Mar 16, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida Gators guard/forward DeVon Walker (25) shoots over Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison (2) in the championship game for the SEC college basketball tournament at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
If you are anything like me, you believe that the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament should be a national holiday.
Some of us probably even take it upon ourselves to do just that.
There have been several years where I have told my job that I would be unreachable for the next 96 hours, so don’t even bother! I have taken that a step further. Outraged by years of perceived injustices at the hands of the selection committee, I have taken it upon myself to try and do better. I am a fair and unbiased party. I have my allegiances, but I have respect for every fan base, no matter how utterly insane they may be. That’s part of the fun. I am also a logically wired person, and a firm believer that numbers don’t lie.
My seedings rely heavily on RPI rankings as opposed to polls. I also refuse to watch ESPN or any other sports channel to avoid having my opinion altered in any way. If you watch those guys, you would believe that despite what RPI rankings say, the Big 12 is overrated, the Big Ten is better than people think, the ACC reigns supreme, Kentucky will survive solely on past successes, and the Pac 12 is the red-headed stepchild.
This is designed to give you a different look.
To promote transparency, for those of you that do not already know, I am an Oklahoma fan, live in Nebraska, but I try to watch as many conferences as I can. Admittedly I am more successful in doing this during football season than basketball season, but so it goes. Here are my seedings for the greatest spectacle in American Sports!
NO. 1 SEEDS:
Florida (2): The Gators have 30 wins, and the No. 2 RPI. Easy choice here. They are the No. 1 overall seed even if they don’t win the SEC tourney.
Arizona (1): No. 1 in the RPI and top five strength of schedule, but still managed to win 29 games. They are a one seed even with the loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship game .
Wichita State (4): The Shockers are undefeated. Enough said.
Wisconsin (6): Did anyone actually want the last number one seed? It sure didn’t seem like it. Wisconsin is here because Villanova lost in the first round of their conference tourney, and Kansas didn’t make their tourney championship game.
NO. 2 SEEDS:
Villanova (5): The loss to St. Bonaventure in their opening game of the Big East tourney takes away their one seed.
Kansas (3): The Jayhawks played a whopping 21 games against the RPI top 50. Personally, I would have no issues with them being a one seed. That said, the separation between the one seeds and three seeds is not as drastic this year as in many of the past years.
Iowa State (7): The Cyclones’ run to the Big 12 tourney title moves them up to a two seed.
Michigan (10): The loss in the Big Ten Tournament championship game likely makes them a two seed.
Mar 16, 2014; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Rodney Hood (5) takes a shot against the Virginia Cavaliers in the championship game of the ACC college basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
NO. 3 SEEDS:
Duke (8): The loss to Virginia in the ACC Championship game places them at a three since Iowa State won the Big 12 automatic bid.
Virginia (9): They won the tough ACC during the regular season, then won the ACC Tournament as well. You could argue that they deserve a two seed, and I would have a hard time disagreeing.
UCLA (14): Beating Arizona in the Pac 12 title game is good enough to move the Bruins up to a three.
New Mexico (12): I always figured the MWC auto-bid winner would get a three. I’m not going back on that now.
NO. 4 SEEDS:
Creighton (11): The Blue Jays failed to win the Big East tourney, allowing all those other teams that did win their conference tournaments to leap-frog over them.
Louisville (18): The AAC Conference Tournament Champions still won’t be able to move above a four.
Syracuse (16): The Orange would have been a one seed two weeks ago. They are not playing well right now and could be low-hanging fruit for an upset-minded lower seed.
Michigan State (21): Winning the Big Ten Tournament should put them at a four seed.
NO. 5 SEEDS:
Kentucky (17): I know many of you will skip right to here since a 12 over 5 upset is almost guaranteed to happen every year. Looking for the most vulnerable five seed? The Wildcats could be it….
Connecticut (23): The Huskies’ run to the American Tournament Championship game should move them to a five.
Gonzaga (19): The Bulldogs winning the WCC tournament should be good enough to snag a five seed.
Virginia Commonwealth (13): The Rams managed to make the finals of the A-10 Tournament, which is more than we can say for the other high seeds in that conference.
NO. 6 SEEDS:
Cincinnati (20): Their early loss in the American tourney will let them slip down to a six.
San Diego State (15): I also said the loser of the WCC tourney would be a six. No reason to go back on that either.
Oklahoma (26): Losing early in the Big 12 tourney allowed some other teams to jump them.
Ohio State (24): The Buckeyes’ win over Nebraska came close to moving them up, but not with Sparty and Kentucky doing better in their conference tourneys.
Mar 13, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard David Brown (13) shoots against UCLA Bruins forward Travis Wear (24) during the second half in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Conference college basketball tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Bruins defeated the Ducks 82-63. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
NO. 7 SEEDS:
St Louis (28): The Billikens might be playing worse right now than any team that made it in.
North Carolina (25): The loss to Pitt knocks them out of a six slot.
Massachusetts (22): The Minutemen have a very nice RPI. Unfortunately for them, many teams that were in the same boat as them played better in their conference tourneys.
Baylor (30): The Bears made it to the Big 12 tourney final, disposing of Oklahoma and Texas along the way. They deserve to move up this far.
NO. 8 SEEDS:
Texas (37): Would be higher had they not been bulldozed by Baylor in the Big 12 semis. Oh well, it’s not like there is a much of a difference between the 7 and 8 seeds anyway.
Colorado (34): The Ralphies won two games in the Pac-12 tourney. It should be good enough for a No. 8 seed.
BYU (31): They played second fiddle to Gonzaga in a very top heavy WCC, but they doesn’t mean that they are not a quality team.
Oregon (27): Watch out for Duck U in that second round, all you one seeds…..
NO. 9 SEEDS:
St Joseph’s (32): The RPI is good, but it took winning the Atlantic Ten Tournament to put them at a nine seed. Which begs the question: Wouldn’t the Hawks have been better off getting an 11 or 12 seed instead of having to face a one seed in the second round?
George Washington (29): Another solid A-10 team that might be good enough to scare the bejesus out of a high seed.
Providence (41): The Friars went from being on a lot of “last four out” lists to Big East Tournament Champions. Only in March…
Memphis (36): They got blasted by UConn in the AAC tourney, taking them from an 8 to a 9.
Mar 13, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Marcus Smart (33) shoots a free throw during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the Big 12 Conference college basketball tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
NO. 10 SEEDS:
Tennessee (42): The Vols finished the season pretty strong, and gave Florida all they wanted in the SEC semifinals. That will keep them from having to play on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Stanford (40): The Cardinal were throttled by UCLA in the Pac-12 tourney, which likely takes them down a seed.
Pittsburgh (39): The win over North Carolina pushes them from the 11 seed play-in to a 10 seed.
North Dakota State (35): The outstanding RPI for a one-bid conference team will earn them a 10 seed.
NO. 11 SEEDS:
Kansas State (51): The strength of the Big 12 this year vaults them into the 11 seed, but I still think they catch the play-in game.
Oklahoma State (45): Another one of the many Big 12 at-large teams. I think the committee goes easy on the Cowboys for the three losses when Smart was suspended.
Arizona State (44): The Sun Devils’ win over Arizona gets them in here. The bad news? I have them facing a tough Kansas State squad in the 11 seed play-in game.
Dayton (43): The Flyers likely would be in a play-in game if it weren’t in their home arena…..
Southern Mississippi (33): The Golden Eagles will still get in, even though the Louisiana Tech team that bounced them from the C-USA tournament will not.
NO. 12 SEEDS:
Stephen F. Austin (52): The Lumberjacks enter the NCAA tourney on a 28 -game winning streak.
North Carolina State (55): The Wolfpacks’ win over Syracuse in the ACC tourney likely gets them into the 12 seed play-in game. They likely took a berth from Minnesota.
Xavier (47): The Musketeers likely get pushed to the 12 seed play-in game since Providence won the Big East tourney.
Nebraska (48): The Cornhuskers will be sweating here in a couple of hours, but I still think they get in. They deserve to.
Harvard (46): Destroyed the Ivy League this year, and might even end up at an 11.
Mar 15, 2014; Ogden, UT, USA; Weber State Wildcats guard/forward Davion Berry (15) cuts one of the strings off of the net after winning the championship game of the Big Sky college basketball tournament against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux at Dee Event Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
NO. 13 SEEDS:
New Mexico State (73): The Aggies had the best RPI in the WAC anyway, so their tournament title shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Western Michigan (67): WMU ousted Toledo in the MAC Championship to secure this bid.
Delaware (66): The Blue Hens won the Colonial regular- and post-season titles.
Manhattan (60): The Jaspers won the MAAC over Iona to get in.
NO. 14 SEEDS:
Eastern Kentucky (96): Ohio Valley Tournament Champions.
Mercer (83): Atlantic Sun Tournament Champions.
Tulsa (74): The Golden Hurricane won the Conference USA tourney over Louisiana Tech. La Tech is now probably out of the field of 68.
Louisiana-Lafayette (90): The Ragin Cajuns took out regular season champion Georgia State in overtime to earn the Sun Belt automatic bid.
NO. 15 SEEDS:
Weber State (146): The Wildcats win the automatic bid from the Big Sky with a win over North Dakota.
North Carolina Central (99): The Eagles win the MEAC Tournament to earn the auto-bid from that conference.
American (118): They won the Patriot League title over Boston U to earn the invite.
Milwaukee (131): Earned the auto-bid from the Horizon League.
NO. 16 SEEDS:
Mount Saint Mary’s (189): They won the Northeast Conference automatic bid as the four seed in the tournament. By doing so, they reached the .500 mark for the season. The Mount will will wind up in one of the two 16 seed play-in games.
Albany (185): The Great Danes secured a bid by knocking off American East Conference heavyweights Vermont and Stony Brook en route to the AEC automatic bid.
Coastal Carolina (191): The Chanticleers are the autobid from the Big South. They should avoid a play-in game with Cal Poly getting in.
Wofford (153): The Terriers won the Southern Conference Tournament to earn the right to be chum to some No. 1 shark….
Texas Southern (239): The Tigers have the worst RPI in the entire tournament at 239. They are the automatic bid from the Southwest Conference. They will be in a play-in game, probably with Coastal Carolina.
Cal Poly (207): The Mustangs earn their first ever bid with a Big West Tournament title. They are also the worst team (record wise anyway) to make the NCAA Tournament since the 11-18 Fairfield Stags in 1997. The Mustangs make it in with a 13-19 record and will be in a play-in game. They still have a better RPI than Texas Southern, though!
BRACKET BREAKDOWN:
Big 12 – 7
ACC, Atlantic 10, Pac 12 – 6
Big Ten – 5
American, Big East – 4
SEC – 3
Conference USA, Mountain West, West Coast – 2
America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MEAC, MAC, MVC, NEC, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC – 1
Toledo’s loss in the MAC Championship game hurt them enough. NC State making a run in the ACC was enough to keep the Rockets out. They are the best RPI team (38) to not get in.
Stay tuned for my official bracket breakdowns all week long leading up to the tourney tip-off on Thursday!