The NCAA Tournament is the pinnacle of the college basketball court season. But if you’re looking for the time when college basketball discourse hit a fever pitch, look no further than Selection Sunday.
On a day when some teams are fighting for their conference tournament’s automatic qualifiers, others are nervously waiting to see what seed they’ll receive, or if they’ll make the field at all. With teams like North Carolina State and Oregon punching their ticket into their conference tournaments, the already tight bubble has become even more threatened.
There will be seeding controversy, teams and fans angry at being overlooked, and intrigue surrounding potential matchups. Tune in here as we break down the latest from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show, which begins at 6:00 PM on CBS.
18:57: A few final closing thoughts:
– According to overall seeds for the top four seeds in each region, the Midwest is the toughest region. But between recent NCAA Tournament success and the fact that the top four teams are major conference champions, the East is my pick for the toughest region.
– Between Tennessee-St. Peters, Kansas-Samford and Gonzaga McNeese, the Midwest will be a popular upset region.
– If the Tar Heels and Wildcats make it, Arizona’s Caleb Love will face his old team in the Elite Eight.
– The South is led by “new blood” in Houston, but also includes traditional blue blood in Kentucky and Duke. A win in this region will be an interesting indication of the state of college basketball.
18:43: Dr. Charles McClelland, chairman of the selection committee, confirms that the strength of Iowa State’s non-conference schedule is why it did not receive a fourth No. 1 seed. In fact, Iowa State was the lowest-seeded 2-seed despite winning the Big 12 Tournament.
18:39: The bubble was brutal this year. The final four entries were Boise State, Colorado, Virginia and Colorado State; the top four out were Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Indiana State and Pittsburgh.
The Big 12 and SEC led all conferences in tournament teams with eight each. The Big Ten and Mountain West followed with six.
18:35: Rounding out the top four seeds in the West are #2 Arizona, #3 Baylor and #4 Alabama.
18:32: No. 1 in the West Region is North Carolina. It’s an 8-9 MSU matchup between No. 8 Mississippi State and No. 9 Michigan State.
18:27: The Midwest quarter ends with No. 2 Tennessee (vs. familiar face St. Peter’s), No. 3 Creighton and No. 4 Kansas. We also have the other top four matchup between 10 seed Virginia and Colorado State.
18:22: Purdue, as expected, is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and will have to play its first-round game in Indianapolis. In addition, four teams in Division I men’s basketball won 30 games this season; No. 12 seed McNeese, No. 5 Gonzaga’s matchup in the first round, was one of them. This is a fantastic game.
18:16: Joining Houston in the South’s top four: No. 2 seed Marquette, No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 4 seed Duke. The first opener of the top four is Boise State vs. Colorado on the 10-seed line.
18:13: Houston is the No. 1 seed from the South. The Cougars will look to bounce back from an ugly loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 title game. In the Big Ten, No. 8 Nebraska draws No. 9 Texas A&M; No. 5 seed Wisconsin, getting back on track after making the Big Ten title game, draws No. 12 seed James Madison in the first round.
18:06: Rounding out the top four in the East Region are 2-seed Iowa State, 3-seed Illinois and 4-seed Auburn. The top four seeds in the East are all conference tournament champions. San Diego State, the No. 5 seed, makes three 2023 Final Four teams in the region along with UConn and FAU.
18:02: The No. 1 overall seed is defending East Region champion UConn. Also, a great game in the 8 vs. 9 game between Florida Atlantic and Northwestern.
17:40: With Illinois defeating Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, all of our automatic qualifiers were decided. Only the selection show remains. Let’s go!