Interesting Hogs Related Tidbits Regarding NCAA Tournament

Selection committee got lazy at times in putting bracket together

The Arkansas Razorbacks hold the trophy after the men's SEC Conference Tournament Championship against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When the brackets first come out by way of the traditional selection show broadcast on Sundays, the typical protocol is to watch for your favorite team, see who they end up playing, then look ahead to the following week and maybe the Sweet 16.

Those who are extremely obsessed might stare at the bracket long enough to imagine a path to the national championship, but that's certainly not most people. What typically doesn't happen is an instant analysis of the trends and unique situations involving the rest of the bracket as a whole.

However, that's exactly what is about to go down. So, here are the instant observations as to what interesting things are going on in the rest of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

Committee Tries It Again

St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino and Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari shake hands as the Razorbacks won a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

It looks like the committee just didn't bother removing part of its board involving Arkansas last year. John Calipari's Razorbacks had to face Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks in the first round as part of an effort to get either Self, or preferrably Calipari, facing off with St. John's head coach Rick Pitino in the next round.

The approach guaranteed blockbuster match-ups between Hall of Fame coaches for two consecutive rounds with the possibility of two men who led Kentucky to the national championship going head-to-head. Fortunately for the committee, it got the ratings monster it wanted as Calipari's Hogs upset No. 2 seed St. John's to advance to the Sweet 16.

This year Kansas takes on California Baptist and St. John's faces Northern Iowa for the right to face each other in a No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed battle Sunday. Both should make it as planned by the committee.

However, Jayhawks fans don't care if there's an effort to try to get them to take on the Red Storm for a second year in a row. Their social media accounts make it clear there was a statewide celebration when they found out they don't have to play the Razorbacks.

Their mantra was "anyone but Arkansas" heading into the selection show.

Ratings Will Be Down

Arkansas and Kansas led the way with roughly 6.4 million viewers in the opening round last season. That will definitely not be the case this season as the Rainbow Warriors aren't nearly as likely to bring huge numbers with them when the two teams square off Thursday afternoon.

SEC Tournament Part 2

Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) backs down Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee (1) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

There are rules in place that keep conference opponents from facing each other in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and with the SEC only getting 10 teams into the field, spreading teams around to avoid head-to-heads should have been pretty easy.

It's simple. Put two, at most three, SEC teams in each regional.

However, apparently it wasn't. Nearly half the teams from the conference were placed in the Midwest regional.

Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky eached landed in the same field. The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide were in the same section of the bracket during the SEC Tournament and so were the Volunteers and Wildcats.

It will be the same case in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia and Alabama can meet in the Sweet 16, provided the Bulldogs can upset No. 1 seed Michigan, and Kentucky and Tennessee can also meet in the Sweet 16.

That would guarantee a path of nothing but SEC teams in the Midwest throughout the entire second weekend.

Lundardi Nailed It

Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas (1) celebrates after the men's SEC Conference Tournament Championship against Vanderbilt at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

When it comes to bracketology, ESPN's Joe Lunardi gets his predictions so accurate it almost looks like the committee is using his bracket to do their work. For instance, when it comes to Arkansas, Lunardi accurately predicted a trip to Portland for the Razorbacks.

He also had Wisconsin and High Point correctly chosen as the No. 5 and No. 12 seeds respectively. That means he got the seeds of every team but Hawaii in the Hogs' first weekend correct.

Obviously, he got other things correct also, but they don't involve Arkansas in any sort of direct or indirect fashion, so just know he was highly accurate overall.