After months of nonstop college basketball, March Madness is here and the bracket is set. Unlike the past several years, the Selection Show on CBS was straightforward and wasted no time in revealing the bracket. Here’s what we learned from Selection Sunday:
Three ACC Teams Get a One Seed
Everything had to work out perfectly for three ACC teams to receive a one seed. Virginia was in the best shape all season, as their only losses were to Duke, until they fell to Florida State in the ACC semifinals. North Carolina is playing better than anybody and had two wins over Duke already. And for the Blue Devils, getting Zion back healthy was huge in getting a number one and top overall seed.
Gonzaga’s loss to St. Mary’s ultimately didn’t affect their seeding as they got the last one seed. The last time a team from the same conference had three one seeds in the Big Dance was the Big East in 2011.
Belmont, Temple Get In
For the first time in a long time, there didn’t seem to be much criticism regarding which bubble teams did and did not make it. The Bubble was historically bad this year, which may point to why there wasn’t a huge uproar regarding the Selection Committee’s decision. Belmont lost to Murray State in the OVC finals, but had a NET ranking of 47 and, using the eye-test, looked better than a lot of other bubble teams. Another team that barely snuck into the tournament was Temple, who had a NET ranking of 56 but had some solid wins.
Many college basketball fans enjoy seeing the smaller schools get a shot in the Big Dance, instead of teams like Indiana and NC State who have an abundant amount of opportunities throughout the season to get resume wins.
Michigan State, Cincinnati Fans Are Not Happy
It’s been said for years now, but conference championship games do not matter on Selection Sunday. Michigan State, who beat rival Michigan three times this year, received the same seed as the Wolverines. Their reward for winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament? A two seed in the same region as overall top seed Duke.
Another team who looked impressive on Sunday was Cincinnati, who dominated Houston from start to finish. They were rewarded with a seven seed in the South region with the two seed being Tennessee. The good news for Bearcat fans is that their first and second round games will be played in nearby Columbus.
Other notable seedings:
- Wofford Terriers – 7 seed
- Buffalo Bulls – 6 seed
- Murray State Racers – 12 seed
- Oregon Ducks – 12 seed
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