If Vegas seeded the field
I’ve said for years if bookmakers and gamblers were involved in ranking teams we’d have much more accurate polls despite the NCAA’s vehement disagreement. If Vegas seeded the field, things might look quite a bit different than how the selection committee slotted 68 teams this past Sunday. Keep in mind the seeds assume Syracuse still had the services of Fab Melo when the field was announced. The matchup’s below would carry point spreads consistent with traditional 3 vs 14 match-ups unlike the Georgetown vs Belmont game where the teams actually rate 15 and 16 respectively in our current power poll. However, this field doesn’t account for the logistics of travel, pods, or religious limitations but gives us the match-ups the way they should be in the opening round. The only major adjustment? I believe the 16 seeds should be playing in the “first” round rather than pitting the 12,13,14 seeds against one another.
South Regional: Home of the #1 Overall Seed
(1) Kentucky vs (16) Norfolk St vs (16) Mississippi Valley St
(2) Wichita St vs (15) Monatana
(3) Duke vs (14) St Bonaventure
(4) Georgetown vs (13) New Mexico State
(5) Baylor vs (12) Notre Dame
(6) LBSU vs (11) West Virginia
(7) Texas vs (10) Murray State
(8) Temple vs (9) Purdue
West Regional: Home of the #2 Overall Seed
(1) Mich St vs (16) Long Island vs (16) Western Kentucky
(2) Syracuse vs (15) UNC-Asheville
(3) Wisconsin vs (14) Lehigh
(4) Belmont vs (13) San Diego St
(5) Florida vs (12) Davidson
(6) Gonzaga vs (11) Harvard
(7) Michigan vs (10) Uconn
(8) Creighton vs (9) Iowa State
East Regional: Home of the #3 Overall Seed
(1) Ohio State vs (16) Loyola Maryland vs (16) Vermont
(2) Missouri vs (15) Lamar
(3) New Mexico vs (14) Southern Mississippi
(4) Vanderbilt vs (13) Xavier
(5) Marquette vs (12) VCU
(6) St Louis vs (11) BYU
(7) Kansas St vs (10) Cincinnati
(8) California vs (9) Alabama
Midwest Regional: Home of the #4 Overall Seed
(1) Kansas vs (16) Colorado St vs (16) Detroit
(2) UNC vs (15) Colorado
(3) Indiana vs (14) South Florida
(4) Memphis vs (13) Ohio
(5) Florida St vs (12) South Dakota St
(6) Louisville vs (11) North Carolina St
(7) UNLV vs (10) St Mary’s
(8) Virginia vs (9) Iona
