March Madness blues? Here’s our take on what NCAA tourney bracket would’ve looked like
One of the most anticipated days on the sports calendar, the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Sunday, has arrived. Yet, for the first time, it will pass without a tournament to select.
The NCAA Tournament was canceled Thursday because of the fast-evolving COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly all sports have been called off, postponed or suspended, but the loss of the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments is an especially painful blow that cuts deeply into American culture.
Who doesn’t enjoy March Madness?
There had been talk about going ahead with a selection show to announce a 68-team field, identify top seeds, share details about who was on the bubble and make public the regions where teams would be assigned.
But Sunday, NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt nixed that idea.
“I have heard from many coaches and athletics directors who are trusted colleagues and friends that would like to see brackets released to recognize the successful seasons of their teams and student-athletes and to see who and where they would have played,’ Gavitt said in a statement. “Players and coaches want to see their school name on the bracket. Members of the media want to dissect matchups. Bracketologists want to compare the work of the committees versus what they’ve predicted. Fans are curious for those same reasons. All of us want something to fill the void we’re feeling.
“However, anything less than a credible process is inconsistent with the tradition of the NCAA basketball championships. Brackets based on hypotheticals can’t substitute for a complete selection, seeding and bracketing process. There will always be an asterisk next to the 2020 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships regardless if brackets are released. There is not an authentic way to produce tournament fields and brackets at this point without speculating and that isn’t fair to the teams that would be positively or negatively impacted by manufacturing March Madness.:
In the meantime, we’ve decided to seed our own bracket, which you can download by clicking here.
What is known is that if there had been a selection show Sunday, Kansas would have been tournament’s favorite as the overall No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks entered the Big 12 tournament — which also was called off Thursday — having received every first-place vote in the major polls.
Less certain? KU’s likely region. As the overall top seed, coach Bill Self’s team would have been able to express its preference. And although the Midwest Region finals made Indianapolis the closest site to Lawrence, the Jayhawks may have opted for Houston instead.
In this mock bracket, KU makes the drive easier for fans and stays in the Midwest, where the Jayhawks would play in a rugged region that included second-seeded Creighton, third-seeded Duke and No. 4 Kentucky.
The other No. 1 seeds: Gonzaga in the West, Dayton in the East and Baylor in the South. The Bears get our nod as the fourth No. 1 seed over Florida State and San Diego State, but had the Seminoles won the ACC tournament, they would have strengthened their case for the top line.
On our bracket, Wichita State would have been among the last four at-large teams selected.
On the women’s side, the Kansas City Roos, the WAC regular-season champions, would have been projected as a No. 16 seed.
Dayton was having a season for the ages, and joined Gonzaga and San Diego State as strong championship contenders from outside football’s power conferences.
Rutgers sought its first NCAA appearance since 1991. Baylor looked to push its men’s and women’s teams into the Final Four. Both could’ve been top seeds.
Instead, the 2019-20 season will be remembered as the one without a winner, or one “shining moment” conclusion.
Again, to download our bracket, click here.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "March Madness blues? Here’s our take on what NCAA tourney bracket would’ve looked like."