It’s Madness

This was supposed to be my pre-NCAA Basketball Tournament hype entry. But it has turned into a bit of a shocker.

With the announcement of the tournament seedings, my alma mater, Syracuse (22-10) has not made it in. I am shocked. We always make the tournament! I can’t even recall the last time we didn’t get into the big dance. I am dumbfounded.

The Big East did send six teams to the tournament—Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Villanova and Pittsburgh—and we will root for one of our regular season rivals to bring the title home for the conference. Even if that happens, it will be bittersweet. Suddenly my anticipation and excitement has diminished considerably.

The ACC sent 7 schools; the Pac 10 and Big 10 also sent 6, while the SEC had 5 and Big 12 sent 4.

Defending NCAA Champion Florida Gators are the #1 seed overall, and the #1 seed in the Midwest Region. The other top seeds are ACC Champion North Carolina in the East; Big Ten Champ Ohio State in the South and Big !2 winner Kansas in the West.

My sentimental underdog favorites will be the Great Danes from the State University of New York at Albany, the 13th seed in the South Region. They face #4 Virginia in the opening round.

The next three weeks will provide arguably the best basketball we’re likely to see at any level of the game. Starting with the play-in game on Tuesday, between Florida A&M and Niagara to decide who faces #1 Kansas, the top 65 teams in the country will be whittled down to a Final Four, before ultimately crowning a national champion on April 2 in Atlanta.

The full tournament bracket can be seen here.

Update: Late Sunday night, the field of teams in the NIT was announced.