Monday, March 14
The Madness Begins
And so the speculation ends… Well, at least the speculation about who will get in, who won’t, and where everyone will be seeded. The Committee rewarded Texas’ solid-but-not-great season with a solid-but-not-great seed, a #8. Texas draws Nevada in the first round on Thursday and, should they win, will earn the right to play #1 seed Illinois in what will practically be a home game in Indianapolis. (Hornsblog will have a more thorough preview of the Texas-Nevada game later in the week.)
The Committee did its usual good work, and I don’t have many gripes with this bracket at all. Washington as a #1 seed is a bit surprising to me, but I’m not big on carping between who is seeded #1 and #2. The Committee correctly identified Oklahoma State as the Big 12’s best team. The Big 12 as a whole, in fact, got a lot of credit, earning six berths, including a #2 seed (OSU), two #3 seeds (OU and Kansas), a #6 seed (Texas Tech), a #8 (Texas), and #9 (Iowa State).
For those of you in Austin, I hope you have tickets to the regional, because it certainly has the potential to be truly dynamic. Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Syracuse, and Michigan State are all powerhouses, and there are some potentially fun sleeper teams like Vermont and UTEP who could creep into the mix.
The Madness has begun and here on the Hornsblog, we’ll be speculating and reporting all week long. Check in regularly for tournament news and updates. Feel free to jump in with thoughts and comments, and be sure to sign up for the Hornsblog tourney challenge on ESPN.
--PB--
The Committee did its usual good work, and I don’t have many gripes with this bracket at all. Washington as a #1 seed is a bit surprising to me, but I’m not big on carping between who is seeded #1 and #2. The Committee correctly identified Oklahoma State as the Big 12’s best team. The Big 12 as a whole, in fact, got a lot of credit, earning six berths, including a #2 seed (OSU), two #3 seeds (OU and Kansas), a #6 seed (Texas Tech), a #8 (Texas), and #9 (Iowa State).
For those of you in Austin, I hope you have tickets to the regional, because it certainly has the potential to be truly dynamic. Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Syracuse, and Michigan State are all powerhouses, and there are some potentially fun sleeper teams like Vermont and UTEP who could creep into the mix.
The Madness has begun and here on the Hornsblog, we’ll be speculating and reporting all week long. Check in regularly for tournament news and updates. Feel free to jump in with thoughts and comments, and be sure to sign up for the Hornsblog tourney challenge on ESPN.
--PB--
