Our final takeaways from our panel below.
Want to see the full bracket? We have a downloadable/printable version right here.
“After last year’s cancellation, any more basketball is a good thing. But this selection–with mid-major inclusion and Blue Blood misses is just going to be fun. We’ve got Pitino but no Louisville plus a Michigan State/UCLA First Four game. It’s just not traditional, which is fitting for this season. The amount of ACC representation is a surprise but I’m more intrigued by the Big Ten in this Tournament. It’s been such a dominant conference all season long and while anything happens in March, that schedule is going to prep them well. But regardless to be at this point is such a treat in itself.” — Carroll
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“We’d be remiss not to mention this, above anything else related to this year’s bracket: thank goodness we have one. College basketball was the only major revenue sport to lose its championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that just really stunk. It was sad. So now, just knowing for sure that we’re going to have a tournament, feels awesome.
“As for some broader takeaways on the matchups themselves… Well, there are many thoughts. Baylor, rewarded with its first No. 1 seed in program history — or punished with a brutal region? The Bears may have to run through a gauntlet of Wisconsin/UNC, Purdue, Arkansas, and Ohio State before the Final Four. Gulp. Michigan also has a brutal path, and with Isaiah Livers’ status up in the air, the East region will be ripe for upset-picking. Gonzaga’s beaten, like, half the teams in its region already, so it would be pretty shocking if Mark Few’s team doesn’t at least make the Final Four. Also, let’s all collectively be thankful — well, except if you’re a Liberty fan — that we get to see Cade Cunningham, the presumptive No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, playing postseason basketball. It’s a beautiful bracket, only made more so by our year hiatus. March, we missed you.” — Marks
The first four out, in order: Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Ole Miss. If any teams are not able to participate because of COVID-19 issues, they would replace those teams in that order.
“Oh, Louisville. Poor, poor Louisville. The Cards looked like a surefire tournament team as recently as early February, before a second COVID-19 pause threw them out of sync. Honestly, it’s almost as if Tobacco Road kept its ACC partner out of it: a 45-point blowout to UNC really damaged the optics with Chris Mack’s team, and an ACC tournament loss to Duke clearly was the straw that broke the Cardinals’ back. The silver lining is that, as the first team out, UL will still have a chance to sneak into the field, should any team have COVID-19 complications arise before Tuesday. It’s an unprecedented situation, but not a hopeless one. Also: give us all the conspiracy theories about Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart, the chair of the selection committee, keeping out UK’s rival.” — Marks
Michigan is your final No. 1 seed, in the East region that begins on Saturday. That region is rounded out by No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Florida State.
Georgetown, which won the Big East to claim the auto bid, is the No. 12 seed against No. 5 Colorado. Michigan State and UCLA both got in — but are No. 11 seeds headed to a play-in game. The winner gets No. 6 BYU.
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“Well, nothing like a little name-brand recognition to spice up the First Four! Might have to rebrand this game in particular. The B-minus blue bloods, anyone? In all seriousness, the fact that these two legendary programs are meeting just to make it into the top 64 is pretty insane. Michigan State’s end of season run, we thought, might make the Spartans a bit more of a lock to be in the field. UCLA, on the other hand, hasn’t won a game since February 25, and enters the tournament on a four-game losing streak. The early money should be on MSU, which beat No. 1 seed Michigan to end the regular season. Plus, we can’t justifiably call ourselves basketball “experts” if we pick against Tom Izzo in a first-round matchup. Thems the facts.” —Marks
“UConn surprised by picking up a No. 7 seed rather than an 8 or 9. The Huskies will face No. 10 Maryland. UConn exited the Big East tournament with a loss to Creighton in the semis. After the defeat, coach Dan Hurley cited the lack of postseason experience for this group and how it was a good learning opportunity. The loss gives them fuel, but they’re going against a tough Terrapin squad which is Big Ten battle tested. Maryland isn’t without its own fuel after a Juwan Howard and Mark Turgeon confrontation in the Big Ten tourney. UConn’s physicality and defense focus will be a huge asset here.” — Carroll
“If Nate Oats vs. Rick Pitino weren’t happening on the basketball court, we’d just as well love to see those two duke it out elsewhere: out back, for instance, or a curse-calling competition. But this is a fascinating matchup, pitting one of the hottest teams in America against one of the best coaches of all time. Make no mistake: Pitino is the reason Iona was able to steal a bid in its conference tournament, and there are few coaches in the country you’d take ahead of him in a single 40-minute contest. Oats’ club, with its 3-point proficiency, sounded like a sneaky Final Four pick on paper… and now this throws a wrench in that equation. It’s chaotic, and we love it.” — Marks
Teams that got lower seeds than expected or outright snubs: Louisville, LSU, Oklahoma State. Anybody notice a pattern?
— Brian "Bones" Bennett (@GBrianBennett) March 14, 2021
Everyone ready to ride Alabama to the Final Four sees Rick Pitino and thinks… pic.twitter.com/AVG1o2cTpu
— Dana O'Neil😷 (@DanaONeilWriter) March 14, 2021
Illinois is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, starting play on Friday. The No. 2 seed is Houston, followed by No. 3 West Virginia and No. 4 Oklahoma State.
Syracuse is in as the No. 11 seed. Cuse getting in was not a huge surprise, though it was on the bubble, but it avoiding the bye is of note.
Syracuse not in the First Four is ludicrous.
— Brian "Bones" Bennett (@GBrianBennett) March 14, 2021
Illini have to potentially go through Cameron Krutwig and Cade Cunningham. Those could be some fun games.
— CJ Moore (@CJMooreHoops) March 14, 2021
“Bit of a tough draw for the ACC tournament champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, no? Not only is Loyola big man Cameron Krutwig one of the most slept-on players in the country, but he’s also got more NCAA Tournament experience than this entire GT roster put together. Krutwig and ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright down low will be a spectacle to behold, but what we’re really looking forward to? Any interaction between Josh Pastner (and his face shield, of course) and Sister Jean. Like, this has to happen. Bless the bracket gods for making it possible.” —Marks on No. 8 Loyola Chicago vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech
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“After a last place selection in the Pac-12 to begin the season, Oregon State pulled a surprise and won the Pac-12 tournament with victory over Colorado. With the underdog narrative behind it, the No. 12 seed will face No. 5 Tennessee. The Vols came up short to Alabama but have the opportunity to redeem themselves and look dangerous.” —Carroll
Baylor is the No. 1 seed in the South, starting play on Friday. Ohio State, which just lost in overtime in that awesome Big Ten title game, is the No. 2 seed. Arkansas will be the No. 3 seed, followed by Purdue as the No. 4.
Villanova, playing without Collin Gillespie, is the No. 5 seed against No. 12 Winthrop, a game our Seth Davis already predicted on CBS would be a 12/5 upset.
“Only weeks ago, Villanova looked like a Final Four team. Now, with the season-ending injury to guard Collin Gillespie, will the team even make it out of the first round? It’s a tough draw for the Wildcats, which are coming off a Big East quarterfinals loss to champion Georgetown. Winthrop is the Big South’s automatic qualifier and demolished Campbell in that tournament. I’d call that a potential upset opportunity.” — Carroll
“UNC fans can’t be happy to see the Tar Heels as a No. 8 seed, strange as that sounds. Despite a strong showing to close the regular season, not to mention winning two games in the ACC tournament, a No. 7 or even No. 10 seed would have been more advantageous in helping stay out of the line of a No. 1 seed — in this case, Baylor. But also, there’s some interesting upset potential here. Wisconsin started the year red-hot before faltering a little down the stretch, so it sort of depends on which version of the Badgers show up. Should UNC win, Baylor on the 1 line is tough… but maybe not a worst-case scenario? UNC’s size might be able to create a little havoc for the Bears.” — Marks
Gonzaga is, as expected, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will start on Saturday. The other top seeds in the West are No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Virginia.
Drake is also in, as a No. 11 seed going to a play-in game against Wichita State.
“Despite some late season losses and injuries, Drake is keeping the mid-major madness alive. It’s great to see the committee make this decision, and Drake is a great bracket addition. Their matchup against Wichita State will be a great watch and exited to see the winner against USC.” — Carroll
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“Good news for Virginia: Despite a positive COVID-19 test on Friday among the Cavaliers’ Tier 1 personnel — which knocked UVa out of a very winnable ACC tournament — the selection committee still has Virginia in. Not the not-so-good news: Virginia very well may be without players in its opening round game against Ohio. Who exactly is still TBD, but for now, it at least looks like the reigning national champions (yes, still) will get a shot to defend their title. Ohio absolutely blitzed through the MAC tournament, though, so this is no easy opening game for the Hoos.” — Marks
If you’re in Hartford, Conn., you might have heard this Illinois alum screaming, “Ayo Dosunmu” more than once to take over the Big Ten championship. In addition to Dosunmu, I was given peak Andre Curbelo, Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Trent Frazier takeover. Save those clutch Dosunmu shots for the Tourney and handle OT here. Dosunmu and Kofi co*ckburn are top talents on this roster, but as evidenced by this win, it’s going to take the group to advance through the rounds. But here’s to more TV screaming the next few weeks. — Charlotte Carroll
Have we been waiting two years for a bracket release? Yes. Was it worth delaying said release an extra nine minutes to watch Illinois and Ohio State battle in OT? Oh, totally. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last three months, you already know the Illini — led by black-masked Ayo Dosunmu — are one of the favorites to win this whole thing. But if you weren’t already aware of Illinois freshman Andre Curbelo, you are now. Curbelo finished Sunday’s Big Ten championship with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and was arguably the most important player the Illini had down the stretch. Dosunmu and Kofi co*ckburn are a solid foundation, but Curbelo already feels like a March Madness hero in the making. — Brendan Marks
We made it. Selection Sunday is here.
The NCAA Tournament men’s basketball selection committee will reveal their bracket for the 2021 tournament at 6 p.m. today, and our Charlotte Carroll and Brendan Marks will be here during the Selection Show to give their live analysis of the biggest surprises and disappointments.
It should be interesting to see what the committee does after two bid thieves took spots last night — Georgetown won the Big East tournament and Oregon State won the Pac-12. Neither were anywhere close to the bubble when the week began, but just burst the hopes of two potential at-large teams. What is good news for that last group of teams is the American Athletic Conference championship, where a third potential bid thief — Cincinnati — lost to Houston. The Cougars are expected to be a No. 2 seed, but them taking care of business will be appreciated by some others, including conference brethren Wichita State.
What to know ahead of the bracket reveal
How to watch the selection show
Eamonn Brennan’s Bubble Watch analyzes the field and what could happen for every team under consideration
Brian Bennett’s Bracket Watch predicts the 68-team field
Our downloadable and printable March Madness bracket
(Photo: Aaron Doster / USA Today)
