Just a quick rant about these brackets, though. Usually Selection Sunday is like a holiday for me. I love seeing the brackets come out, and I love doing my expert analysis. This year? I was hurt. I was betrayed by the tournament selection committee. Evidently the rights fees are so high now that this tournament is officially 100% about ratings, and 0% about basketball. It really makes me sad. And for those of you casual fans or people who just fill out a bracket and don't watch any basketball, let me explain what I mean. I saw months ago that the rules on rematches were changing for the tournament, but I didn't fully understand what they were trying to turn the tournament into. Now I know.
These are by far the most “made-for-tv” brackets ever. Every region is all about old rivalries and rematches. I mean, Nebraska plays Baylor in an old Big 12 matchup, and then if the Huskers win they could have a rematch with in-state rival Creighton. Not to mention 2 more Big 12 schools are in the same region - Oklahoma and Oklahoma State - who happen to be rivals with one another. But it gets worse. Cincinnati, UConn, Providence and Villanova are all in the same bracket for at least one potential old Big East matchup - not to mention THREE AAC schools (UConn, Cincy, Memphis) are all in that region for potential rematches, along with a potential Villanova-St. Joe's Philadelphia Big 5 game.
Louisville and Kentucky could play each other again. A Duke/Michigan rematch is possible. Florida is in the same region as UCLA and Ohio State, conveniently the same 2 teams the Gators beat for the back-to-back titles, and the Gators have a potential rematch with Kansas, and a chance for VCU to play Florida. If you're unaware, VCU's coach Shaka Smart used to coach under Florida's Billy Donovan.
Dayton has tried to schedule a yearly game with Ohio State and the Buckeyes refused because they won't play in-state games for fear of being embarrassed or something, so the committee put them together in the first game. Arizona could meet up with Oregon again after Oregon beat Arizona to end the regular season. And let's not ignore the fact that Oregon opens with BYU, who they already beat in overtime this season. It also doesn't seem like a coincidence that Wichita State's 2 best wins came over St. Louis and Tennessee, and the Shockers just happen to be in the same region with those 2 teams.
I know I'm not alone in noticing all the bracket flaws, and this is not an exhaustive list. Rick Pitino isn't happy about having to play Manhattan, and it's understandable. It's all about story lines this year instead of basketball. These brackets are just terrible, but they did it all on purpose. It’s 100% made for television. Anyway, I'm sure you already know who I want to win it all this year, so I'm not gonna go over my bracket here. Regardless of the NCAA selection committee's terrible job this year, I hope to see Florida cutting down the nets in Arlington. GO GATORS!!!
