It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

There is no day like today. Ok, maybe opening day of the baseball season, but really Selection Sunday carries an incredible sense of anticipation. 65 teams have been handed their tickets to the ball. A few of them will have the Cinderella experience, their dreams kept alive, others will have their runs cut short, their dreams crushed. And all of it transpiring in front of a nation, enraptured by it all.

But what did we learn today? Here are some major storylines.

1) The Syracuse snub is pretty much beyond the pale. They deserved a #6 seed (probably the one that Duke got, but I'll get to that in a minute) at worst, especially the way they have been playing the last few weeks before slipping up in the Big East tournament. No way Xavier, from the biggest joke of a conference this side of the Southland, deserved to get into this tournament. Or Stanford for that matter. Sure, their pre-conference schedule was its usual Big East-style easy pickings, and most of its big wins came at the Carrier Dome, but the win over Georgetown at the end of the regular season most assuredly should have guaranteed the 'Cuse a spot amongst the 65. The Committee really blew it.

2) A lot of you know I'm a HUGE Duke fan. And for obvious reasons, they're winners with a great coach in Mike Kryszewski and a storied history. But this year's team pales in comparison to teams from the past. I hate saying it, but they simply did not deserve the high #6 seed they got. They're overranked by virtue of their history, not the recent past. They were terrible down the stretch and had no opportunity to show their wares in the ACC tournament by virtue of running into a driven and very well-coached NC State. As you'll see in the breakdown, I have a hard time believing this team will get past VCU in the first round (even if I am still picking them).

3) A lot of people are disagreeing with Texas being ranked at #4. However, if you take Kevin Durant out of the equation, Texas is maybe, MAYBE, a 15-win team. Abrams and Augustin do not a contender make. Durant is a difference maker to be sure, his 37 points against Kansas today were scored in about 15 good minutes, but he cannot carry the load for 40 minutes night in and night out. They deserved to be a protected seed, but to me, #4 is right.

4) As an aside, watch out for Kansas. For once, Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk might actually be dangerous.

5) Finally, the one thing the Committee got right were the #1 seeds. Florida, Ohio State, Kansas, and, sadly, UNC, are the best teams in the nation.

And now, let's take a more in-depth look at the brackets.

MIDWEST REGION (St. Louis)

Florida received the overall #1 seed in the tournament by virtue of their recent play and their returning starters from last year's championship run. They had a shaky middle part of the season, but if their SEC tournament run is any indication of how they will fare, Florida is nearly a shoe-in for the Final Four and has an edge over the better part of the field. However, SEC teams have a tendency to be oversold in the run-up to the Big Dance, and Florida is no exception. Also, they most likely will not be tested until the Regional Final, when they will most likely be playing Pac-10 Champion Oregon, who have not been getting enough press. So while the Midwest on paper could be setup for a Florida run, don't be so sure.

1st Round Upset special: Winthrop over Notre Dame
Sleeper: Georgia Tech
Game to Watch: Sweet 16, Oregon vs. Georgia Tech
Regional Champion: Oregon over Florida

WEST REGION (San Jose)

The West region seems to be the least competitive of the four regions, with Kansas primed for a run to the Final Four. They certainly impressed me coming back from 22 down in the first half against Texas in today's Big 12 Championship. They are an incredibly deep team with the ability to slam their game into a whole other realm when challenged. A probable Sweet 16 date with Virginia Tech and/or Regional Final matchup with UCLA could prove thorny, but Kansas looks to be on another level going into the Dance.

1st Round Upset Special: Holy Cross over Southern Illinois (and, MAYBE, VCU over Duke)
Sleeper: Virginia Tech
Game to Watch: Second Round, Duke vs. Pittsburgh
Regional Champion: Kansas over UCLA

EAST REGION (Meadowlands)

North Carolina survived an impassioned run by the Wolfpack to win the ACC tournament earlier today. With 7 teams entering the field of 65 from the ACC, this was one of the better years in recent memory for College Basketball's best and most competitive power conference. The masked wonder Tyler Hansbrough and company are poised for a deep run, but the East Region should provide some remarkable game action all the way to Atlanta. Watch out for sleepers in this region especially, this year's George Mason could be making a run through East Rutherford.

1st Round Upset Special: Arkansas over USC
Sleeper: Vanderbilt
Game to Watch: Sweet 16, Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown
Regional Champion: North Carolina over Vanderbilt

SOUTH REGION (San Antonio)

This entire region is a toss-up. Ohio State looks strong, but Big 10 teams are always eminently beatable at Tournament time, so I am wary of picking them too deep. The #2 seed Memphis is a joke and will get upset by the second round. All respect to John Calipari, but this team is not UMass in 1995. They come from a mid-Major conference and had ZERO challenges in their pre-conference schedule. At 3, 4 and 5, Texas A&M, Virginia and Tennessee are all a little green, though Bruce Pearl may be able to work some magic with the Vols, so look out for them.

1st Round Upset Special: Your guess is as good as mine. Don't be shocked if Creighton or North Texas pull it off.
Sleeper: Tennessee
Game to Watch: Sweet 16, Ohio State vs. Tennessee
Regional Champion: Tennessee over Texas A&M

FINAL FOUR (Atlanta)

Kansas over Oregon, North Carolina over Tennessee.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Kansas 87, North Carolina 74. Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk.