We’re just days away from the start of NCAA March Madness, the biggest and best college basketball tournament on the planet. When the 2011 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament begins, you can be guaranteed of two things, close finishes and upsets. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that before the tournament even starts we already have a number of upsets on Selection Sunday.
Just because the NCAA expanded the field , it doesn’t mean some teams weren’t going to be snubbed. They could increase the field to 100 teams and the teams 90-100 will still be questioned, that’s the way college basketball goes.
This year’s snub list includes teams like Colorado, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Saint Mary’s and Alabama. While mid major teams like VCU and UAB, both teams that lacked quality wins were given the nod to the tourney. In the past, it used the opposite way, and it was the mid major schools that would find themselves on the snub list, it appears the sneaker is on the other foot. Mid major schools have proven to be formidable in the tournament in recent years. But truth be told, on the whole, the committee may have got this wrong.
Colorado and V-Tech probably have the biggest case for not being on the snub list. V-Tech upset Duke this season and Colorado had a number of quality wins over Kansas State, Missouri and Texas that should have been enough to earn them a bid to the big dance.
But just like the upsets during the tournament, in a few days no one will remember the upsets before the tournament when the March Madness kicks into full swing.
Not only did the committee miss a few teams that should be there, I’m not exactly thrilled with the seeds. For those bracket hawks that love to take the favourites, the brackets should all come with a disclaimer this year, for the most part, the seeds mean less than they have ever meant.
