Top Gonzaga Villanova (6 in general) and virgin (9) collapsed on Saturday in a meeting of the best players (and only the goods), as the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed its potential for the top 16 seeds for March Madness. A preview in the form of the useless ranking of the weekly College Football Playoff now reveals many of the same schools.
Look at this list! Alabama and the state of Ohio, you the title of inclined university football just over a month ago, now both in the top half of the Sweet 16 Circle Preliminary Program … plus all-time football programs of yesteryear, such as Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma … but it’s not just the royalty of football, madness … all your favorites are here and eligible bowling programs, including the 2020 Liberty Bowl champion West Virginia plus Tennessee, Iowa … and other!
The state of Ohio (4) did not need a the rules change this time (ahem) to see his way on the line with 1 seed with sworn enemies Michigan (3, and just happy to be now avoiding the Buckeyes until a later round given the path the football team has evolved against them in the Jim Harbaugh era). Illinois (5) completes a Top 5 trifecta for the Big Ten.
National champion in 2021 (in the other sport) Alabama enters behind Nova on the line of 2 seeds, together with the recent participants in the New Mexico Bowl Houston. West Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma complete the line with 3 seeds behind defending champion Virginia. (Yes, this time I mean basketball … but it’s been a while since anyone paid attention, so don’t feel bad if your last memory of the Knights is shitting the bed as the first 1-seed to lose to 16-seed in UMBC, before winning the 2019 crown.)
The 4-seed line is direct Saturday through early October on the grid: Iowa, Texas Tech, Texas and Missouri.
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March Madness has a new look this year and, with a new look, I want to say good luck acknowledging many of what is happening next month.
Conference tours? ¯ _ (ツ) _ / ¯
Tournament regions? Well, all the games are in or around Indianapolis, so … not so much.
First round games? Now Friday and Saturday, avoiding the usual Thursday tip-off, which my grandmother called me every year, because she lacked programs (that means soap operas). And finally, you may be visibly missing a few blue-blooded basketball programs. It’s all stinky this year.
Get used to the idea of a tour without Duke, Kansas or North Carolina. Kentucky may not be good enough for NIT.
Does it all add up to an unpredictable tournament and isn’t that what we all want? Okay, yeah, okay, that’s what we want at least for a weekend.
Anyway, go to the team, rah, first and ten do it again. And just go through these post-Super Bowl doldrums from February to March, quickly, please and thank you. In the meantime, he is wearing a mask.