No. 1 seed Alabama has been on a roll despite the program being entangled in a developing murder case. Another No. 1 seed, defending national champion Kansas, has a coach out of hospital and a team that just suffered a crushing loss. Yet another, Houston, just saw their best player go down in droves with a frightening injury.
This year’s March Madness favorites may be anything but perfect, but the presence of these teams and all their top-of-the-range questions could make for precisely what the NCAA wants its tournament to be – a perfectly unpredictable mess.
Most of the drama in this year’s installment selection was resolved well before Selection Sunday.
Arizona State and Nevada exited the bubble, as expected, and entered the 68-team field. Rutgers and Oklahoma State did not. Purdue, with 7-foot-4 Zach Edey up front, edged out UCLA for the fourth and final No. 1 seed.
And in a decision almost everyone saw coming, the selection committee left North Carolina, last year’s national runner-up, out of the tournament. This made the Tar Heels the first team to start the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 and finish it not doing the Big Dance.
The team they lost to, Kansas, is trying to become the first consecutive NCAA champion since Florida in 2007. The Jayhawks won the top seed in the West Region, where they await the return of coach Bill Self, who went to hospital last week complaining of chest tightness and balance issues. He was released and is expected to return this week.
The action begins on Tuesday with two First Four matches. The full madness begins Thursday with the first round, with 16 games and 16 more the next day.
Kansas’ 20-point loss to Texas in the Big 12 title game likely played into FanDuel Sportsbook putting the Jayhawks 9-1 to win the title, behind South Region Alabama (odds 15-2) and overall favorite Houston (odds 11-2), who would play the Final Four in their hometown if they win the Midwest Region. The semi-finals and finals are set at NRG Stadium on April 1 and 3.
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