Selection Sunday has come and gone. The field is officially set, and 68 teams are ready to give it their all to become the 2018 NCAA champions. The play-in games have started, so let’s get right into it.
THE NUMBER ONE SEEDS
After an impressive 31-2 season that ended with an ACC Tournament championship, the Virginia Cavaliers secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia headlines the South Region and will be attempting to make their third Final Four appearance in school history and first since 1984.
Villanova, fresh off their Big East Tournament championship, received the No. 1 seed in the East Region and the No. 2 overall seed in the bracket. Xavier was named the 1 seed in the West, despite being upset by Providence in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Rounding out the No. 1 seeds is Kansas, whose Big 12 Tournament championship helped the Jayhawks secure the top seed in the Midwest Region.
FINAL AT-LARGE BIDS
Saint Bonaventure will make its first NCAA Tourney since 2012 after earning its first at-large bid since 2000. The Bonnies defeated UCLA 65-58, and took the No. 11 seed in the East and will battle No. 6 seed Florida on Thursday. St. Bonaventure enjoyed an 11-game winning streak to finish their regular season but saw their roll come to an end against Davidson in the A-10 Tournament semifinals.
UCLA had won eight of its last 12 games to finish its season 21-11. The Bruins made a run in the Pac-12 Tournament, but fell to Arizona in overtime in the semifinals. This is UCLA’s 11th trip to the Big Dance in the last 14 years, despite falling to the Bonnies.
The final two at-large bids went to Arizona State and Syracuse, who battled it out Wednesday night, with Cuse winning 60-56. It’ll now face No. 6 seed TCU on Friday. The Sun Devils survived last week’s early exit from the Pac-12 Tourney, thanks in part to non-conference victories over teams such as Kansas and Xavier.
The Orange were the last team to make the tournament, despite going 20-13 and being eliminated in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Syracuse returns to the dance after missing the cut last season.
FIRST FOUR OUT
With Davidson’s upset win over Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, Notre Dame saw its chance to go dancing disappear. The Fighting Irish finished the year 20-14 and almost managed to make the tournament, even with its best player, Bonzie Colson, missing 15 games with a broken foot. This is the first time Notre Dame has not made the tournament since the 2013-14 season.
Possibly the biggest head-scratcher of Selection Sunday was the USC snub. The Trojans fell to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament championship and finished the year with a 34 RPI. USC had the second-best conference record in the Pac-12, but were skipped over in favor of Arizona State and UCLA.
Saint Mary’s and Middle Tennessee were two mid-major schools that arguably should have made the tournament, but weak strength of schedules likely led the selection committee to pass on them.
SOONERS SOMEHOW IN
One of the biggest stories throughout this college basketball season was the up-and-down play of the Oklahoma Sooners. Led by Trae Young, the Sooners were one of the hottest teams in the country back in December.
But since February 1, Oklahoma has won only two games, dropping its season record to 18-13. Whether or not the Sooners deserved to make the tournament is a topic worthy of debate.
But at the end of the day, the selection committee decided they wanted Young, one of the nation’s most talented and entertaining players, in the Big Dance. The committee just couldn’t leave Steph Curry 2.0 out of March Madness after he averaged 27.4 points for the Sooners this season.
Madness will reign supreme for the next few weeks, and I can’t wait to see which 12 seed will upset a five. Could this even be the year we see a 16 topple a one seed? No, but it’s fun to dream.
And make sure to tune into the RO Sports Show at 5:30 p.m. Thursday when myself and the gang will delve into our brackets, pick our winners and talk all things college basketball.  Â
