The Selection Committee Really Boned This Tournament

Gonzaga, the first top seed: gone. Oregon a ridiculous No. 12 seed "upset" Saint Louis. Perennial-choke-artist Georgetown a No. 2 seed: out. Perennial-choke-artist Pitt even in the field of 60-whatever. The selection committee is totally screwing up the the bracket.

Gonzaga and Oregon are the most egregious, of course. The Zags remain one-and-done in the tournament since 2009 and everyone who said they didn't deserve to be a No. 1 seed looks like a genius. They barely made it out alive against Southern and couldn't survive Wichita State. Oregon is hot on their heels, though. The Ducks won the Pac-12 tournament over UCLA, an inconsequential footnote perhaps until you remember UCLA was actually in this tournament and given a No. 6 seed.

The tournament is still fun, but it's a mess. A 12 seed picking off teams and making a run should be more exciting than this, but everyone knows Oregon is better than its seeding so now we're just getting a bunch of "Turns out it's helped the Ducks" articles from the Captain Obvious Press. A No. 1 seed getting upset should be a big deal, but it's the freaking Zags. George Mason has done more in one year than the Zags have in 15 straight.

Literally no one is surprised and, what's worse, that could have been some team really worth hating, like Duke, losing as a No. 1. Instead, these upsets seem predetermined. They feel less like The Stirring Underdog Story and more like The Stirring Underdog Story 2: Back In The Streets. Some hack took a great idea and ruined it with a lousy script.