Selection Sunday

The NCAA Tournament field is officially set after the committee announced the 68 teams going dancing during Sunday’s selection show. It was a great night for any team that heard its name called, but certain draws have left some programs in much stronger shape than others.

Here are the winners and losers after Sunday’s bracket was released.

The Big Ten led the way amongst all conferences by sending nine teams to the tournament. The conference is also represented at the top, with Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa, and Purdue all snagging top four seeds. Beyond that, squads like Wisconsinand Michigan State are dangerous lower seeds with a strong pedigree come March.

For a conference that’s been head and shoulders above the rest of the nation all season, Selection Sunday is a realization of its success. The league could be featured heavily in this year’s Final Four if things shake out favorably.

The Bulldogs will face loads of pressure as they attempt to become the first team in 45 years to go undefeated from start-tofinish. However, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed has plenty of reasons to feel good about its draw.

Gonzaga’s top threat in the West region is second-seeded Iowa. The two schools squared off in December, and the Zags’ balanced offensive attack overwhelmed the Hawkeyes. The matchup was the Bulldogs’ first in 17 days due to a COVID-19 pause and was at a neutral site, making their victory even more impressive.

Kansas and Virginia loom as the third and fourth seed, respectively, but both also have early-season losses to Mark Few’s squad at a neutral site. Gonzaga averaged nearly 100 points on 58% shooting in their wins over Iowa, Kansas, and Virginia.

Although Iona drew the highest-ranked No. 2 seed in Alabama, just making it to the Big Dance is a victory for the Hall of Fame head coach. Pitino became only the third bench boss to lead five different schools to the NCAA Tournament after guiding the Gaels past Fairfield in Saturday’s MAAC title game.

Louisville fired the 68-year-old four years ago for his involvement in the pay-for-play scandal. Now Pitino’s back on college basketball’s biggest stage, while his former employer is on standby as one of four replacement teams.

The ACC has struggled this year, from inconsistent play at the top of the league to downright awful teams at the bottom. While the conference finished tied for second overall with seven teams dancing, no school was selected higher than the No. 4 seed.

It wasn’t just the top programs either - several mid-level squads were under-ranked as well. Georgia Tech’s conference championship victory over Florida State left it seeded No. 9, while Virginia Tech’s 9-4 conference record and victories over Virginia and Villanova were only good enough for a No. 10 seed. With the offensivelychallenged Cavaliers and the up-anddown Seminoles marking the ACC’s two best hopes for sustained success in this year’s March Madness, it may be an underwhelming run for a typically strong league.

The storyline of the season: The staggering lack of blue bloods showing up on folks’ March Madness brackets this year. Kentucky and Duke both missed the tournament outright for the first time since 1976, while North Carolina, Michigan State, and UCLA were all dealt a No. 8 seed or worse.

Even Kansas - the only blue-blood with a high seed this year - received a tough draw with Eastern Washington, winners of 13 of its last 14, and potentially USC, a team led by likely lottery pick Evan Mobley. Louisville was considered by many to be a strong bubble team, but the Cardinals didn’t hear their name called on Sunday and will miss the tournament.

While these historically elite programs still have tradition and notoriety on their side, they may not have any representation beyond March Madness’ first weekend.

CONFERENCE TOURNEY RUNNER-UPS The selection committee wasn’t kind to a pair of conference tournament runner-ups.

Oklahoma State has been playing its best basketball of the season over the past month but only managed a No. 4 seed. The Cowboys have won eight of their past 10 games, including two victories over West Virginia and another against Baylor. Only Illinois has more Quad 1 wins this season than Oklahoma State, but Cade Cunningham and co. are somehow seeded below the Mountaineers and are in the same region as the Fighting Illini.

LSU also got dealt a bad hand just hours after pushing sixth-ranked Alabama to the limit in the SEC title game. The Tigers will take on a stingy St. Bonaventure squad in their opening matchup before a potential Round of 32 showdown against Michigan.