March Madness is in full swing with the conference tournaments completed, Selection Sunday behind us, and the first game of the 65-team tournament scheduled for today.

What a weird set of circumstances behind this year’s selections — the University of Georgia, which came into the tournament with just four league wins and a 13-16 record — managed to sweep four games and make it to the Big Dance.

A Rare Downtown Atlanta Tornado

Perhaps the oddest part of the Bulldog’s feat was having to play two games on Saturday to make up for the game postponed Friday evening, thanks to an EF2 tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta, damaging the Georgia Dome where the SEC tournament was being held. The conference moved the remaining games to Georgia Tech’s arena, where the Bulldogs ran off an improbable three straight wins in under 36 hours.

University of North Carolina Tarheels: Top Pick

As expected, the University of North Carolina snagged a #1 seed and has been rated as the team to beat for this year’s tournament. Memphis, UCLA and Kansas earned the three other #1 seeds and will begin to protect their regions later this week.

Georgetown, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Texas each gained #2 seeds, with Duke, Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Xavier all pulling down #3 seeds.

Perhaps as surprising as the Atlanta Tornado, last year’s finalists - Ohio State and champion Florida — are not in this year’s tourney. Instead, they are the top two seeds in the NIT which is the “also-ran” tournament for NCAA wannabes.

And The Winner Is…

Most years I try to pick the winner, but this year I think it is going to be tough. Although the Tarheels are the favorite, I see enough obstacles enroute to the Final Four to realize that this won’t be easy for them. Although I would personally like to see UNC win it all, if they can’t then I wouldn’t mind seeing a surprise team crowned national champion.

Further Reading

ESPN Bracketology

It Is College Hoops Crunchtime

Financial Aid Road Map

Tags: Atlanta Tornado, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Dome, Georgia Tech, March Madness, NCAA, North Carolina Tarheels, SEC

I haven’t been paying that much attention to NCAA men’s basketball much this year, although two local teams — Duke and North Carolina — are doing quite well, but that is to be expected. NC State and Wake Forest aren’t living quite up to the top tier in the ACC, but they still have a shot at a post season birth even if it is “only” an appearance in the NIT.

The weekly rankings always catch my attention, simply because they really aren’t that accurate at this point in the season. I’m not taking anything away from Memphis and Kansas, but I’m doubtful that Drake or Saint Mary’s has what it takes to go the distance, let alone survive the first round of the NCAA tournament. Dayton can probably make a compelling reason for their high ranking, but we’ll see what comes up one month from now when the season winds down.

Most schools will have reached their half way mark in conference play by this weekend, setting up a mad rush to March Madness throughout the month of February. Conference tourneys get started around the first of March and culminate with the crowning of all champs soon thereafter.

If you aren’t familiar with the Science of Bracketology, you’ll want to study up — already, the pundits are seeding the Field of 65, the teams slated to appear in the NCAA tournament. Either way, March 16th is Selection Sunday the day when both pundit and prognosticator can learn where their teams stand.

Tags: Dayton, Drake, Duke, Final Four, Kansas, March Madness, Memphis, men's basketball, NC State, NCAA, North Carolina, Saint Mary's, Wake Forest