Random Bracket Thoughts

[philcski]

- Four at large bids from non-BCS schools, three of which go to BYU (the largest school in the country in the most underrated league in America), Xavier (tough to call a school with a 15,000 seat arena and a huge athletic budget a mid-major), and Dayton (another hybrid semi-midmajor)... which means Butler is the only "true" mid to reach via an at-large. That is a travesty and clearly sends a message that has been brewing since the party was crashed in 2006: WE DON'T WANT YOU.

- That said, I don't have a huge problem with anything in the bracket other than Arizona, who really sh1t the bed away from home beating only Oregon and Oregon State (both TERRIBLE teams) and finished very poorly negating their good work at home in the nonconference. Wisconsin was questionable but understandable.

- The seeds overall seem very reasonable. I didn't see anything that stuck out to me that looked more than 1 seed one way or the other (and by rule that's acceptable). There's good balance across the bracket in the top 4 seeds.

- The committee tried their best to "protect" the top 4 seeds geographically the best they could, Syracuse (in Miami) and Xavier (in Boise) seem like the only ones that have significant travel, but they're basically totally neutral courts which is fine.

- Intriguing matchups in the first round:
All the 8-9 matchups... Ohio State-Siena in particular. How did Ohio State pull a near home game as an 8 seed though? Especially considering they get the #1 overall seed in the 2nd round if they advance? And in the smallest of all the arenas available? With Louisville and Pitt also playing there, that'll be an impossible ticket.
WVU-Dayton... really like this WVU team. Probably the best 6 seed since Danny & the Miracles. Dayton is a very solid basketball team and they are up against it here.
Kansas-NDSU... remember the last time KU played a disciplined team named the Bison as a #3 seed?
Wake Forest-Cleveland St... inexperienced Wake ripe for an upset and Cleveland St has already shown they can beat a similar uptempo team, winning at Syracuse on a buzzer-beater.
Utah-Arizona... Utah will try bring the Mountain West the respect it deserves.
Marquette-Utah State... Can Marquette bounce back after losing James? Who guards USU's monster big man in the middle?
Illinois-Western Kentucky... this WKU team isn't nearly as good as last year's yet they continue to win games (including Louisville (!)) and make the Tourney. Illinois faded a bit down the stretch and could be set up here for a quick exit.
UCLA-VCU... underperforming UCLA team versus a top mid-major with a superstar, might end up being the most entertaining game of the entire first round.