Breaking down how March Madness Selection Sunday will play out
It’s Christmas for college basketball fans.March Madness has officially arrived — Selection Sunday is here.It has been a fascinating and fantastic season that figures to crown a new champion after Connecticut repeated last April.Early Sunday evening, we will have a bracket, 68 teams all vying to be the last one standing in San Antonio cutting down the nets.The Post’s Zach Braziller gets you ready for the big day with a look ahead to the announcement:Let’s start with the automatics: Auburn, Duke and Houston.They feel like locks as top seeds.
Duke and Houston both reached their conference championship game after winning the regular season titles.Auburn owns a ridiculous 16 Quad 1 wins, three more than anyone else.
The Tigers should be the overall top seed.I’d lean to Houston at No.2 over Duke, because the Big 12 is significantly stronger than the ACC, and the Cougars as a result have the much better résumé.
The fourth No.1 is somewhat of a question mark.
Florida is believed to have the edge, courtesy of its high-end road wins at Auburn and fellow No.1 contender Alabama.
An argument can be made for Tennessee, which has 11 Quad 1 wins and knocked off Auburn in the SEC semifinals on Saturday and could have a shot if it beats Florida in the SEC title game Sunday.As always, the most heated debates take place on the cut line.Last March, the Big East was the big loser, landing only three teams in the tournament.
Seton Hall, Providence and St.John’s were left out, partly due to six bid-stealers — teams that only made it because they won their conference tournament.The big story this March is North Carolina.
The Tar Heels were a major disappointment after returning star guard RJ Davis and adding five-star freshman Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.They won just once in 13 Quad 1 games.
Xavier is another intriguing team.They closed the regular season by winning six straight games, then blew a 14-point lead to Marquette in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
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