On Saturday the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did their 8th annual bracket preview reveal. Just like last year, there were some odd things. We are 29 days from Selection Sunday, and this gives us a good taste of what is to come.
Another Weird NCAA Selection Committee Bracket
Oddities
The four 1 seeds seemed to be a consensus throughout the bracketology community, and it was with the Selection Committee too. But after that the order got weird. UNC was fifth overall, and two spots above Marquette. The Tar Heels just lost to Syracuse on Tuesday and already had a loss to Georgia Tech. Marquette has better wins and no bad losses.
Iowa State was heavily punished for its extremely poor non-conference strength of schedule (322 NCSOS). If there ever was a situation in which to overlook that number, then it was this resume. The Cyclones have four Q1A wins, three of which were on the road. They have also beaten Houston and Kansas.
Alabama was a couple of spots too high in my opinion. Their resume is pretty much identical to Auburn’s and the two split their season series. But even with their resumes being that similar the Crimson Tide were the top 3 seed and four spots higher on the seed list than Auburn.
I was not at all surprised to see Sa Diego State in the bracket reveal as a 4 seed. However, I was surprised to see them at number 14 overall and not 16. That felt a little high. But it does seemingly show that the committee is high on the Mountain West, which bodes well for the rest of the conference and the fans who are rooting for a 6-bid MWC.
I do not think that Duke should’ve been a 3 seed, and I definitely don’t think that they should’ve been above Auburn. The Blue Devils have some good wins, but only two Quad 1A wins plus a home loss to Georgia Tech should’ve kept them on the 4 line.
Inconsistency
It seems to me like the reasoning that was used to put Kansas on the 2 line could have and should have been applied to then have Clemson as a 4 seed. Kansas was seemingly put on the 2 line because of their elite group of wins, which include wins over the likes of Baylor, Houston, and UConn. Their poor road record was ignored. Clemson also has a few elite wins, including road wins against UNC and Alabama. Yet they weren’t on the 4 line. The logic that was applied was inconsistent.
Premade Again?
Last year I wrote about how it seemed like the bracket reveal was made early in the week and wasn’t changed. It seems like that again this year. It does not seem like the committee watched much, if any, basketball these last few days. Like it was made Tuesday morning. For example, Auburn curb-stomped South Carolina on Wednesday, and let they were still left as a 4 seed. As I mentioned before, UNC was fifth overall despite the loss to Syracuse on Tuesday. Just odd.
