Reaction to Selection Sunday: Who Did the Seeding?
Of the 10 selection committee members, I want to know who had the lead voice when it came to the seeding. I just have a whole bunch of questions and some commentary in between for each. Here is what the complete, official seed list amounted to:
To begin, starting from seed 1 and moving down to seed 68, I would be crazy to not discuss the massive talking point of the four #1 seeds. Everyone is in agreeance (for the most part) that Villanova, Kansas, and Gonzaga all deserved a #1 seed. Therefore, it comes down to figuring out the fourth and final team that deserved a #1 seed. I actually have no problem with that fact that North Carolina got a #1 seed, I just have a problem with the way that they explained it. While the majority of the college basketball world believed that Duke would grab the "final" #1 seed, the committee apparently decided that the Blue Devils could not even be considered for the 1 line after where they finished in the regular season. From the numerous upon numerous years I have watched Selection Sunday and March Madness, I have never heard that a team was practically "ineligible" of moving up to any seed, never mind a #1 seed. After what the Blue Devils went through this season without Coach K and their star-studded freshmen being injured to go with their 27-8 record and resume, they deserved to be in the discussion for a #1 seed. Even without Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, and Marques Bolden, I saw in person what they are capable of when they handled Rhode Island at Mohegan Sun; beating them 75-65.
Moving on, I am pleased to see that the Atlantic 10 received as much respect as the Big 10 when it came to seeding. With that said, at least one team in the Big 10 was disrespected by the committee. I have no idea how Wisconsin received a #8 seed and Minnesota got a #5 seed when the Badgers beat the Golden Gophers two out of two times, including them destroying them at home, 66-49. If you wanted any further proof of the craziness that was Minnesota received a #5 seed and a very good Wisconsin team getting a #8 seed, look at what Wisconsin alum, Frank Kaminsky had to say;
Next, now is the time to discuss teams that were seeded way too high and way too low. Everyone and I mean everyone in the college basketball world that followed the bracketology closely, know that Vanderbilt was considered a "bubble team" for the entire season. Apparently, that was not the case. The first 15-loss team to ever be selected into the field of 68 was given a #9 seed and you have reason to wonder why. Besides their 15 losses, they did have a collection of 5 top-25 wins, 6 top-50 wins, and 11 top-100 wins, with three of those coming against Florida. Keep in mind, Syracuse having 6 top-50 wins could not push them into the field, despite playing in the best conference in college basketball (by far). In other words, Vanderbilt's RPI of 38 and SOS of 1 saved them and their 15 losses, including a loss at the horrendous Missouri Tigers. With that said, if Vanderbilt was safely put into the field and got that high of a seed (in relative perspective), I have to wonder why Rhode Island could not have gotten a #10 seed, given their solid "computer numbers", including a RPI of 36 and SOS of 51. In comparison to Vanderbilt's resume, the Rams from Kingston, RI had 3 top-25 wins (2 coming on neutral courts) and 9 top-100 wins of their own. The one element that I think puts Vanderbilt in close company with Rhode Island is the fact that the Commodores lost 15 games and the Rams only lost 9 games, despite both teams challenging themselves.
In addition, Wichita State was given a seed of 10. While a #10 seed is okay for the Shockers' resume (or lack thereof), Dayton and Kentucky may pay the price. Gregg Marshall's team may have many tough tests ahead of them, but the MVC champions are more than capable of competing with any team. Also, for the local Rhode Islanders, I know the PC Friars fan base was a bit upset with where their team ended up so I will address the matter. Given 6 top-50 wins and 8 top-100 wins, the Friars will have to go to Dayton for the First Four because of their 3 bad losses and 12 total losses. I do not think that sending Providence to Dayton is unwarranted but there is reason to believe that that could have superseded fellow Big East teams, Marquette and Xavier. Based on where PC ended up, head-to-head matchups did not seem to evaluated as much as the general population may have thought. The Friars beat Marquette in both of their counters and they split the season series with Xavier. Oh well, I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles for the Friars. Realistically, if they want to know why they are going to Dayton, they can thank this team:
