vertical, could probably jump from soon-to-be-forgotten Cole Field House to the MCI Center with only the help of an NBA-style walk. Maryland fans will shell out the big bucks for the game, and with their favorite number 23 on the injured list and his squad faltering, D.C. residents will need something to root for other than the non-playoff bound Wizards. With Marquette and Kentucky, the other top teams in the bracket, far from their regions, the Terps should find it good to be home.
Kansas: The pod seeding put Kansas in St. Louis for the first two rounds, which should allow the Jayhawks to delay, at least for a couple games, their inevitable early departure from the tournament. First-round victim Holy Cross (16) will be overlooked but still destroyed, and although Western Kentucky (9) and Stanford (8) each have some NBA-level talent, Kansas playing one state from home should be too much to handle for either team. Kansas may run into problems later, though, against an athletic Oregon team and an Illinois squad which is just as deep as the Jayhawks.
Duke: Maybe it’s all the hype surrounding Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer and Jason Williams (the one who hasn’t killed anybody). Maybe it’s Dick Vitale’s endless barrage of praise for those damn Dukies. Maybe it’s just because they’re Duke. Any way you look at it, the Blue Devils benefited most from the selections of the committee, as they were handed the easiest path to the Final Four of any one-seed. Duke’s top competition in the South? USC (4), Alabama (2), Cal (6) and a Pittsburgh (3) team with a possibly injured Brandin Knight. All impressive teams, to be sure, but none of these squads can match up with or outlast the Blue Devils, especially in Greenville, S.C., and Lexington, Ky.
Loser: Gonzaga (6)
Gonzaga got no love from the selection committee once again, drawing a six-seed in a year many Zags fans expected a three-seed or even higher. The Zags were ranked No. 6 nationally in the final poll. Now they’re sixth in a bracket? Something doesn’t quite make sense.
To make matters worse, Gonzaga will likely have to play Arizona (3) in the second round, a team with great guard play and an excellent record of past tourney performance. Playing in Albuquerque, N.M., won’t help the Zags either, where a pro-Arizona crowd is likely.
To be fair, Gonzaga never deserved its No. 6 ranking, and probably not a three-seed, but surely there are not 20 teams better than Gonzaga in the tourney. A weak schedule came back to haunt the Zags, whose three-year Sweet 16 streak may be over. A six-seed for them is bad enough. ‘Zona in the second game? Ouch.
Winner: Illinois (4)
By exploding down the stretch, winning a share of the Big Ten title and looking impressive against Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament, the Illini earned themselves a four-seed in the Midwest bracket. Considered a disappointment all season, the Illini got a higher seed than expected and, even better, will play their first- and second-round games in Chicago’s United Center, where they usually play at least one home game a season.
The hometown crowd should help in a likely second-round matchup with Florida, and then it’s on to Madison, where the Big Ten fans will be plenty. If Corey Bradford and Brian Cook play with the energy they had against Minnesota and Frank Williams is himself, the Illini should run into Kansas in the Sweet 16.
Losers: Oklahoma (2) and Cincinnati (1)
Both the Sooners and the Bearcats deserved a one-seed; only one could get it. So after disappointing Oklahoma with a two-seed, the selection committee decided to put them into the same bracket at Cincinnati. And just about everybody else.
The West region in this tournament is one of the toughest brackets in recent years, as it’s loaded from top to bottom with quality teams. How about UCLA (8), Miami, Fla. (5), Ohio State (4), Gonzaga (6) and Arizona (3)? Added to the mix just for fun are dangerous Xavier (7) and Hawaii (10) squads, an Ole Miss (9) team that has been on fire and a sleeping giant in Missouri (12). Missouri? 12? The Tigers were ranked No. 3 nationally at one point this year and almost knocked off Kansas in the Big XII Tournament.
Anybody can beat anybody in this bracket; it just depends on who gets hot. UCLA, if they’re clicking, could add to Cinci’s resume of second-round defeats. Even with the two-seed, Oklahoma might have an easier path to the Sweet 16 than the Bearcats, but David West and Xavier are no joke. Bum deal for the Sooners and Bearcats.
