Some Bracket Thoughts

As everyone with a pulse ponders over the men's NCAA Tournament bracket and tries to figure out which 12-seed will pull the upset this year or whether a Running Rebel (UNLV) would beat a Golden Flash (Kent State) in a fight, here are some random thoughts on the field of 65:
-I don't have nearly as many issues with the last few teams in as some of the talking heads do. As previously mentioned, I would liked to have seen VCU and Illinois State in over teams like Oregon and Villanova, but overall I'm pretty happy with the field. Arizona State and Virginia Tech have no gripes. All they needed to do, was win more games. Arizona State has good wins over Xavier and Stanford, but they also split series with Cal and Washington. Sweep those two teams (who finished 8th and 9th in the Pac-10 respectively), and there's no question they'd be in the field of 65. The same goes for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have one win over another team that made the NCAA Tournament. Either beat more of the middle of the road teams, or beat the UCLA's and North Carolina's. Now shut up and enjoy the NIT.
-Butler and Drake both got screwed. Not only was Butler under-seeded (they should have been now lower than a top-5 seed like last season), but they also have to play South Alabama in Birmingham. That's rough. Drake, while seeded higher than Butler, probably should be a seed or two higher as well. There just wasn't as much love for the mid-major teams as has been shown in the previous few tournaments.
-The best first round game is USC vs. Kansas State. The committee needs to be commended for this one. OJ Mayo against Michael Beasley. Everyone is looking forward to watching these two sensational freshmen match-up against each other. Mayo's supporting cast is a little better, but Beasley is the better player.
-Some double-digit seeds with the chance to pull an upset or two: No. 11 Kansas State (vs. USC), No. 12 George Mason (vs. Notre Dame--the Irish are very average away from South Bend), No. 11 Saint Joseph's (vs. Oklahoma--Phil Martelli is a fantastic coach), No. 11 Baylor (vs. Purdue--Scott Drew could very well be coach of the year, and the Boilers youth is starting to show), No. 10 Saint Mary's (vs. Miami--St. Patrick's Day is today, so why wouldn't freshman guard Paddy Mills have success this week?), No. 10 Davidson (vs. Gonzaga--The Wildcats have the nation's longest winning streak at 22 in a row).
-North Carolina is the No. 1-seed most likely to reach the Final Four. It must be nice for Roy Williams knowing his club won't have to leave North Carolina before the Final Four. Games in Raleigh and Charlotte pave the way for the Heels to make it to San Antonio.
-Memphis is the No. 1-seed most likely to miss the Final Four. I love watching the Tigers play, but the committee didn't do them any favors. If the seeds hold form, they will play Texas in Houston for a trip to the Final Four. The stands will be 90% Texas fans, and that might be too much for the Tigers to overcome.
-Early Final Four projections (that are sure to be wrong or change five times in the next three days): North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Xavier
-One not-so-fearless prediction: Pittsburgh will beat Oral Roberts by 40