A 68-team bracket gives me about 5,000 reasons to react and pontificate on the greatest event in sports. But now -- after ranking all 68 teams, submitting my own bracket and poring over game times and TV info -- I've managed whittled my thoughts into 68 portions.

1. I've already explained to you why Virginia is the best team in college basketball. The Cavs, who've been knocked out twice in recent years by Michigan State, can rest easy: Sparty's on the opposite corner of the bracket. And I know their region provides a lot of challenges, but I'm taking the Wahoos to win the whole thing.

2. I'm interested to see if we'll get a new champion this season. Sixteen of the 68 schools in the field have won a national title: Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Loyola Chicago, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Syracuse, UCLA and Villanova. That means three of the eight top teams (Virginia, Xavier, Purdue) have a good shot at joining the club. Virginia and Xavier have never made a title game; Purdue's only trip came in 1969.

3. The best images of Selection Sunday came from the Hurley brothers. First, check Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley bursting in celebration then being overcome by emotion after he saw his brother made the bracket with Arizona State.

And here's Bobby Hurley's reaction after the Sun Devils slipped through to the First Four. Everybody in the pool!

4. Then, there is the other side of this. Powerful photo. Middle Tennessee was good enough to win this tournament but again won't get the chance.

5. Before we get to the rest of the field, let's note Oklahoma State being left out despite having one less loss and much better wins than Alabama ... which is a No. 9 seed. OSU won seven games against top-50 teams, including a sweep of Kansas, a win over 3 seed Texas Tech, a win at 5 seed West Virginia and a semi-road win at Florida State. It's my position that we'll look back in 10 years and log Oklahoma State's snub -- it wasn't even in the first four out -- as one of the most egregious by the committee.

6. USC finished second in the Pac-12 and didn't get in either. It's one of the most surprising snubs ever. Some projections had the Trojans as a No. 9.

7. Syracuse ... in! Credit to our Jerry Palm, one of the few who had the Orange clearing the bar. For me, it's something of a stunner, though. SU has one less loss than Oklahoma State and three fewer losses against top-50 teams than the Cowboys -- and no road victory as good as Oklahoma State. Baffling call, but the Orange get their chance in Dayton.

8. You want some fun picks? Here are my four nominees for best Cinderella consideration.

9. Scanning the bracket, and boy oh boy do I LOVE the fact that URI-Oklahoma is the first game on Thursday. We waste no time. Come 12:15 on CBS, it's Trae Young right away. (Tip times and channels here!) I'll be in Pittsburgh for that game. Rhody-Oklahoma could be big.

10. Duke-Oklahoma would be even bigger. If the Sooners and Blue Devils win on Thursday, it will set up a Saturday afternoon game between the two most polarizing players in college basketball of the past five years: Young vs. Grayson Allen. Dear lord, think of the tweets and memes.

11. Rhode Island-Oklahoma is the first tip of the first round. The last? Should be Clemson vs. New Mexico State out in San Diego on Friday night. I adore that late window of games every year.

12. I've been critical of Kansas' Final Four chances this season, but I will applaud this team for landing on the 1 line. It's the seventh No. 1 seed for Kansas under Bill Self. KU's been a top-two seed nine years running. Ridiculous.

13. Elsewhere on the 1 line: This is the first top seed in Xavier history. X's 27 NCAA Tournament wins are the most for any program without a Final Four.

14. The program with the second most NCAA Tournament wins to never make a Final Four? Missouri. Guess what: That's a potential second-round matchup in Nashville. Mizzou has made the Elite Eight five times, Xavier three.

15. Speaking of Missouri, how good will Michael Porter Jr. be? How good will Missouri be? One of its starters was suspended after an arrest on suspicion of drinking and driving over the weekend.

16. I've got very little issue with the committee's seeding this season. In a rarity, the Westgate sports book put out its betting lines on Sunday night -- and not one lower-seeded school is favored in its game. If Vegas is lining up with what you've done, you've done good.

17. Allow me to Curb Your Enthusiasm myself by adding ... having said that, there are a few teams who seem a line off. Penn should be a 15, not a 16. (Swap with Lipscomb). WVU probably a 4, not a 5 (swap with Wichita State). And, for me, a 15-loss team should never be in the single digits, so I'd move Alabama from the 9 line down to a 10 and scoot Loyola up from an 11.

18. You big on Michigan State? Think it's one of the "safest" 3 seeds you could ever pick to make the Final Four? I feel that. But here's something to keep in mind: The only teams MSU defeated this year that also made the tournament: North Carolina and Purdue. Both big wins, certainly. But it's strange that the Spartans only have two victories vs. the 67 other teams in the bracket.

19. Power region? It's obviously the Midwest: Kansas, Duke and Michigan State on the top three lines. The programs combined for nine national titles and 39 Final Four showings.

20. Not a coincidence: Wichita State switches leagues, wins 25 games, gets a No. 4 seed. It won 30 last year and got a 10.

21. This year's field has five teams who failed to finish .500 in league play. Of course, they are all from power conferences. Alabama (SEC), Arizona State (Pac-12), Oklahoma (Big 12), Syracuse (ACC) and Texas (Big 12) each wound up going 8-10. That seems like a record.

22. I'm torn on North Carolina, which is in the bottom left corner of your bracket. The Tar Heels are a good team, but they're also the first No. 2 seed to ever have at least 10 losses. And they were the top-ranked 2 seed at that. Making three straight Final Fours is hard. The last team to do it was UCLA from 2006-08.

23. KenPom isn't everything (nor should it be). Six teams in the KenPom top 40 who didn't get an invite: Saint Mary's(28), Penn State (29), Notre Dame (31), Louisville (33), Baylor (34) and USC (40). Lowest KenPom team to get an at-large: St. Bonaventure (69), which plays UCLA on Tuesday night in Dayton.

24. This year's field is loaded with talent. There are too many players to list, so instead, let me give you five guys who are under-the-radar great: Davidson's Peyton Aldridge, Houston's Rob Gray, Seton Hall's Angel Delgado, Butler's Kelan Martin and UCLA's Aaron Holiday.

25. The NCAA Tournament can be a volatile thing year over year. Look to Oregon and South Carolina as examples. They made the Final Four in 2017. Neither was close to getting in this year.

26. Virginia's Tony Bennett and Arizona's Sean Miller are considered the two best coaches to not make a Final Four. Well, they could face off the Sweet 16. Because they're in the same region, the South, at least one's guaranteed to wait another year.

27. I morbidly would love a Virginia-Cincinnati regional final in the South. It could be a 48-45 finish. Horrendously captivating. The top two defenses in college basketball.

28. I have never rooted for a 16 seed to beat a 1, and until it happens, I never will. There are only a few results, a few landmark things, that the NCAA Tournament still hasn't seen happen. A mid-major winning the whole thing in the modern era is one of them. A 15 seed making the Elite Eight is another. But a 16-over-a-1 is the only one-game result we're still waiting on. This is one box we still haven't opened, and I love that. With Penn being the first 16 seed out of the Ivy League since 1989, the Quakers are getting a closer look. After all, Princeton in 1989 played the closest game ever for a 16. It lost 50-49 to Georgetown.

29. I'd love to be wrong, but I think this winds up being the first tournament in six years not to have a No. 7 seed or worse make the Final Four. I don't think we make enough of the fact that lower-seeded teams are busting through to the final weekend with as much regularity as they have. Even beyond the past five years, you had George Mason and Butler doing it too. The lowest-seeded team with the best chance this year: Florida.

30. Two games I know I am going to pick wrong no matter what I decide: Virginia Tech-Alabama and Arkansas-Butler. I've got the Hokies and Bulldogs as of now, so fade me.

31. Two upset picks I'm way too confident in: No. 12 New Mexico State over No. 5 Clemson, No. 11 Loyola over No. 6 Miami. Lotta people piling on that Ramblers wagon already.

32. Providence over A&M is recency bias completely taking over my judgment. I saw PC play at the Big East Tournament and am convinced Kyron Cartwright can drop 30 in his next game.

33. Ranking the regions in terms of toughness: East, Midwest, South, West.

34. Ranking the regions in terms of best coaches: 1. Midwest (Krzyzewski Self, Boeheim, Izzo, Kruger), 2. South (Bennett, Calipari, Miller, Larranaga, Barnes), 3. East (Wright, Huggins, Marshall), 4. West (Mack, Few, Beilein).

35. Ranking the regions in terms of chaotic potential: 1. East, 2. West, 3. South, 4. Midwest.

36. Ranking the regions in terms of best nicknames: 1. East (Highlanders, Racers, Boilermakers, Bonnies, Lumberjacks, Razorbacks), 2. South (Retrievers, Bluejays, Ramblers, Bearcats, Longhorns), 3. West (Musketeers, Jackrabbits, Grizzlies, Bisons), 4. Midwest (Sun Devils, Horned Frogs, Pirates, Quakers).

37. The South is full of felines: Kansas State, Davidson, Arizona and Kentucky are all Wildcats. Bearcats there too!

38. First round game with biggest revenge factor: Creighton's Marcus Foster takes on his former school, Kansas State. Foster was dismissed from K-State but now takes a lot of the blame for what happened there. Still, he may drop 40.

39. South Dakota State on that No. 12 line. Tempting me. Tempting you. Almost too tempting.

40. Best to worst No. 12 seeds: Murray State, Davidson, South Dakota State, New Mexico State.

41. Best to worst No. 11 seeds: St. Bonaventure, Loyola, UCLA, Arizona State, Syracuse, San Diego State.

42. Murray State is a trendy 12-over-5 pick. The Racers have the most wins of anyone in the field without a Sweet 16 appearance (five).

43. Best possible second-round matchup: Arizona vs. Kentucky in the South.

44. Best possible Sweet 16 matchup: Duke vs. Michigan State in the Midwest.

45. Best possible Elite Eight matchup: Gonzaga vs. UNC in the West. Title game rematch!

46. I'm eager to see what Rick Barnes does with this Tennessee group. The Vols are a 3 seed in the South and clearly not a popular pick to make the Final Four. It's the school's best seed since it was a 2 in 2008. Barnes has coached four programs (Providence, Clemson, Texas, Tennessee) to the tournament. Six other coaches have done that, and two are in this year's Dance: John Beilein and Lon Kruger. The others are Lefty Driesell, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, Eddie Sutton.

47. The most consistent programs in the past two decades are mostly in this field. Duke (20 straight NCAA Tournaments), Gonzaga (20), Kansas (20), Michigan State (20), Texas (18), Arizona (18) and Kentucky (18). The only team not in the field that's made 18 or more of the past 20 tournaments: Wisconsin, which is out for the first time in the 2000s.

48. If you're a believer in tough schedules building bracket contenders, maybe don't sleep on Texas. The Longhorns played 19 times against NCAA Tournament-bound competition.

49. Speaking of Texas, the state has the most teams in the tourney with seven: Texas, Texas A&M, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Houston, Texas Southern and Texas Tech. (Baylor almost made it too.) The state of North Carolina is has six in: North Carolina, North Carolina Central, UNC Greensboro, Davidson North Carolina State and Duke. Meanwhile, Kansas went 3 for 3 with its Division I schools (KU, K-State and Wichita State) and so did West Virginia: WVU and Marshall are the only D-I schools in the Mountaineer State.

50. Houston last made the NCAAs in 2010. But it hasn't won a tournament game since it was in the 1984 Final Four. 

Via ESPN, 180 other teams have won in the NCAAs since the last time the Cougars did.

51. The ACC sent nine teams to this party. That matches last year's league record. It's the second most in history; the Big East put 11 in back in 2009. Mark me down for four ACC teams to make it to the Sweet 16.

52. Villanova is on the 1 line again. Strangely, every Wildcats appearance since 2009 has ended either the first or last weekend of the tournament. The last time Villanova lost in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight was 2008.

55. Plenty of coaches taking teams to the tournament in their first year running their respective programs. They are Butler's LaVall Jordan, Ohio State's Chris Holtmann, NC State's Kevin Keatts, Missouri's Cuonzo Martin, San Diego State's Brian Dutcher, LIU Brooklyn's Derek Kellogg.

56. Will any team from the 2008 Final Four in San Antonio get to the 2018 Final Four in San Antonio? Memphis can't because it's not in the field. But No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 North Carolina have a good shot. No. 11 UCLA would need to pull a VCU to go from the First Four to the Final Four.

57. That 2008 Final Four is famously the only one with all four No. 1 seeds. And so it will remain that way, at least for another year. All four No. 1s aren't surviving the next two weeks.

58. Shoutout to Lipscomb, the only team in the field making its NCAA Tournament debut. The Bisons play Friday around 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS against UNC.

59. Major conference programs ending their longest droughts: TCU (20 years) and Auburn (15). I don't have TCU getting out of the first weekend. I do have Auburn in the Sweet 16 but can't give you any reason why. LOVE MY BRACKET, THOUGH.

61. Top to bottom, this is the strongest season of the past 15 years for the SEC. The league sent eight teams, the most in its history. Tennessee is the highest, with a 3 seed, while Kentucky, as a 5, is considered the most dangerous entering the field.

62. Coaches in the field who could be pulled to bigger jobs in a matter of weeks: Rhode Island's Dan Hurley, Charleston's Earl Grant, Buffalo's Nate Oats, UMBC's Ryan Odom, Loyola's Porter Moser, Georgia State's Ron Hunter, UNC Greensboro's Wes Miller.

63. Regional sites this year: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston and Omaha. Kansas, by way of traveling to Wichita and potentially Omaha, has the easiest commute of any of the 1 seeds. Xavier's Nashville-then-LA route is the most inconvenient.

64. One fascinating backdrop to this tournament is the ongoing FBI investigation into the sport. That will serve as a reason for some people to tune in, maybe a little, but ultimately the bracket is so compelling that people will watch for the upsets and their own gambling motivations. Isn't college sports grand?

65. Always love examining the tip time windows and ranking them accordingly. Here's your viewer's guide and priority list. I'd rank them like this, with the qualifier that these are really balanced blocks this year.

1. Thursday late afternoon: Duke-Iona, Miami-Loyola, Ohio State-South Dakota State, Seton Hall-NC State

 2. Thursday late night: Va. Tech-Bama, Arizona-Buffalo, Michigan-Montana, Florida-Bona/UCLA

 3. Friday after dinner: Creighton-Kansas State, Michigan State-Bucknell, Xavier-TBD 16, Auburn-Charleston

 4. Friday late afternoon: UNC-Lipscomb, Arkansas-Butler, West Virginia-Murray State, Nevada-Texas

 5. Friday late night: Virginia-UMBC, TCU-ASU/Cuse, Missouri-Florida State, Clemson-New Mexico State

 6. Thursday early afternoon: URI-Oklahoma, Tennessee-Wright State, Gonzaga-UNC Greensboro, Kansas-Penn

 7. Friday early afternoon: A&M-Providence, Purdue-Fullerton, Wichita State-Marshall, Cincinnati-Georgia State

 8. Thursday after dinner: Villanova vs. 16 TBD, Kentucky-Davidson, Houston-San Diego State, Texas Tech-Stephen F. Austin

66. In terms of most interesting pods, I'll go with

67. Over/under on true buzzer-beating shots to win or tie a game: 2.5. Historically that number hits the under. I'm saying we get three this year.

68. I think we're going to get a compelling Final Four, as is usually the case. The question is which No. 3, 4, 5 or 6 seed gets there. I can almost promise you it's happening. My picks: Virginia, Gonzaga, Purdue, Michigan State. I'll take Virginia over Purdue for the 2018 title.</s>SELECTION Sunday is over, so the seeds are in.

March Madness is here, and there’s no question we’re in for another exciting NCAA Tournament.

Here’s the full field of 68 for the Big Dance.

EIGHT AUSTRALIANS TO TAKE PART IN 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT

Check out the full field here with the Fox Sports US interactive bracket.

LAST FOUR IN: UCLA, St. Bonaventure, Arizona State, Syracuse.

The NCAA Tournament begins on Wednesday (AEDT), with the First Four matchups.</s>Kansas, Villanova, Virginia and Xavier — the No. 1 seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament — should remember the Alamo.

The last time all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four was 10 years ago. That was the last time the NCAA Tournament wrapped up in San Antonio, and the last time coach Bill Self and Kansas cut down the nets as national champions.

Before getting to this season’s Final Four, there are 64 NCAA Tournament games to be played over the next two weeks to determine if the Alamodome will be filled with No. 1 seeds again. Or if some lower seeds, or even a potential Cinderella, make it to those national semifinal games March 31.

Here are a few things to watch with the NCAA Tournament about to get underway:

— AGAIN AND AGAIN: Coach K, Self and Tom Izzo keep going back to the NCAA Tournament. All have won national titles, and they’re in the same regional this season.

Mike Krzyzewski and Duke are in the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd year in a row, two more than Izzo and Michigan State.

The school with the most consecutive appearances is Kansas, which stretched its active streak to 29 in a row as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional.

Self is in his 20th NCAA Tournament in a row, the 15th with Kansas after the Jayhawks won their unprecedented 14th straight Big 12 Conference championship . Before that, Self went to the NCAA twice with Tulsa and three times with Illinois.

The Spartans (29-4) are the No. 3 seed and get to stay in their home state for Friday’s game against Bucknell. Kansas (27-7) also has a short trip for the opening weekend, staying in the Sunflower State to play Penn on Thursday in Wichita, Kansas.

The Jayhawks last year beat Michigan State in the second round of the Midwest Regional, but the only way to meet this year would be if both make it to the regional final in Omaha, Nebraska.

Duke (26-7), the No. 2 seed that plays Iona on Thursday, could face a potential Sweet 16 matchup against Michigan State.

— WHERE ARE THE 1s?: Only twice since the 2008 tournament has the NCAA title game even been a matchup of No. 1 seeds.

That included last season in Arizona when North Carolina beat Gonzaga, a year after the Tar Heels were the national runner-up. UNC tied the 2016 title game in Texas on a double-clutch 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left before Villanova won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Duke beat Wisconsin for the 2015 championship, the only other title game matchup of No. 1 seeds since the Jayhawks’ overtime win over Memphis in 2008. North Carolina and UCLA were the other No. 1 seeds in San Antonio.

— WE ARE MARSHALL: While this isn’t Marshall’s first NCAA Tournament since the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people, including 36 members of the Thundering Herd football team, this appearance is special for fourth-year head coach and alumnus Dan D’Antoni.

Marshall won the Conference USA Tournament for an automatic NCAA berth, ending a 31-year drought.

“A lot of people think the plane crash was just the football team, but I think you have to understand all the biggest supporters of basketball were on the airplane too, and we lost all of them,” said D’Antoni, who at the time was a young basketball assistant coach there only months after finishing his playing career as a Herd point guard.

Along with the players killed in the worst disaster in U.S. sports history , there were 39 coaches, administrators, community leaders, fans and crew who died when the team’s chartered jet crashed on Nov. 14, 1970, when returning from a game.

D’Antoni said he lost some close friends and a mentor in Dr. Ray Hagley, the team physician who was on the plane with his wife.

“They always wanted me to coach at Marshall,” said D’Antoni, now 70. “It didn’t look I was going to get the chance. It took 50 years for me to finally get back here, but that’s a lot of what it meant to me, and then it’s building back the program that he really gave his life for.”

— HURLEY BRACKET: The Hurley brothers both have their teams in the NCAA Tournament . The only way they can match up against each other is if Arizona State and Rhode Island both make it to the Sweet 16.

Bobby Hurley’s team at Arizona State would have to win an extra game to get there. The Pac-12 Sun Devils (20-11) have to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday against Syracuse.

Rhode Island (25-7), an at-large team from the Atlantic 10 coached by Dan Hurley, plays Thursday against Oklahoma.

— WILDCATS IN THE SOUTH: Four teams of Wildcats are in the South Regional. Three of them play first-round games in the same arena.

No. 5 seed Kansas plays No. 12 Davidson on Thursday in Boise, Idaho. The winning Wildcats in that game face a potential second-round matchup against the Arizona Wildcats, the No. 4 seed that plays Buffalo in another first-round game in Boise.

The other Wildcats in that regional are No. 9 seed Kansas State, which takes on Creighton on Friday in Charlotte.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</s>Sixty-eight teams qualified for this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, as the NCAA released the tournament bracket on Sunday evening.

The tournament gets underway Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio with the First Four. Those four games will narrow the field to 64, with first round games being played on Thursday and Friday. The 64 slots were divvied into four, 16-team regionals. The four regional winners will meet on March 31 in San Antonio for the Final Four.

The 15-team ACC led all leagues with nine bids into the tournament, including No. 1 seed Virginia.

Leading the field are No. 1 seeds Xavier, Kansas, Virginia and Villanova.

Here are where the top 16 teams in the tournament are seeded:

UCLA, St. Bonaventure, Arizona State and Syracuse were the last four teams in the tournament. Notre Dame was considered the best team not picked for the NCAA Tournament, the committee chair Bruce Rasmussen said. Rasmussen said that Syracuse was the last team to make the field of 68.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL BRACKET</s>The stage is set, and so are the brackets. The Road to the Final Four starts Tuesday with the First Four playing in Dayton, Ohio.

The top seed in the tournament is the University of Virginia Cavaliers. Villanova, Xavier and Kansas are top seeded in the East, West and Midwest brackets.

Virginia Tech garners a No. 8 seed and will face the No. 9 seeded Alabama Thursday at 9:20 p.m. This is the second year in a row the Hokies have made the tournament.

The Virginia Cavaliers will face the UMBC Retrievers Friday at 9:20 p.m.

The Duke Blue Devils will enter the tournament as a 2 seed and will play Iona Thursday at 2:45 p.m.

The UNC Tarheels picked up a 2 seed and will play Lipscomb on Friday at 2:45 p.m.

The NC State Wolkpack will play as a 9 seed in this year’s tournament, which will mark its first time back to the NCAA tourney since the 2014-15 season. They will play Seton Hall Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Fill out a bracket here with News 3 for a chance to win money: Hoops Pickem

Fill out brackets with CBS Sports here: CBS Sports Bracket challenges

Print your bracket out here: CBS Sports blank bracket</s>The bubble did not pop for the Kansas State Wildcats, as for the seventh time in nine years, they'll be a part of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats, a 9-seed, will play the eighth-seed Creighton team on Friday in Charlotte, NC.

The game tips off at 5:50 p.m. CST and will be aired on TNT.

It's the fourth time during Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber's time in Manhattan that the Wildcats will appear in the tournament.

Last year, Kansas State won its first game, defeating Wake Forest in a play-in game.

Their best tournament run in recent history was an appearance in the 2010 Elite Eight, where they lost to Butler.</s>Baylor, Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, and USC were the final four teams to be left out of the field for the 2018 NCAA Tournament, which was revealed Sunday. All of them end up on the outside looking in after their time on the bubble, and will have to wait for next season for another chance to participate in March Madness.

Saint Mary’s may be the most unexpected omission from this year’s tournament. The Gaels posted a 28-5 regular season record and split their season series with Gonzaga. However, the team lost to BYU, 85-72, in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament. It appears that proved to be the death blow to their chances of reaching March Madness.

UCLA, Saint Bonaventure, Arizona State, and Syracuse were the final four teams to make the field, according to the selection committee. Those teams were deemed to have stronger resumes than the bubble teams that were left off, so get ready for some fierce debates between Bruins and Trojans fans in California soon.

Not every team can make the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament, so here’s a rundown of the biggest snubs from the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

A five-game winning streak that included wins over Kansas and Texas Tech, both top-10 teams at the time, seemed to put Baylor in a great position in mid-February, but the Bears lost four of their final five games. A pair of home losses to West Virginia, including one in the Big-12 tournament, stand out during that stretch.

A soft schedule ended up catching up to Saint Mary’s in the end despite currently ranking 20th in the AP Top 25. The team rolled through its slate with a 28-5 record, but lost to Washington State and Georgia in non-conference play and BYU in the WCC tournament. Most of the wins came against teams it should beat, and the selection committee wasn’t too impressed in the end.

Yes, three of Louisville’s final losses came against Virginia, which seems excusable on some level. But the Cardinals also dropped nine of their final 14 games after a 15-4 start, and all those losses to top teams left them without the kind of marquee wins necessary to squeeze in. It’s the first time the school has missed the tournament twice in three years since back-to-back absences in 2001-02.

The Trojans put themselves in the running with a strong finish to the season that included six wins in eight games and a trip to the Pac-12 championship game against Arizona, but they ultimately needed to win that contest to earn a spot. The team lost the final and its spot in the tournament in the process as the selection committee passed on a resume that included few wins over top teams.

A shocking 71-68 overtime loss to ninth-seeded Southern Miss knocked Middle Tennessee out of the Conference USA tournament and, as a result, the NCAA tournament as well. The team was considered a heavy favorite for a third straight trip to March Madness, but lost its final two games before the Selection Show.

A seven-game losing streak in January ultimately proved to be the Fighting Irish’s downfall. The team was able to shake off those struggles to finish with a 20-14 record, but it went 0-7 against ranked opponents following a victory over Wichita State on Nov. 22. Playing in the ACC provided Notre Dame with a lot of chances for big wins, and it didn’t come away with many of them.

The Cowboys beat Kansas in their final regular season game, but lost to the Jayhawks in the conference tournament. It turns out that the second game was the one that Oklahoma State really needed to win because its elimination from the Big-12 tournament proved to be the demise of its chances to make the NCAA Tournament, too.

Marquette posted a 19-13 record despite a pretty tough schedule, but many of those losses came against the toughest teams. The Golden Eagles went 0-7 against Purdue, Wichita State, Villanova, and Xavier, and their only win against a ranked team came over then-No. 13 Seton Hall in January.</s>It took 13 minutes of TBS's annoying "Price Is Right"-style selection show to "unveil" the 68-team NCAA tournament field Sunday night, during which several messages became clear. First, mid-majors need not bother playing difficult schedules early in the season because if you are from a so-called one-bid conference, a tough schedule and a first-place regular-season finish will get you nothing more than a home game in the NIT unless you win your conference tournament. Second, even though the West Coast Conference produced a team that played for the national title last season, the selection committee still considers it a one-bid league - unless Gonzaga fails to win the conference tournament. St. Mary's won 28 games and won at Gonzaga - and is headed to the NIT. Third, if there is any way at all to get Syracuse into the tournament, the committee will find it. Few fan bases travel better. Orange fans will even go to Dayton, Ohio. And fourth, the notion that losing a star player for a large chunk of the season but getting him back is taken into account is a myth. Ask Notre Dame, Mike Brey and Bonzie Colson. Then, finally, they got to the brackets. There will be plenty of enjoyable games here, but the last snip of net will end up in Tony Bennett's hands. This is Virginia's year — finally — to go back to the Final Four for the first time since 1984, the year after Ralph Sampson graduated. The Cavaliers teased a lot of teams during the regular season because their style will allow a good team to stay close. But you have to play a full 40 minutes; not even 39:59 will do, as Louisville can tell you in detail as it prepares for the NIT. The Cavaliers will open Friday in Charlotte against UMBC, one of the best stories in the tournament. The Retrievers are coached by Ryan Odom, who spent much of his boyhood in Charlottesville where his dad, Dave, was a Virginia assistant during the Sampson era. Odom took over at UMBC before last season, after the Retrievers had won 41 games in seven seasons combined. They have now won 45 in the past two, including Saturday's stunning upset of Vermont in the America East final. Jairus Lyles can score from anywhere, and 5-foot-6 point guard K.J. Maura is an absolute pest. If the Retrievers can make three-pointers, they can hang with the Cavaliers — just not for 40 minutes. The Cavaliers will get the Creighton-Kansas State winner, and that game won't be close. Sorry, Bluejays. At least you'll win a round. The matchups in Boise, Idaho, are fascinating. Kentucky may blow out Davidson or, if Peyton Aldridge and mates can somehow control the pace, they could make John Calipari's future NBA draft picks nervous. The winner almost certainly gets Arizona, although Buffalo's Nate Oats is a terrific coach. The selection committee was in wildcat mode when it put four in the same region: Kentucky, Davidson, Arizona, Kansas State. Cincinnati opens against Georgia State in Nashville and no doubt will pull for Nevada to beat Texas there. A Shaka Smart team in March can be very dangerous. Ask Kansas circa 2011. If there's one team Virginia might not want to play coming from the bottom of the bracket, it is Tennessee. The Volunteers are as athletic as Kentucky, and Rick Barnes has been an underrated coach for most of 30 years. It's sheer coincidence that the Vols are in the same region with Texas, where Barnes coached for 17 years. Miami against Loyola is a terrific first-round matchup and will be a popular upset pick. The Ramblers are in the tournament for the first time in 33 years, but it's tough to pick against Jim Larranaga facing a lower-seeded team with several days to prepare. Either team is capable of upsetting Tennessee after the Vols take care of Wright State. Who goes to Atlanta? Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. Kentucky's speed and size against Virginia's discipline will be fascinating to watch - so would Arizona vs. Virginia if those Wildcats advance - and the winner of that game will go to San Antonio. The committee did Virginia no favors with this bracket but this is their time. I think.

One of the first questions asked on Selection Sunday is always this: Which of the No. 1 seeds is most vulnerable to an early upset? Usually everyone gets it wrong. This year's pick is Xavier, which probably bodes well for the Musketeers, who play with fire on an almost nightly basis. The final score is all that matters and Xavier was 28-5. But the Musketeers do appear beatable, no matter how good Trevon Bluiett may be. Plus, North Carolina may be the toughest No. 2 seed in the field. Carolina is 11-1 in the past two tournaments and is loaded with experience and a three-time national championship coach. Chicago Tribune writers make their predictions for the 2018 NCAA tournament. Xavier gets the North Carolina Central-Texas Southern winner in its opener in Nashville. The selection committee broke precedent by sending both champions from the conferences comprised of Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Dayton. Typically, it has been one or the other. Now, they have to face each other. Xavier should handle the winner. Xavier will face the Florida State-Missouri winner in the second round. The Seminoles have been less-than-sterling outside of Tallahassee this winter, but Missouri is the tournament's mystery team because no one knows how Michael Porter will play in his second, and perhaps last, college game. He has had quite a career so far. North Carolina will open against Lipscomb, which is in the tournament for the first time. The Tar Heels should handle either Texas A&M or Providence in the second round, although if you let the Friars hang around they can make your life miserable. The hottest team in this region is Michigan, which again won four games to win the Big Ten tournament and closed on a hot streak even before then. The Wolverines should handle Montana and Houston, a good team that ought to beat surprise Mountain West winner San Diego State. Michigan-North Carolina in the sweet 16 would be a rematch of a long ago sweet 16 game in which the Wolverines took out the Tar Heels. The year was 1989. Michigan went on to win the national title. It hasn't happened since. Xavier should make it to Los Angeles, if only because of a favorable draw. Waiting there will be Gonzaga or Ohio State. The Buckeyes were the surprise team in the Big Ten this season and probably were delighted when Penn State didn't make the field, because the Nittany Lions were responsible for three of their eight losses. The Buckeyes likely will have to get past Gonzaga — if the Zags can beat UNC-Greensboro (coached by Carolina alum Wes Miller). Mark Few lost two underclassmen to the NBA and two seniors from last year's national finalist and is stil 30-4. Man can coach. Either one of those teams will be tough for Xavier in the round of 16, but it says here the winner will come out of the Michigan-Carolina matchup. That skeptical prediction should make Chris Mack sleep much better this week. Villanova deservedly got the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament and a trip to Pittsburgh on the way to Boston as the top seed the East. Once they get through the Radford-LIU Brooklyn winner Thursday, the Wildcats will face the winner of Virginia Tech-Alabama. The Hokies beat Duke late in the season but almost no one else down the stretch, which is why they dropped to a No. 8 seed. Alabama didn't deserve to be in the field until it beat Auburn in the SEC tournament. The Crimson Tide's Collin Sexton is a star, but Virginia Tech's the better team. Wichita State, which never got much respect from the committee while in the Missouri Valley Conference, got a lot more coming out of the American Athletic Conference, getting the No. 4 seed. It should get past Marshall and then have a donnybrook against No. 5 seed West Virginia, which has one of the most underrated players in the country in Jevon Carter. He can guard almost anyone. Dallas also will be a fun place to be because whoever wins the UCLA-St. Bonaventure game in Dayton, Ohio — The Bonnies are in Dayton, but not Oklahoma? Seriously? — will make for an entertaining game against No. 6 seed Florida, a hot-and-cold team with the kind of guards a team needs to win in March. No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin is another school with tournament chops, and it will bring plenty of fans to Dallas to see it play No. 3 seed Texas Tech. Arkansas and Butler meet in Detroit to play No. 2 seed Purdue, which will handle Cal State Fullerton and should reach the round of 16 if only because Isaac Haas may be the world's largest human and he can play.

Villanova has to be the favorite in Boston — the Wildcats reached Jay Wright's first Final Four coming out of there in 2009 — but a game against West Virginia in the round of 16 would be memorable. Florida is the sleeper. It reached a regional final a year ago and has those guards and a good young coach in Mike White. The Gators are either very good or very bad. Purdue is just the opposite: solid and consistent. No doubt many would love to see Kansas and Duke meet in the Midwest Region final: Two blue-blood programs, two Hall of Fame coaches and, of course, college basketball's favorite villain, Grayson Allen. It's not going to happen. Kansas will play its first two games in Wichita, which isn't Allen Fieldhouse, but may feel like it to Penn on Thursday. The Quakers will run on the court, look around and say, "Toto, we're not in the Palestra anymore." Instead, they'll be in Kansas — playing Kansas. Not good. But having not played in the tournament since 2007, Penn will be very happy to be there — even if it will be for just a couple of hours. Kansas also should get past the winner of North Carolina State-Seton Hall in the second round. The Wolfpack is more dangerous but is also more apt to no-show against the Pirates. Duke gets to go to Pittsburgh to play Iona and, believe me, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is happy to be somewhere other than Charlotte, where North Carolina fans show up to root against the Blue Devils. The selection committee apparently mixed up their Hurleys because the second-round matchup potentially will feature Rhode Island's Danny instead of Arizona State's Bobby, who helped Krzyzewski win two national titles a quarter-century ago. Rhode Island gets Trae Young in the first round. He will bring the rest of his Oklahoma teammates with him to Pittsburgh, though that hardly seems necessary. The Sooners are in the tournament for one reason: Young, who led the country in scoring and assists. The TV types can't lose in Pittsburgh's second round: It will either get Young vs. Duke's Marvin Bagley or Krzyzewski vs. Bobby Hurley's younger brother. Bobby Hurley himself, whose team faded badly after a soaring start, goes to Dayton to play Syracuse with the winner likely to beat TCU. Michigan State gets to go to Detroit but one wonders what Tom Izzo did to the committee. The Spartans were 29-4 and won the Big Ten regular season title. They should have been in play for a No. 1 seed but instead got dropped to a No. 3 and a first-round match against a veteran, well-coached Bucknell team. That game is not a walkover. If MSU reaches Omaha, it may run into Duke. Krzyzewki is 8-1 against his good friend Izzo. Still, this just doesn't feel like a Duke team that's going deep. There's the zone; there's the inconsistency; there's all that swirls around Allen, fairly or unfairly. Auburn has the talent to challenge Kansas if it gets past Clemson or New Mexico State in the second round. The Tigers are back in the tournament for the first time in seven years but were done no favors with a first-round game against the 28-win Aggies. Dark horse in the region? Rhode Island, which could take out Duke out in the second round. This feels like a Kansas-Michigan State final. Says here the Spartans are under-valued. The three best bets to win the 2018 NCAA tournament » Breaking down each region in the NCAA tournament: Teams, players and games to watch »</s>The Providence College men's basketball team earned an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night. The Friars will be making their 20th appearance overall in the NCAA Tournament. It also will be a team-record fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Friars.

Providence is also making its sixth straight postseason appearance overall in Ed Cooley's seventh season as head coach. It is the first time the Friars have reached the postseason in six consecutive seasons since David Gavitt's Friars accomplished the feat from 1970-71 to 1977-78 (eight consecutive seasons).

The Friars earned the number 10 seed in the South Region. The team is set to play in the First Round in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, March 16 against Texas A&M at 12:15 p.m. on CBS. It will mark the first meeting ever between the two teams.

Providence's tournament resume was bolstered by a 10-8 record in BIG EAST play and a 3-3 record against top-five ranked teams. The Friars went into Selection Sunday on a high-note, reaching the BIG EAST Tournament Championship after defeating Creighton and No. 3 ranked Xavier both in overtime, before being defeated by No. 2 Villanova in overtime in the league Championship game.

The Friars enter the NCAA Tournament with a 21-13 overall record and a RPI of 32.</s>LAS VEGAS (AP) — Xavier came up just short of the Final Four a year ago, losing to eventual finalist Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.

The Musketeers could be poised to break through this season.

Following one of the best regular seasons in program history, Xavier earned its first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeding despite losing in the Big East Tournament semifinals.

The Musketeers (28-5) are No. 1 in the West Region and will face the First Four winner between North Carolina Central and Texas Southern on Thursday in Nashville.

Xavier overcame losing point guard Edmond Sumner to a torn ACL midseason to make an improbable run to the Elite Eight a year ago, knocking off Maryland, Florida State and Arizona before losing to the Zags.

Sumner went on to the NBA and athletic guard Trevon Blueitt considered leaving before deciding to stay in Cincinnati for another season.

Blueitt's return was a huge boon to the Musketeers. He averaged 19.5 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range to become one of the front-runners for national player of the year.

Behind Blueitt, Xavier reached the program's highest ranking at No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and set a school record for conference victories with 15 on the way to the Big East regular-season title.

Now, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

CAROLINA CLOSE TO HOME: It's become an NCAA Tournament tradition: North Carolina opening close to home.

The Tar Heels, the No. 2 seed in the West, will face No. 15 seed Lipscomb in Charlotte on Thursday despite losing 10 games.

North Carolina opened last year's NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, on the way to the national title and played its first two games in Raleigh in 2016. The Tar Heels are 33-1 in NCAA Tournament games in their home state, the only loss coming in 1979.

North Carolina (25-10), No. 12 in the AP Top 25, tied for third during the ACC regular season at 11-7 and won nine of 11 before losing to top-ranked Virginia in Saturday's ACC title game.

POTENTIAL UPSETS: The West Region has three games that will be popular upset picks.

One comes in Charlotte on Thursday, when No. 10 Providence faces No. 7 Texas A&M. The Friars (23-10) had one of the conference-tournament season's biggest upsets, taking down Xavier in overtime of the Big East semifinals. The Aggies (20-12) have been inconsistent this season, matching the program's highest ranking by reaching No. 5 in the AP Top 25 before going 9-9 through the SEC.

No. 5 seed Ohio State could have its hands full with No. 12 South Dakota State in Boise.

Due to the early start of the Big Ten tournament this season, the Buckeyes (24-8) will have a 12-day gap between games before facing the Summit League-champion Jackrabbits. Ohio State also must find a way to stop South Dakota State's 6-foot-9 forward Mike Daum, the conference player of the year after averaging 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Also keep an eye on No. 6 Houston and No. 11 San Diego State in Wichita, Kansas. The Aztecs had some struggles earlier in the season but will carry a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament after beating New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Houston, No. 21 in the AP Top 25, knocked off Wichita State before losing to Cincinnati by one in the American Athletic Conference title game Sunday.

ZAGS IN BOISE: Gonzaga will have a short trip for its opening game as it tries to get back to the national title game.

The Zags are the No. 4 seed in the West and will open at UNC-Greensboro on Thursday in Boise.

Gonzaga lost key players from last year's national runner-up team, but won the West Coast Conference regular-season title for the 18th time in 19 seasons and crushed BYU to win its sixth straight conference tournament title.

Expect to see a few Zags fans in Boise.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The field for the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament is announced. The top overall seed is Virginia, with Villanova, Kansas, and Xavier as the other #1 seeds.