(Editor’s note: This article is part of the Bracket Central series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s & women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)
This is a good time, with the 16 top-four seeds in the previous bracket combining to lose 16 games in the past week, to talk about how the NCAA Tournament selection committee goes about its business.
Because math alone doesn’t explain Texas Tech and Arizona jumping three seed lines while Oregon drops three. Texas Tech didn’t just go 2-0 and it didn’t just win a game at Houston. It won at Houston after star forward JT Toppin was ejected early on an atrocious flagrant call and coach Grant McCasland was ejected protesting that call — an understandable (though excessive, and here’s hoping the Hurley haters saw it) tantrum.
The way the Red Raiders gutted out that 82-81 overtime win, against one of the toughest programs in the sport, with Chance McMillian and Elijah Hawkins doing extraordinary things against one of the best defenses, put Texas Tech’s body of work in a different light for me.
An underwhelming nonleague schedule/performance has made way for a Big 12 tear, including three wins against teams in this bracket, one of them a No. 2 seed. Texas Tech’s only loss in…
