LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Perusing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and bracket – after hanging with the influenza the better part of two days:
*If the goal of “previous seasons’ tournament performances don’t enter into the current season’s selection/seeding process” (which I think is a “fair” approach), then it’s “Mission Accomplished” for the 2022 version of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Committee.
The 14-member Big Ten Conference got a tournament-high nine entrants in the 68-team field – as it did in 2021, when those teams went a collective 8-9 with just one of those teams (Michigan, which lost to UCLA in the East Region’s title game) getting to the “second week” of the tournament.
And, despite its five teams going 13-5, with three of them getting to regional finals (and UCLA losing a buzzer-beating, OT game with Gonzaga in a Final Four semifinal in Indianapolis), the Pac 12 Conference was represented by just three teams in the 2022 bracket.
If there is one difference in the level of “respect” given the Big Ten’s nine reps by this committee is in that a year ago – with two 1s and two 2 seeds – the average seed for the teams was 5.5.
This time around – with no team getting better than the 3s assigned Purdue and Wisconsin – the average seed is 7.0.
Last season, with its five seeds ranging from 5 to 12, the average collective seed was 8.2 for the Pac 12 teams.
This time, it’s 4.0 – with Arizona’s No. 1 juicing UCLA’s 4 and USC’s 7.
*By the way, the Big Ten has three of the top half-dozen “NBA prospects” in the tournament field, with Jaden Ivey (Purdue), Keegan Murray (Iowa) and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin) joining Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), Jabari Smith (Auburn) and Paolo Banchero (Duke) as the likely makeup of selections 1-thru-6 during the June 23 NBA Draft in Brooklyn.
The best mostly Pac 12 player to crack the lottery (top 14)? That would be 6-foot-8 sophomore Bennedict Mathurin of Arizona – and his 7-foot teammate, Christian Koloko (who played from both Birmingham and Sierra Canyon high schools in the San Fernando Valley), the conference’s Defensive and Most Improved Player of the Year, can build upon his growing NBA stock with several quality performances.
*The Pac 12’s two at-large bids were exceeded by the Mountain West (San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming) and equaled by the West Coast Conference (Saint Mary’s and the University of San Francisco).
We can see “west vs. west matchups” as soon as Saturday in Portland, if Saint Mary’s knocks off Indiana (which beat Wyoming in a Round of 68 clash Tuesday night) and UCLA (if it gets past 13 seed Akron later Thursday night) Saturday.
Another “west vs. west test” that could take place Saturday, also in Portland, is No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga of the WCC against Mountain West Conference Tournament winner Boise State.
The hook to that one would be the Bulldogs’ Mark Few going up against one of his former assistants, Leon Rice.
But the Broncos have a tough nut to crack on Thursday in Anfernee Hardaway-coached University of Memphis.
If the Tigers knock off BSU (and Gonzaga doesn’t become only the second ever No. 1 seed to lose to a 16, in this case Georgia State), NBA talent evaluators and decision makers will be watching that game intently.
The potential (if not likely) No. 1 overall pick on June 23, Holmgren, would be on the court at the same time with another terrific freshman in 6-10, 250-pound Jalen Duren who could move himself up a couple of notches among the Top 10 with a strong effort vs. Holmgren and two-time All-American Drew Timme.
*The Bruins eked past Michigan State in a 2021 Round of 68 game and then toppled BYU, Abilene Christian, Alabama and Michigan in Indiana to get to the Final Four a year ago.
Notre Dame (which plays Rutgers Wednesday night in Dayton during an ACC vs. Big Ten matchup of 11 seeds) is another squad that can make a nice run out of a Round of 68 opener.
Coach Mike Brey is a tremendous coach and he’s got a superb backcourt – combinations that usually make for a lot of tournament success.
I could see the Irish getting to the second week of the tournament and – perhaps – going up against Duke in a West Regional semifinal in San Francisco.
Brey is a former Mike Krzyzewski assistant (1987-95) who was the head coach at Delaware before being hired in South Bend five years later.
*The most egregious seeding decision – IMO – by the Championship Committee?
That would be Virginia Tech’s No. 11, with which the Hokies drew No. 6 Texas Friday in Milwaukee.
The Hokies won the ACC Tournament, that they got the poorest seed of any of the “power conference” (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC) teams that earned automatic bids.
Sure, they only split their first 20 games. But they closed with 13 wins in their next 15 games while closing with consecutive conference tournament wins against NCAA participants Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke by a collective margin of 36 points.
That smacks to be of the “a win in November means the same thing in March” approach of seeding and selecting at-large teams – which I strongly beg to differ with.
*Project regional finalists:
West – Gonzaga over Michigan State
East – UCLA over Virginia Tech
South – Arizona over Colorado State
Midwest – Iowa over Wisconsin
Final Four semifinals:
Gonzaga over UCLA; Arizona over Iowa
Final:
Gonzaga over Arizona
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