Selection Sunday is finally here! Today's events will set into motion all of the games, upsets, and gambling ramifications which will take place over the next three weeks. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has been sequestered in Indianapolis all week debating the merits of various at-large teams while doing copious amounts of cocaine. With Pitt on the verge of getting a #1 seed for the first time EVER...and Robert Morris earning their first trip to the Big Dance since 1992, I just had to keep a running diary of what took place during the Selection Show. How else could one truly "Conquer The 2009 NCAA Tournament"? I'm hoping the CBS studio team will provide a lot of unintentional comedy, not to mention the fact that they will give about 35 teams "a chance" after seeing the brackets.6:00 pm - CBS throws out a studio team of Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, and Seth Davis. Thanks to this blog, Billy Packer is no longer a part of March Madness! High-fives all around people! Nice work. Clark Kellogg leaves his in-studio seat to join Jim Nantz on CBS's number one announcing team. Greg Anthony comes off the bench to replace Kellogg. I'm glad Packer is long gone, but I'm going to miss Kellogg choosing 11 teams to reach the Final Four during the Selection Show.
6:00 pm - Louisville is the overall number one seed! I'm not sure what this means for Pitt and UNC, other than they'll both be number one seeds. Greg Anthony is dressed to impress. Seth Davis' suit is showing up green on my television. Is this intentional or do I just have a bad TV?
6:02 pm - Pittsburgh is the #1 seed in the East region! First #1 seed ever in the history of the program! I'm so proud right now! UNC will be the #1 seed in the South...and UConn will be the #1 seed in the West. Three Big East teams and North Carolina. Memphis didn't make it as a number one seed...this is the correct decision. The ONLY thing that sucks about this whole thing...Pitt cannot face UNC in the title game...if they win out...they would meet in the final four. This blog has been setting up a Pitt vs. UNC NCAA Tournament game forever...hopefully we'll still get it. That game would be insane. The world might explode.
6:05 pm - Hey...we're getting Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg talking to us about the number one seeds. Kellogg has glasses on and a CBS sports logo on his suit coat. He's really moving up the ladder at CBS. They just talked for 60 seconds and didn't say anything. I sill love Nantz though. Ladies and gentlemen...again...please take a bow...no more Billy Packer!!!
6:08 pm - By the way...blog favorite Gus Johnson will be paired with Len Elmore again this year. I'll have the announcers for the games up here in the next day or two.
6:09 pm - The Midwest region is slowly announced. This is Louisville's region. Lewis Jackson's Alabama State team is playing in the play-in game...what a freaking farce!!! That team is solid! Already...the selection committee is full of crap. Siena getting a #9 seed, decent. That's a quality pick. Arizona is in! Uh oh...Creigton might be out...this isn't good. The Wildcats will be facing Utah in the first round. Did you know that Utah has a top 15 RPI? Wake Forest #4...they will be playing Cleveland State. I'm still hurting from that Horizon League bet with Phil. Butler should have won it all. ROBERT MORRIS is the 15 seed!!! They get to play #2 Michigan State in the first round...that is a TOTALLY winable game! I'm so excited! That's the exact #2 seed I wanted the Colonials to get! Great times. North Dakota state (#14) is a great first round upset pick as they will be playing #3 Kansas. First time ever for ND St. in the tournament. Geez...(#11) Dayton against (#6) West Virginia in the first round. I really like WVU coming out of the bottom half of this bracket. Whew! Lots of notable teams (and notable seeds) in that region. Things are looking good for Robert Morris. Wake Forest vs. Louisville would be a nice game. I really like West Virginia and Lousiville based on first impressions.
6:17 pm - The West Region is slowly announced. This is UConn's region. #8 BYU vs. #9 Texas A&M...not too exciting. I already like UConn to the Sweet Sixteen. Very high for Texas A&M. Purdue (#5) draws Northern Iowa as the potential twelve seed upset pick. You DON'T mess with teams from Iowa in March! Washington is the #4 seed and will play the Cinderella Mississippi State team who won the SEC about 3 hours ago. Memphis will be the #2 seed in this region. No real surprise here, it means that Memphis is the "highest" number 2 seed. 7/10 game is Cal against Maryland. Bubble, Bubble, Bubble. Time is ticking on my Creighton Bluejays. #3 seed is Missouri...they just won the Big 12 tournament and will play Cornell form the Ivy League. Marquette is a #6 seed?!? Wow...best #6 ever? Maybe not without Dominic James. They play Utah State in the first round, a team that went 30-4 on the season. This region wasn't as "sexy" as the Midwest. I'd like Missouri if they were going against any other #2 seed. As it is...things look pretty good for UConn and Memphis here.
6:25 pm - The East region is slowly announced. This is Pitt's region. It's SO nice to finally see Pitt as a #1 seed. CBS cuts to a shot of the Pitt team watching the Selection Show and they seem very underwhelmed. I like it. This team is focused. They know what's important. Pitt will play the winner of Oklahoma St./Tennessee. #5 seed is Florida State and Wisconsin is the #12? Xavier is #4 and will play Portland State, who made the tournament for the second year in a row. Pitt already played Florida State this year...it could happen again. Binghamton is the #15 seed and gets Duke in the first round. How early will Duke lose this year? Texas and Minnesota is the 7/10 game. Villanova is the #3 seed in this region. The Wildcats are shown on TV and are much more excited than Pitt was. They get American from the Patriot League in the first round in what amounts to a home game in Philadelphia. Eric Maynor and VCU gets the #11 seed and will be EVERYONE's upset pick against UCLA in the first round. Greg Anthony just said that Pitt has the easiest draw of anyone so far...he says that they are experienced and well rested. I'm liking him taking over for Kellogg. Seth Davis just made some reference to Pitt reaching the Final Four. It's damn good to be a #1 seed. The picks from this region have to be Pittsburgh and Villanova. Geez...I'm just picking Big East teams so far. At least I admit I'm a homer. Go Pitt!!!
6:33 pm - The South region is slowly announced. This is North Carolina's region. The possibility of a Pitt/UNC Final Four game makes me giddy. UNC plays Radford in the first round. That game might end 140-102. LSU plays Butler in the 8/9 game...that's actually an interesting game. Go Butler! It's time for redemption after that Cleveland State loss! Oh boy...Illinois is the #5 and Western Kentucky is the #12, that has upset written all over it! Western Kentucky won as a #12 seed last year when they beat Drake. Gonzaga is the 4 seed and get Akron. I have no idea how Akron is as good as a #13 seed. Gonzaga is going to roll! Oklahoma is the #2 in this region. They lost their #1 in the final few weeks, but should be fine. Shit...Michigan is in this thing?!? Ug. What a load of crap. They will play Clemson, who are the #7 seed. Eric Devendorf and Syracuse get the 3 seed here. Will their Big East run be the death of them? They do draw the always dangerous Stephen F. Austin squad in the first round. Arizona State/Temple are the final two teams announced. A North Carolina/Oklahoma Elite Eight game is very compelling. It's hard not to go with anyone but UNC here, as long as Mega Star Ty Lawson is healthy.
No Creighton, no Saint Mary's, No Penn State. No San Diego State. Only 4 non-power conference teams got at-large bids, the fewest amount in a long time. Are Arizona and Wisconsin really deserving? I doubt it. Southern Cal and Miss. St. really screwed some teams over the past 24 hours. I still think the last team in and the first team out should play in the play-in game. This year...it would have been Arizona against San Diego State or Saint Mary's. How many people would watch that game Tuesday night? The answer is...everyone. Such a good idea.
6:38 pm - Seth Davis just said that he thinks Pittsburgh is the best team in the country. Seth Davis just became my favorite broadcaster.
6:43 pm - Nantz and Kellogg are talking again, but not really saying anything. I'm sad that we won't be able to enjoy Davidson, Notre Dame, or Holy Cross in this year's tournament. The blog was truly robbed of some good trash talk because of this.
6:45 pm - Greg Gumbel just made fun of Clark Kellogg for picking all four number one seeds to advance to the Final Four every year. Nicely done Greg. I made fun of Kellogg in last year's Selection Show running diary for choosing all four #1s. Unfortunately, he happened to be right. I don't see that happening this year. Pitt and UNC are basically locks though.
6:48 pm - The March Madness On Demand option on the CBS website is one of the greatest inventions in the history of the universe. Greg's Final Four picks - (#1) Louisville, (#2) Memphis, (#1) Pitt, (#1) North Carolina. His picks are essentially this year's control bracket. Although if this is the actual Final Four...I'll be VERY excited! Seth's Final Four picks - (#4) Wake Forest, (#2) Memphis, (#1) Pitt, (#1) North Carolina. It's all about Pitt, North Carolina, the Big East and the ACC this year. Gotta love it. Greg's sleeper teams - USC, Miss. State. Villanova, and Gonzaga. Seth's sleeper teams - WVU, Washington, VCU, and Clemson. That VCU team is going to be everyone's pick. Gonzaga actually has a decent draw.
6:55 pm - Bunch of yapping with an old white guy about seeding. Enough of this crap! It's time to join pools and fill out brackets! The play-in game tips off in a mere 48 hours! I'm gonna say it...Greg Anthony is an upgrade over Clark Kellogg in the studio. Pitt is a number one seed. Robert Morris is finally in the NCAA Tournament and has a great draw. March Madness is truly kicking it into high gear.
Apparently The Amazing Race and Cold Case are on CBS tonight! Perhaps I'll be keeping a running diary of those shows. Maybe not.
Have fun filling our your brackets folks. Let's rock and roll.
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That old white guy is head of the SEC conf. and the selection committee this year. He was very defensive about suggestions that these picks might not be fair and then tried to explain the logic of the selections. I think that he did OK. You should have watched.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone want in on the bet I am proposing here. Over/under for the number of Pac 10 and Big 10 teams that make it to the sweet sixteen. My number is set at 3 (meaning 3 combined Pac 10 and Big 10, not 3 from each conference, in total), yes that's right, combined I can't see more then 3 teams going to the sweet 16 from these conferences, is that sad????
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Pitt does have a fairly easy road into the final four, but history would tell us that they will find a way to screw things up or at least make their run interesting.
Also, happy that 'Nova is playing in Philly (kind of saw that coming), not happy they are playing American...was wishing they would take on Cornell, still deciding if I have them getting out of the first round...have to think about it more.
Chaz...I WAS watching...I just didn't find the old white guy that enthralling. Not to mention that I was constantly typing. Did you happen to notice that I banged out 1,855 words in just over and hour? I had this entry posted 2 minutes after the Selection Show ended. I'm happy with my work.
ReplyDeleteMatt...being that I've lost every bet I've made so far, I have no money left for your bet. I do like the under though...or a push at best. Also, I've been a Pitt fan for years...when looking at the bracket...I'm thinking, "who could we lose to and when". That's what happens when your heart is broken year after year. Villanova won the lottery...they should coast into the Sweet Sixteen. You're lucky that Holy Cross didn't win the Patriot League.
you just jinxed my boys...thanks for that...
ReplyDeleteI'm finally caught up on this blog again after a Pittsburgh trip that included watching far fewer basketball games than I expected (thanks to the Pitt loss to WVU), and us missing the selection show because of Justin McCabe, who asked if we minded missing "the draft" to hang out with him. I even had to make fun of him for that. Two things. Devin Ebanks is my favorite WVU player for several reasons. One, he's a freshman. I like good freshmen. Two, he's skinny--doesn't happen that much in the Big East. Three, he doesn't show a lot of emotion, unlike Rat Boy. And four, wouldn't it be funny if he worked for Ebay someday? I understand if I'm the only one laughing at that one. So, five--he's good, and he's really improved this year, which I think is fun to watch, especially since it hasn't happened to anyone on the Irish squad. And don't hate on Michigan! Now that ND's not in, Michigan is my default home team after Pitt, since I have family who went there. And great SS running diary, Desomnd; sorry Phil and I haven't posted much recently. We'll get back to it now that we're back in the Bend.
ReplyDeleteLove it. I also love how all of us non-conquerors ignore the game entirely for most of the season, watch the selection show and read 1 or 2 "Bracket Breakdowns" and become fully convinced of their tournament infallibility. Mine, if you must know, were CNN/SI and ESPN. I am ready to dominate.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the missus was reading your post over my shoulder and likened it to "reading a manual on how to change a carburetor: Oil valve, blah blah blah, #1 seed radiator belt, blah blah blah...bolt." Funnier in person, yes, but funny nonetheless. All this will be covered in my companion blog, "Conquering Comedy Theory."
Question - who else starts to get antsy when 4 pm or so comes and there isn't a new post from D-man? I start checking at about 7:30 AM thinking that Desmond is still up from the night before and might finally be getting around to posting something.
ReplyDeleteI know that we're in sort of a March Madness lull here but you could be doing all of us a great service by supplying some tips, anecdotes, and fun facts while we put together our brackets.
Charles, I definitely get antsy. Actually the only reason I am able to consistently quote on this thing is that DH and I are on the same schedule, the only difference is that I live in China right now. Basically if he hasn't posted at the end of my workday (6pm China), which is 6am Eastern US, then I think he has forgotten about the day. I don't know how I am going to handle this thing when I get back to the US.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, these running diaries are by far the best feature on this blog. It would be interesting to see if you could do a 12 hour running diary on Thursday or Friday with all the games...but I think after hour 4 you might have carpel tunnel start to set in.
When I started this blog last year...one of the column ideas I had was to keep a running diary of the first two days of the tournament. I then realized that was ambitious as hell. We'll see what I can pull off. Maybe I could do running diaries of specific 4 hour (two game) sessions or something. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteI like the running diaries too. Although I think my running diary of Selection Sunday was better last year.
Bob...I forgot to officially welcome you to the blog...so welcome to the blog! Your humor and insights have been sorely missed. I'm glad you enjoyed the running diary. Remind me to make fun of your wife's lesson plans the next time I see her. Also, better late than never...I'm glad you at least became an expert BEFORE the tournament began.
ReplyDeleteThis post is going to be buried so far down the page, I doubt anyone reads this comment. But this is what I do for my readers...try to address as many of their musings as possible.