CURTIS HENRY
Sports Editor
The NCAA tournament selection committee screwed up in grand fashion last weekend when selecting the field of 68, and in doing so, they’ve gotten exactly what they wanted.
The first two rounds are in the books and the field has dwindled down to 16. The first 48 games have been nothing short of impressive, anxiety-inducing basketball. Of the first 48 games, 31 have been decided by 12 points or less. The myriad of close games and chaos is exactly what the selection committee envisioned, but I’m still going to take a moment to voice my displeasure with how flawed the first two rounds were.
I said in my initial reaction piece to the field being released that there were some major issues with seeding throughout the feeling. In a shocking turn of events, it turns on that I was right. Let’s analyze.
The curious case of the Big Ten
I had major qualms over the seeding to the Big Ten conference. There seemed to be absolutely no rhyme or reason for any of the seedings for Big Ten teams.
Purdue, the regular season conference champions, were awarded a No. 4 seed. This raised some questions due to their early exit in the conference tournament. However, they’ve made good on it, advancing to the Sweet 16 in large part due to the phenomenal play of forward Caleb Swanigan. They’ve justified their seed, but the next highest in the pecking order did no such thing.
A No. 5 seed was awarded to Minnesota, which made absolutely no sense any way you slice it. Most had the Gophers on line with a 7 or 8 seed after only one win in the conference tournament, and certainly they were to be seeded lower than Michigan upon losing to them in the conference semi-finals. A season sweep by Wisconsin over the Golden Gophers almost assured that Wisconsin would be seeded higher than Minnesota, as well. Another false assumption.
What ensued was Minnesota grabbing a No. 5 seed while Michigan and Wisconsin were awarded No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, respectively. Minnesota was promptly whooped by Middle Tennessee State, a 12 seed, in the first round, and was sent home.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin and Michigan each found their ways to the Sweet 16 in spite of remarkably more difficult paths through the first two rounds of the tournament. All condolences to Villanova and Louisville, the two high seeds who fell victim to the committee’s horrendous judgment of seeding both Wisconsin and Michigan so lowly.
While the Badgers and Wolverines gave everyone four incredibly exciting games to watch in the first two rounds, they shouldn’t have been put in situations with such a high opportunity to fail. That’s on the committee.
Wichita State shenanigans
The team that got the most screwed, and I mean royally disrespected by all accounts, by this season’s draw was Wichita State, a No. 10 seed who was sent packing after a second round loss to No. 2 seed Kentucky. Kentucky coach John Calipari was quick to point out post-game that Wichita State was “misseeded,” and in a lot of ways, he is right.
Based on Kenpom rankings, the premiere rankings system in college basketball, Wichita State entered the tournament as the seventh-best team in the country. The committee decided that Wichita was, instead, the 39th-best team in the country, and awarded them a No. 10 seed.
The seeding mishap was a slap in the face of both Wichita and Kentucky, whose second-round matchup was only the second such matchup between two teams with 30-plus wins since the tournament field expanded to 64. It’s absolutely ludicrous for the committee to point to a mid-major like Wichita and say, “Hey, congrats on the historically great season for your program. Now, go out and play a borderline No. 1 seed in the second round in order to make the Sweet 16.”
It should not be this hard to get the little things right on the part of the committee. The Wichita-Kentucky matchup was absolutely phenomenal by most accounts, but it is one that should have taken place in the Sweet 16 or elite 8; not the round of 32.
Credit where it’s due: 2017 redemption stories
There were a handful of teams that capitalized on this year’s tournament as a form of redemption for last season’s disappointments.
Arizona was a No. 6 seed in last season’s field and were bounced in the first round by No. 11 Wichita State. This year’s Wildcats made the field as a No. 2 seed and reached the Sweet 16 after two solid opening-weekend victories against North Dakota and St. Mary’s.
West Virginia’s 2016 flop to No. 14 Stephen F. Austin seems now just a distant memory. The Mountaineers rattled off two solid first weekend victories against Bucknell and Notre Dame to set up a showdown with Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. Don’t be fooled: Bob Huggins’ squad can hang with anyone in the country. That includes Gonzaga.
South Carolina has danced its way to the first Sweet 16 in the school’s history. The Gamecocks have had arguably the toughest road to the Sweet 16 of any remaining team, having beat Marquette and tournament favorite Duke over the first weekend. The win over Duke was predicted by only predicted by 4.8% of brackets filled out on ESPN.com’s bracket challenge, making South Carolina the least-expected team remaining in the field. This comes after a 2016 season in which a 24-8 South Carolina team was one of the field’s biggest snubs. This time around, they’re in — and they’re certainly making the most of it.