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Double Bonus: The NCAA Selection Committee and Contrived Match Ups

The Selection Committee needs to be more transparent about their process or, at least, admit they are contriving matchups.

Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

There are always conspiracy theories floating around when it comes to the make up the NCAA Tournament and the seemingly contrived matchups that exist.  Yesterday those theories became reality as there are several bracket situations that can't simply be the happenstance of the committee ranking everyone 1 to 68.

West Region

This region is by far the most egregious from the committee.  Oh really, you're telling me Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and VCU all just happened to end up in Oklahoma City on Friday? Come on guys! While this seems fun on the surface, it's unfair that Shaka Smart, Will Wade, and the VCU team now has to deal with the distraction of their old head coach being in the same building as them all week.  Not to mention that the Rams and Longhorns could potentially match up in the Sweet 16.  This all just happened, right? If you're going to contrive these type of match-ups, at least, be transparent about the process, there is no way this is just how the bracket shook out, especially with the pod system.

This region also features a beautiful North Carolina matchup between Duke and UNCW, as well as a virtual home game for Yale.  Sorry Baylor, your five seed doesn't apply in the West Region. Iona or Stony Brook wouldn't have worked in Providence? Nope, we need to keep this a North Carolina affair.

Midwest

WOAH! The same in-state match up phenomenon between Hampton and Virginia!?!?! How did that happen? Especially given the ridiculous seeding of the First Four this season. Beyond that minor grievance, it's a joke that Michigan State didn't get a one seed and then was dropped in the same region as Virginia for the third year in a row.  This is another thing that just kind of happened, right?

East

The SEC Tournament champ is a four seed? The Big Ten champ is a five seed? Brad Underwood facing off against his former boss? Notre Dame and Michigan facing off? Par for the course in the East Region. If the Selection Committee wanted a March full of rock fights, then they got it. From a seeding perspective, this is the most insane region out of the four.

Maybe I've been watching too much Ancient Aliens but there are a lot of coincidences lining up from such a pure committee.