1. Sure, I suppose UofL would rather be in a 7/10 game, but I think this is pretty dang close to being best-case for UofL. Cal, which is probably the most overseeded team in the tournament, is from the Pac-10 and UofL has beaten the tar out of the last 3 Pac 10 NCAA opponents (h/t to Mike). Plus, Cal has to travel to just about the farther place in the US from their campus in Jacksonville. Duke is a great team, but a very beatable team. I think UofL could beat every team in the tournament at least 3 out of 10 times, with the exception of UK and KU. I don't think UofL could beat either KU or UK 3/10 times. In other words, great to play Duke!
2. I continue to be confused about the "benefits" of being the #1 or #2 overall seed. KU and UK get to potentially face the top two #2 seeds. Or, said a different way, this is really unfair to the top #2 seeds in OSU and WVU because they are the ones who have to face KU or UK. Last year, UofL was the so-called #1 overall seed but almost had to play OSU in Dayton and then had to play Michigan St. in Indy. Again, where are the "benefits?"
3. I always try to figure out how much a single loss costs a team. Take UTEP for example. If they beat Houston in the CUSA final, I think that they are likely a #6, #7 or #8. So, effectively, the Houston loss costs UTEP 4-6 seed lines.
4. I think Cornell got the worst end of the stick of all the teams. Not only are they the most underseeded team in the tournament, but they have to go against a team that can really mitigate their strength in Temple. Cornell's coach came from Dunphy's staff at Penn so Dunphy clearly knows all of Cornell's tricks. I think Cornell could have been a massive problem for almost every other team in the tournament (reference the @KU game that Cornell almost won). I just can't believe Cornell is one seed line above Wofford.
5. Syracuse gets to play UVM which beat them in the first round in 2005 (played at the same time as the UofL/UL-Lafayette near upset. I'm sure that wasn't great news for all Orange fans.
6. Once again, my rule of thumb of "never, ever, EVER listen to a word Digger Phelps says about the NCAA tournament because he doesn't have a CLUE about how the selection works" holds true.
7. I'm a little puzzled how Virginia Tech is out yet its ACC counterparts like Wake as a #9 and Clemson as a #7 (which finished beneath the Hokies in the standings) were such safe picks.
8. I thought Richmond could have been a great sleeper pick, but they got the wrong team paired up against them in Nova and there's no way Richmond wins that game.
9. Marquette's last 3 NCAA's have been held in Anaheim, Boise and now San Jose. Yek.
10. Great call by CBS to play last year's One Shining Moment right before the selections. I think the only thing bad about the Vancouver Olympics was the lack of a One Shining Moment equivalent to wrap everything up at the end.
