Duke has a tough road to the Final Four
Duke's loss to North Carolina Saturday all but solidified their slot in second-ranked No. 2 seed, making their path to the national semifinals much more challenging.
The Blue Devils' first round opponent, Iona, should not be taken lightly—the Gaels can push the tempo and score. Potential second round opponents Rhode Island and Oklahoma are no pushovers, either, especially with Trae Young suiting up for the Sooners.
If the Blue Devils were to win their first two games, they most likely would face Michigan State. While Duke beat the Spartans earlier this year without Marvin Bagley III, Michigan State is No. 3 seed who probably should have been a No. 2 seed.
The Spartans won the Big Ten regular season, have two top ten picks in their starting lineup, and currently rank sixth in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings. In the Elite Eight, Duke would likely have to play No. 1 seed Kansas in Omaha, which would practically be a home game for the Big-12 champions. The road to a sixth title won't be easy for the Blue Devils by any stretch.
Notre Dame's overall body of work not enough to get into tournament
Even with Bonzie Colson's return, Notre Dame did not have enough on its résumé to get into the big dance.
The tournament selection committee in the past had taken injuries into account in seeding decisions, most notably in 2000 when Cincinnati center Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the conference tournament, bumping the Bearcats from a one seed to a two seed. To begin the year, Notre Dame was No. 14 in the country and was 11-3, including a win against Wichita State, before Colson went out with an injury.
But Notre Dame finished the season 8-10 in ACC play, and in two attempts to get marquee wins with Colson back in the lineup against Virginia and Duke, the Irish faltered. Despite their difficulties, Notre Dame had a spot in the tournament until Davidson's automatic bid from its Atlantic 10 championship snatched an at-large bid away from the Irish.
Oklahoma State out, Oklahoma in
Despite a late surge in conference play, the Cowboys were unable to make the field of 68.
After struggling throughout the Big 12 regular season, Oklahoma State finished the regular season with three straight wins, including one at home against Kansas. Even after sweeping Kansas during the regular season, a win at Big 12 tournament runner-up West Virginia, and winning two out of three against Oklahoma, the Cowboys failed to even be considered for the first four out.
The Oklahoma Sooners, in spite of their horrid play to close out the season, not only made the tournament but were surprisingly not even a part of the last four in. The Sooners lost eight out of their last ten games and have not won a road game since December.
It's abundantly clear—Oklahoma State should be in, not Oklahoma.
Many teams involved with FBI probe did not make the cut
After the field was released during the selection show, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports sent out an tantalizing tweet.
Forde, who has broken numerous reports on the FBI probe, asked what USC, Louisville, and Oklahoma State have in common and answered they all were part of an investigation by the FBI against the NCAA.
To be fair, Auburn was also part of the initial investigation as well and made it as a No. 4 seed. However, these teams involved with the investigation were on the bubble and seemed to have decent shot at making the tournament were snubbed while less than stellar teams received at-large bids.
USC was second during the regular season in the Pac 12, made the finals of the conference tournament, and ranks 42 in the nation in efficiency, but was one of the first four left out. UCLA, which was behind the Trojans in both the conference regular season standings and KenPom rankings, and Syracuse, who finished tenth in the ACC, both made the tournament.
Even with the head of the tournament selection committee denying the FBI probe played a role, it seems to be a coincidence that is hard to overlook.
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