On Selection Sunday, the NCAA tournament bracket was finally unveiled. In a season filled with upsets and surprises around every turn, the Selection Show continued that trend. Earning No. 1 seeds in the tournament were the University of Kansas, the University of North Carolina, the University of Oregon and the University of Virginia. 

Oregon and Virginia were the surprises among the group, as pundits across the board were in shock to see Michigan State receive a No. 2 seed instead. Oregon’s No. 1 seed is the first in the program’s history. 

Kansas, UNC and Oregon each won their conference tournaments, as Virginia fell in the finals to UNC. While this crop of talent is immense, the No. 2 seeds are impressive in their own right. 

Led by Michigan State, the entire group has a strong chance to make a Final Four run. Following Michigan State, the cluster includes the University of Oklahoma, Villanova University and Xavier University. The Michigan Spartans won the Big Ten Tournament while the other squads were upset in their respective tournaments. Michigan State and Oklahoma are both led by shooting guards who are favorites for the National Player of the Year. Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield both are able to shoot the ball from outside the perimeter, while still putting the ball on the ground. 

Villanova and Xavier were each upset in consecutive nights by streaking Seton Hall University. Despite winning the Big East Tournament and knocking off two top-five teams in two nights, the Pirates were only given a six seed and are set to square off against a solid  Gonzaga University team. 

Seton Hall will look to continue its impressive run against Gonzaga and through the rest of the March tournament madness. University of Kentucky, another conference tournament winner, has a tough matchup against Stony Brook University. While Stony Brook is not a marquee national powerhouse, the upstate New York school had a terrific season for which it has garnered attention across the  entire country. 

Another low-key school poised to make some noise is Yale University. Making the tournament for the first time in more than 50 years, the Bulldogs will look to upset Baylor University in the 5-12 matchup. 

Other teams on upset alert are the No. 4 University of California Berkeley, which will go up against the University of Hawaii, and No. 4 Duke University against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The two No. 13 seeds in Hawaii and UNC Wilmington have both shown their ability to compete with the elite of the country and look poised to bring trouble as the underdogs. As always, there was controversy in who the NCAA Selection Committee selected to the tournament. Noticeably absent were Monmouth University and South Carolina University. Both schools started their respective seasons off strong before slipping down the stretch. Still, many believed they had a stronger case than other squads that made the tournament, such as the meager University of Michigan and mediocre University of Tulsa.

One of the most notable misses, however, was Louisiana State University, which started the season as a sure bet for the tournament. With freshman star Ben Simmons at the helm of the team, the squad seemed poised for greatness. Yet the team slowly fell apart throughout the season, ending with a truly disappointing 19-14 record and a flat third place overall in the Southeastern Conference. 

While the arguments about what teams were snubbed have the potential to take away from the hype of the tournament, this March Madness is sure to be as wild as ever. 

 

                                        — Noah Hessdorf