ZWF: The Ultimate Selection Sunday Breakdown
Zander's Weekend Facts #57: Sunday, March 12, 2023
After a long and grueling college basketball season, we’ve made it to one of the greatest days of the year… Selection Sunday!
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a rundown of the college basketball postseason, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 97 features an in-depth breakdown of the major conference tournaments in college basketball. Plus, Zander details the troubles that Regional Sports Networks are facing and how that could change the way you watch your favorite sports teams on television. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, March 12, 2023:
The College Basketball Postseason Begins
Have your brackets on standby, the madness has begun!
Tonight at 6:00 pm et, the 68 teams that have been selected to compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament will be revealed. It’s one of, if not the, most spectacular sporting events we get the opportunity to witness each year, and it all starts later today.
32 of the 68 teams will know their name will be called as they’ve clinched automatic bids in the tournament by winning their conference tournament. The remaining 36 will be selected as at-large teams, and while there are several who are almost guaranteed a spot, those on the bubble wait in agony.
Before the full field is released and millions of brackets are filled out, here’s a look at where the teams in contention for the tournament stand, broken down by conference:
Major Conferences:
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC):
Conference Champion: Duke (26-8) (Automatic Bid)
LOCKS for the tournament: Miami (25-7), Virginia (25-7)
On the BUBBLE:
Clemson (23-10): NET Ranking (57); ESPN Projection (First Four Out)
NC State (23-10): NET Ranking (45); ESPN Projection (Last Four In)
North Carolina (20-13): NET Ranking (46); ESPN Projection (Next Four Out)
Pittsburgh (22-11): NET Ranking (67); ESPN Projection (Last Four In)
Big 12 Conference:
Conference Champion: Texas (26-8) (Automatic Bid)
LOCKS for the tournament: Baylor (22-10), Iowa State (19-13), Kansas (27-7), Kansas State (23-9), TCU (21-12), West Virginia (19-14)
On the BUBBLE:
Oklahoma State (18-15): NET Ranking (43); ESPN Projection (First Four Out)
Big East Conference:
Conference Champion: Marquette (28-6) (Automatic Bid)
LOCKS for the tournament: Creighton (21-12), Providence (21-11), UConn (25-8), Xavier (25-9)
Big Ten Conference:
Conference Champion: TBD; Penn State vs Purdue - 3:30 pm et - CBS
LOCKS for the tournament: Illinois (20-12), Indiana (22-11), Iowa (19-13), Maryland (21-12), Michigan State (19-12), Northwestern (21-11), Penn State (22-12), Purdue (28-5)
On the BUBBLE:
Michigan (17-15): NET Ranking (58); ESPN Projection (Next Four Out)
Rutgers (19-14): NET Ranking (40); ESPN Projection (Last Four Byes)
Wisconsin (17-14): NET Ranking (82); ESPN Projection (Next Four Out)
Pac-12 Conference:
Conference Champion: Arizona (28-6) (Automatic Bid)
LOCKS for the tournament: UCLA (29-5)
On the BUBBLE:
Arizona State (22-12): NET Ranking (66); ESPN Projection (Last Four In)
Oregon (19-14): NET Ranking (47); ESPN Projection (Next Four Out)
USC (22-10): NET Ranking (50); ESPN Projection (In The Tournament)
Southeastern Conference (SEC):
Conference Champion: TBD; Texas A&M vs Alabama - 1:00 pm et - ESPN
LOCKS for the tournament: Alabama (28-5), Arkansas (20-13), Kentucky (21-11), Missouri (24-9), Tennessee (21-10), Texas A&M (25-8)
On the BUBBLE:
Auburn (20-12): NET Ranking (32); ESPN Projection (In The Tournament)
Mississippi State (21-12): NET Ranking (49); ESPN Projection (Last Four In)
Vanderbilt (20-14): NET Ranking (79); ESPN Projection (First Four Out)
Other Multi-bid Conferences:
American Athletic Conference:
Conference Champion: TBD; Memphis vs Houston - 3:15 pm et - ESPN
LOCKS for the tournament: Houston (31-2), Memphis (25-8)
Atlantic 10 Conference:
Conference Champion: TBD; Dayton (22-11) vs VCU (26-7) - 1:00 pm et - CBS
On the BUBBLE:
VCU: NET Ranking (61); ESPN Projection (In with a Win, Out with a Loss)
RANDOM FACT: The last time the state of Virginia didn’t have multiple NCAA Tournament bids was in 2008.
Mountain West Conference:
Conference Champion: San Diego State (27-6) (Automatic Bid)
On the BUBBLE:
Boise State (24-9): NET Ranking (28); ESPN Projection (In The Tournament)
Nevada (22-10): NET Ranking (37); ESPN Projection (First Four Out)
Utah State (26-8): NET Ranking (18); ESPN Projection (Last Four Byes)
West Coast Conference (WCC):
Conference Champion: Gonzaga (28-5) (Automatic Bid)
LOCKS for the tournament: Saint Mary’s (26-7)
Single-bid Conferences:
America East Conference:
Conference Champion: Vermont (23-10) (Automatic Bid)
Atlantic Sun Conference:
Conference Champion: Kennesaw State (26-8) (Automatic Bid)
Big Sky Conference:
Conference Champion: Montana State (25-9) (Automatic Bid)
Big South Conference:
Conference Champion: UNC Ashville (27-7) (Automatic Bid)
Big West Conference:
Conference Champion: UC Santa Barbara (27-7) (Automatic Bid)
Colonial Athletic Association:
Conference Champion: College of Charleston (31-3) (Automatic Bid)
Conference USA:
Conference Champion: Florida Atlantic (31-3) (Automatic Bid)
Horizon League:
Conference Champion: Northern Kentucky (22-12) (Automatic Bid)
Ivy League:
Conference Champion: TBD; Princeton (20-8) vs Yale (21-7) - 12:00 pm et - ESPN2
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC):
Conference Champion: Iona (27-7) (Automatic Bid)
Mid-American Conference (MAC):
Conference Champion: Kent State (28-6) (Automatic Bid)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC):
Conference Champion: Howard (22-12) (Automatic Bid)
Missouri Valley Conference:
Conference Champion: Drake (27-7) (Automatic Bid)
Northeast Conference:
Conference Representative: Fairleigh Dickinson (19-15) (Automatic Bid) (Won by default as Conference Champion Merrick is not eligible)
Ohio Valley Conference:
Conference Champion: Southeast Missouri State (19-16) (Automatic Bid)
Patriot League:
Conference Champion: Colgate (26-8) (Automatic Bid)
Southern Conference:
Conference Champion: Furman (27-7) (Automatic Bid)
Southland Conference:
Conference Champion: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-10) (Automatic Bid)
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC):
Conference Champion: Texas Southern (14-20) (Automatic Bid)
Summit League:
Conference Champion: Oral Roberts (30-4) (Automatic Bid)
Sun Belt Conference:
Conference Champion: Louisiana (26-7) (Automatic Bid)
Western Athletic Conference (WAC):
Conference Champion: Grand Canyon (23-11) (Automatic Bid)
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show takes place later today at 6:00 pm et on CBS. The First Four begins on Tuesday, with the First Round beginning on Thursday. All games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament can be watched on CBS, TBS, TNT, or TruTV.
Check out this coming week’s episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, where Zander will exclusively unveil his bracket, coming out this Wednesday!
What Zander’s been reading this past week
Here’s your reminder to move your clocks up one hour. Daylight savings time began last night, and while nobody likes losing an hour of sleep, it may not be long before this yearly ritual comes to an end. There’s a massive debate on whether daylight savings time should remain year-round, standard time becomes the norm, or the time changes should remain.
Check out this week’s featured article on Bloomberg - Why the Debate Over Daylight Saving Time Rages On - (Link for article on Apple News)
Let’s try something new! You can vote for which option you think is best on the poll below:
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
D.C. Crime Bill: A Republican-led bill that would overturn a Washington D.C. crime bill has passed both the House and Senate with the help of Democrats. D.C. City Council originally approved an overhaul of the district’s criminal code that would include a reduction in the maximum penalties for crimes such as armed carjacking and an expansion of the right to a jury trial. Some Democrats in Congress joined Republicans in overturning the changes, which will now head to President Biden’s desk, who has said he will not veto the bill. D.C. City Council has said that they will attempt to amend the bill to appease Biden and Congress.
Mexico Kidnapping: Four Americans were kidnapped hours after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border over one week ago. On Tuesday, two of those Americans were found dead while the others were found alive outside of a house on the outskirts of Matamoros. The four crossed into the border town of Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas four days earlier. In the aftermath, a Mexican cartel issued an apology and turned over five of its members that it says were responsible to authorities. As the Mexican government has had little success in quelling rampant violence in the country, pressure is mounting on the U.S. government to continue its efforts in suppressing criminal groups south of the Rio Grande.
Covid-19 Origins: On Friday, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to send a bill that would declassify U.S. intelligence information on the origins of Covid-19 to President Biden’s desk. While Biden said on Friday he didn’t know whether he would sign the bill, the Senate also passed the bill unanimously. As experts say the true origin of the virus may never be known, U.S. intelligence agencies are divided over whether the virus came from animals or a lab leak.
Silicon Valley Bank: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced on Friday that federal regulators have shut down Silicon Valley Bank in the second-largest U.S. bank failure ever. The news came as a shock, with the bank only revealing on Wednesday that it needed to raise $2.25 billion after it suffered a $1.8 billion loss on asset sales. SVB shutting down marks the second bank to close this week after crypto-focused bank Silvergate also announced it was shuttering operations.
Walgreens/Abortion Pills: After 20 Republican Attorneys General warned Walgreens that the company could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills in their states, the company announced they would not dispense the drug mifepristone in those states. While Walgreens said that they would dispense the drug “where it is legally permissible to do so”, several of the states that warned Walgreens are states where abortion is currently legal. In response, California has announced that it will not be renewing a $54 million contract with the company to purchase specialty pharmacy prescription drugs for the state’s prison health care system.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
Jim Boeheim: Syracuse announced on Thursday that men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim would no longer be coach after 47 years. The news came just after Boeheim’s vague statements in a postgame press conference that came after Syracuse’s loss in the ACC Tournament second round to Wake Forest. In the men’s game, Boeheim ranks second in total wins with 1,015, went to five Final Fours, and led the Orange to the school’s lone National Championship in 2003. Syracuse named longtime Boeheim assistant Adrian Autry as the program’s next head coach.
NFL Free Agency: The NFL’s free agency period is set to begin at 4:00 pm et on Wednesday. Quarterbacks are expected to dominate the headlines, with several big names’ destinations still in limbo. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly in contact with the Jets about a trade, but could still return to Green Bay. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is still negotiating with Baltimore, although the former league MVP could be on the move as well. In other NFL news, the Bears traded the #1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers on Friday.
Shawn Kemp: Former NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp was arrested on Wednesday for his potential involvement in a shooting that took place in Tacoma, Washington. Kemp was released from jail and as of Thursday, no charges were being filed against him. Kemp played for 14 seasons in the NBA, most notably for the Seattle SuperSonics, but also for the Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, and Magic.
Texas Tech Basketball: Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Mark Adams has resigned after an investigation determined that he made inappropriate and racially insensitive remarks during a coaching session with a player. Adams was initially suspended earlier last week before the Big 12 Tournament. While the school concluded that the comment was unintentional and an isolated incident, Adams was accused earlier in the season of spitting on a player. Texas Tech lost to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament first round and is not expected to make the NCAA Tournament.
Gary Lineker: BBC soccer presenter Gary Lineker was pulled from the network’s flagship soccer program, “Match of the Day” after he sent out a tweet that criticized the British government. Lineker said of a proposed U.K. policy that will attempt to stop migrant boats crossing the English Channel from France, “that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.” In response to the network pulling Lineker for this week’s broadcast, several of Lineker’s BBC colleagues announced they would not work this weekend, leading to the BBC canceling several soccer-related programming and shortening the “Match of the Day” broadcast.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
Check out Zander’s Facts’ Linktree page for more on everything Zander’s Facts related, including the all-new Zander’s Facts website. At ZandersFacts.com, get the latest on all the facts that Zander is putting out, and check out the freshest styles at the Zander’s Facts shop!
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, March 19, 2023.
