NCAA Tournament Thoughts

Fresh off their first ever ACC Championship, the Miami Hurricanes now turn their eyes towards an even bigger title. Before delving into the bracket, I would first like to congratulate the Hurricanes on their regular season and ACC tournament championships. Their victory over UNC Sunday means that the Sunshine state has now captured back-to-back ACC titles; Clemson may have had a truly pathetic year, but at least we can take solace in the fact that UNC and Duke were denied the conference crown.

Miami and Duke enter the tourney as 2 seeds, and UNC and NC State enter the tourney as eight seeds. Virginia and Maryland landed on the wrong side of the bubble, but they were compensated with NIT berths. I was surprised to see Florida State included in the NIT field. After some bad losses in the non-conference and a .500 record in a down ACC, I didn't put a single thought towards their postseason chances. I guess their three game sweep of our Tigers was the difference for them.

This year's field looks to be completely wide open. There just weren't any elite teams this year, and none of the one seeds look to be extremely scary. Indiana's and Gonzaga's resumes are solid but not really elite, and Kansas and Louisville both at one time sported three-game losing streaks.

The Tigers' terrible year is over; it'd probably be best for us all to forget the whole season entirely. Quick exits by UNC and Duke in this year's tourney would certainly help with the healing process. I still haven't forgiven Villanova for 2008, but I'll definately be rooting for them Friday night against UNC.