The madness is about to begin.
Last Sunday, the annual hour-long bracket show occurred where several college programs await their fate as they look to see if they have made the tournament. While other programs know that they have made the tournament, they are looking to see which region they will play in as it will determine their path to a deep tournament run.
The North Carolina Tar Heels rising into the First Four was one of the biggest surprises of Selection Sunday as their inclusion raised several eyebrows of college basketball fans across the country. With a 1-12 record against Quad one teams, the justification for including them was difficult. However, their history as a program as well as their ability to compete with the best teams was a key reason for including them.
St. John’s was another program that viewers kept their eyes on during the show. Under the guidance of hall of fame head coach Rick Pitino, St. John’s has rebounded greatly and became the No. 2 seed in the West region. The program will face Omaha in the first round before playing the winner of Arkansas and Kansas if they were to avoid the upset. This appearance marked the sixth different program Pitino has taken to the tournament in his hall of fame career, adding another chapter to an already illustrious resume.
History was also made during Selection Sunday. The number of programs the Southeastern Conference (SEC) were able to get into the tournament was a record as they were able to put 14 teams into March Madness, six more than the Big 10, who received the second highest number of bids for a conference. Two SEC programs were also top seeds, with Florida being the No. 1 seed in the West and Auburn being seeded No. 1 in the South. It will be interesting to see how each program does in the tournament as not much can prepare a team for the unpredictability of March Madness.
