The NCAA selection committee for March Madness already has a tough enough job as it is trying to select the correct 68 teams to put in the field. It seems they want to complicate that matter and fuel the conspiracy fires to make it easier for top seeds to get the title game. Although the tournament isn't for another eight months, we got a huge update in the offseason.
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Cities playing host to first and second-round NCAA tournament games next March are Buffalo, Milwaukee, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Tulsa and Sacramento so the Kansases and Kentuckys of the world can contemplate where they might want to play their first two rounds worth of games and where they might have the most fans show up.
The teams who are in contention for the top seed will have to put in their requests before the committee makes it selection so the committee can place them where they want to go and make the necessary adjustments so that teams don't meet other before they're supposed to in later rounds.
For example, Louisville and Kentucky will have met once before the tournament starts and that means they can't meet again until at least the Sweet 16. For teams that play each other twice —- like teams in the same conference —- they have to wait until the Elite Eight to meet each other.
The idea to give the top seed a choice of where it wants to plays its games not only emphasizes out of conference scheduling, but also the conference tournaments and playing well in the postseason events.
[h/t CBSSports.com]
