The brackets, first reactions

by Adam Bartel 3/16/2008 8:56:00 PM

Having had a couple hours so far to digest the brackets, here are my initial reactions:

I have some quibbles with seeding here and there, but overall I think this is the best job the committee has done in years.  Committee chairperson Tom O'Connor said on the selection show that he suggested that the committee get an early start on the process, and it showed.

  • Baylor was probably the shakiest selection; they're the one squad I think that you could make an argument should not have been invited.  But, I'm not sure that any of the last-out teams really have a strong argument as to why they should have been in (Illinois State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, or Arizona State - the latter of which is just about finished being serviced by the ESPN Bracketology crew).
  • If Kansas was, as is generally accepted to be, the last #1 seed in, I'm not sure that Georgetown should have been considered as the top #2 seed to face them.  I guess I find it hard to believe that a Tennessee squad that was considered to be a #1 just 48 hours ago could now be considered the worst of the #2 seeds (placed in the same region as #1 overall UNC) just because they lost a conference semi, when the Hoyas didn't win their conference tournament either.  You could probably make a serious argument that Wisconsin should have gotten a #2 seed instead of Georgetown; interestingly, they would meet in the sweet 16 if form holds.
  • Xavier caught a nice break getting Georgia in the first round.  It sure seems that mediocre squads that catch fire and win their conference tournaments seem to fizzle out in the first round, once the momentum subsides (off the top of my head, I'm thinking of Syracuse in 2006, St. Louis and Arkansas in 2000, and Georgia Tech in 1993).
  • Something feels very weird about the #4 seeds - Vandy, UConn, Pittsburgh, & Washington State.  All four have tricky first round matchups - if I had to rank them in order of most likely to lose, I'd say Vandy (vs. Siena), Pittsburgh (vs. Oral Roberts), UConn (vs. San Diego), and WSU (vs. Winthrop).
  • Everyone's already going bonkers about the USC/Kansas State first round matchup, which will pit O.J. Mayo against Michael Beasley.  Other exciting games should include UNLV/Kent State, Davidson/Gonzaga, Drake/Western Kentucky, Butler/South Alabama, and Miami (Fla.)/St. Mary's.
  • The most egregious underseeds were Butler at a #7, and Indiana at a #8.  Butler's strength of schedule was hurt by their conference weakness, but 29-3 with some decent wins doesn't merit this low a ranking.  Likewise, Indiana's resume had taken a few hits recently, but there's no way it earned a one-and-out seeding.  This is not to say that they'll win - frankly, I'm fully expecting them to lose - but they still should have been a higher seed.
  • On the flip side, Oklahoma as a #6 seed?  This is a team that was on the bubble about three weeks ago, and played their way in to the dance - though not overwhelmingly.  That's at least two seeds too high.

Overall, this is a very intriguing bracket that I'm looking very forward to checking out come Thursday morning.  Oh, and one more thing before I finish.  Ohio State, here's your sign:

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Comments

3/16/2008 10:50:12 PM

Jimmy Dinsmore

Adam, I agree. This was one of the least controversial brackets in a long time. You can argue seeding, but you can't really make a strong case that someone was just egregiously left out.
Let's not forget the very local tie in K State vs. USC. It pits OJ Mayo vs. Bill Walker. Both are very good friends and played at N. College Hill. That's a pretty cool match up, the Michael Beasley thing aside.
Also, one of the biggest winners of the bracket was Bob Huggins. His WVU team got a 7 seed having played fairly inspired down the stretch. True he's playing with someone else's players, more or less, but he still deserves the credit. Additionally, the K-State is essentially Huggins' talent. Both Walker and Beasley are his recruits. So, he has two teams, more or less, in the tournament.
I agree about the 4 seeds, although I think Wasu is the most vulnerable followed by UConn. The Big East got 8 teams in, but I think less than half of them (3) make the Sweet 16, and I say this as a UC fan and Big East fan. The Big East had about 6 teams that are all about the same. They beat each other, but also made each other look better than they are. The Big East teams that should make some noise are: Georgetown, Notre Dame and Louisville.
Lastly, if Xavier meets Duke in the Sweet 16, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I hate Duke, but I hate Xavier more. I've never once found myself rooting for Duke (except two years ago when they played X in the tourney). I might find myself in that position again. Sigh.

Jimmy Dinsmore

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