Selection Sunday is only a week away and it seems as though this tournament will be anything but predictable. In Joe Lunardi’s most recent bracketology he has the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West each getting four teams into the Big Dance. On the flip side he has the PAC-10 only getting one team in the tournament. In fact you may have to do a double take if you see New Mexico (28-3 out of the Mountain West) as a two seed and Temple (26-5 out of the Atlantic 10) as a four seed. This is not a misprint while these teams may not be getting visited by Digger, Bob, and Jay on ESPN’s College Gameday they still play excellent basketball and should be forces to be reckoned with once play begins.

Also, if you are searching your bracket to see where UCLA, UNC, and UCONN that is not a misprint either. Those teams are more likely to be on the bracket with the words NIT rather than NCAA Tournament. Connecticut finished 7-11 in Big East play after losing yesterday to South Florida 75-68. North Carolina finished ACC play with a 5-11 record after getting rout 82-50 by Duke at Cameron Indoor yesterday. UCLA finished only 8-10 in the mediocre PAC-10.
Last year Roy Williams group of returning veterans led by do it all senior Tyler Hansbrough cut down the nets. This year it could be John Calipari and his talented freshman trio of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe that are the last ones standing. Expect other youngsters such as Kansas Xavier Henry and Syracuse Brandon Triche to make big impacts in late march.

This season has been anything but normal as reference by the fact that a school from the Ivy League cracked the top 25. There is no dominant frontrunner such as the North Carolina Tarheels were last year or the Florida Gators were in 2007. The NCAA Tournament will also be missing the traditional powers and will have fresh faces most likely leading their teams deep into the tournament. It will be a departure from what is familiar to college basketball fans. In my opinion that will make it more exciting than ever.