The NCAA basketball tournament brackets were announced on Sunday night with few surprises at the top but plenty of controversy at the bottom of the pool.
The four number one seeds went to Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and the Memphis with Duke named as the top seed overall.
The Big East conference sent eight teams to the big dance but saw Cincinnati (ranked 32nd) left out in the cold. Also not invited to the field of 65 were Missouri State (ranked 21st), Hofstra (30th) and the University of Michigan.
Cincinnati's interim coach, Andy Kennedy, was shocked by his team's failure to be selected to the tournament. 'I'm open to anyone telling me a justifiable reason as to why this team did not get to the NCAA Tournament other than, 'Andy, we cant let nine teams from one league get in, it sends the wrong message,'' Kennedy said.
Conference wise, after the Big East's eight teams, the Big Ten and SEC each had six teams invited while ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 all had four. The Missouri Valley Conference also had four invitees, a very high number for a 'mid-major' conference.
In another surprise, sixth ranked George Washington University was only given an eighth seed despite its impressive and national best 26-2 record.
Top ranked Duke opens against Southern University on Thursday. Memphis will face Oral Roberts. Connecticut plays Albany, making its first appearance in the NCAAs ever and Villanova will face the winner of the play-in game between Monmouth and Hampton.
This year's Final Four will be played in Indianapolis on April 1 and 3. Between now and the beginning of the tournament on Tuesday night, millions of Americans will be filling in their brackets and entering pools throughout the country. Let March Madness begin!
