Bracket Thoughts

-- You gotta love the committee. In addition to playing a team it saw in the NCAAs three years ago, NC State could face everyone's favorite would-be Herb Sendek replacement in the second round. And if the Wolfpack somehow managed to reach the Sweet 16, it could find itself in a rematch with Iowa.

Part of the appeal (to me) of the NCAA tournament is playing teams you wouldn't otherwise see, but the committee has taken a lot of the fun out of NC State's matchups over the last few years. This year, we're finally divorced of UConn only to be thrown in with several other familiar faces.

-- I wish NC State could trade brackets with Seton Hall. The Hall plays #7 Wichita State in the opening round and Tennessee will likely be waiting for the Pirates in the second round (not that I think SHU will beat Wichita). That's a path that I could definitely see NC State getting through. That is, if NC State was playing like it was two months ago.

-- See Cal's scouting report. And here are their season stats. Let the Leon Powe nightmares begin.

-- Over-seeded: Tennessee, Syracuse, Gonzaga. Under-seeded: UNC, Xavier, Pitt.

-- Gonzaga got a terrible opening-round draw. Xavier is easily the best of the 14-seeds...check out the pythag winning percentages of the 14s. The Musketeers seem like a much tougher team than 3-seeds generally get.

-- The committee has tread into some unprecedented territory as far as at-large bids and the RPI go, particularly with the omission of Missouri State. Although they were eliminated early in the MVC tournament, the Bears finished in the RPI top 25. MSU (I'm pretty sure) will go down as the highest-rated team in the RPI ever to not receive an at-large bid. In leaving the Bears out, it's quite possible that the committee has snubbed the best team in the MVC.

-- I assume that A&M's strong finish had everything to do with its inclusion, because there's nothing that separates the Aggies from the other bubble teams. Pythag disagrees with me, but I think Michigan, Cincinnati and Missouri State are better (and more worthy) teams.

-- Boston College was a hot pick among ESPN's experts. Several of them had BC reaching the Elite Eight and I think at least one person picked them to reach Indianapolis, but I just don't think their defense is good enough to get them that far.

-- I would just like to wish Allan Ray well...and give myself an excuse to link that video. That's so freaky.

-- Tentative FF picks: LSU, UCLA, UConn, Villanova