The Brackets are out! The Brackets are out!

Has the Selection Committee screwed up?

This time around we had drama on the CBS selection show. Funny that a play-by-play guy was attacking the Selection Cmte chair. Billy Packer sort of took a backseat to the attack, perhaps using Jim Nantz as his attack dog. Jim Nantz is not exactly a basketball expert. He only does basketball in March. He is just a play-by-play voice. I thought that was disrespectful to have a play-by-play voice attacking the Selection Cmte chair. Now if he was being attacked by basketball people (eg Billy Packer) then that makes more sense.

Did the Selection Cmte penalize the University of Cincinatti for firing Bob Huggins or was it because of the Armen Kirkland injury which most of the TV talking-heads on ESPN seemed to ignore - with the exception of Doug Gotleib who kept repeating it but apparently the other ESPN analysts are not watching ESPN :-)

Rematches were a theme: Kentucky-UAB, Pitt-KentState. Lots of in-season rematches are also possible: Duke-Texas, Memphis-Gonzaga, etc.

The Cmte has also set up some potentially fascinating matchups, both of similar style teams (UConn-Washington, Carolina-Tennessee) or clash of styles (Arizona-Wisconsin). And some epic battles in the paint: Duke-LSU (Shelden -vs- Big Baby).

Why was UAB a #9 seed? For a very simple reason: A rematch of the 2004 classic game with Kentucky. Otherwise, I'm sure UAB would have been a double-digit seed. The only way Tubby Smith is to avoid UAB, would be to schedule a regular season game against them each year.

Pitt at #5? Some may cry and whine. Others will point at Pitt's OOC schedule.

GW at #8? Probably a combination of Pops and OOC schedule.

Meanwhile teams get rewarded for strong OOC schedules: Tennessee, Memphis, Alabama.

FSU is left out. Look at their OOC schedule.

So it looks like the Selection Cmte is sending a clear message. But wait, there's more: Air Force is in. Their OOC schedule is just as bad as GW and FSU. No Top 50 wins. They are in! UAB has a miserable OOC schedule but they are in. Both the Air Force and UAB play in high mid-major conferences (MWC and C-USA), and by not being in "BCS" conferences, along with their unique style of play, scheduling tough home-n-home games is probably not easy for them. Texas A&M had been playing strong lately, but with a poor OOC conference so they are in.

So the Selection Cmte is actually sending a clear message: Play a competitive OOC schedule if you are in a "BCS" conference. Otherwise, the high mid-majors will get the bids.

Will the snubs cause any coaching changes? FSU's Leonard Hamilton has no excuses for not scheduling tougher OOC games. His team has been on the verge for a while, but always on the verge. Should he be on the hot seat? How about Tommy "another failed Dukie assistant" Amaker? How about Dave Odom? South Carolina has also been on the verge for a while, but not taken the next step. Should they? Will they?

If I see one more special on the Darius Washington missed free throw, I am going to throw the remote at the TV. Get over it already media people!