It’s that time of year again. The weather gets warmer, spring sports start and the NCAA tournament committee releases the March Madness bracket. In my opinion, there is no better one-week time period in the entire school year than this one.

Overall, the selection committee did a good job with the seedings and early-round games. The Duke Blue Devils were selected as the No. 1 overall seed to nobody’s surprise. Duke has the best three freshman in the country in Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish. Williamson is a generational talent, and there is simply nobody like him. The only other athletes that can compare to Zion’s athleticism are Bo Jackson and Jim Thorpe, who are arguably two of the greatest athletes of all time. Zion is a special talent, and there is no doubt about it.

Duke is undeniably the favorite to cut down the nets in Minneapolis. Without Zion, Duke has the supporting cast of Barrett, who is projected to be drafted No. 2 overall only behind Zion, and Cam Reddish, who has quietly put up a big year under the shadow of his teammates. Duke is legitimate.

The committee also did a nice job by picking the No. 5 seed Marquette to play the No. 12 seed Murray State. Murray State’s Ja Morant is the real deal. Morant is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA draft, which is a rarity for anybody that comes out of the Ohio Valley Conference. He will go face-to-face with Marquette’s stud guard, Markus Howard. Both players have carried their teams into the NCAA tournament, and only time will tell which NBA prospect can propel their team to the Round of 32.

Wouldn’t you think that winning your conference championship would make a difference in a team’s seeding? I did too.

As great a job the selection committee did, they made some big mistakes regarding seeding. I don’t know whether I am more upset or more shocked by how little the committee values conference champions. The biggest misplacement was Michigan State, who won the Big 10, the second best conference in the nation. Michigan State was given a two-seed, which sounds fine until you see that they are in Duke’s bracket, making them the worst two seed. Michigan State beat Michigan three times this year, and Michigan still somehow earned the higher-rated two seed.

Other examples of teams who won their conference tournament who should have been seeded higher are Villanova, Cincinnati and Iowa State. All three of those teams were seeded sixth or lower, which was simply way too low considering their résumés.

Upsets to Watch

East Region:

6. Maryland vs. 11. Belmont
3. LSU vs. 14. Yale

West Region:

5. Marquette vs. 12. Murray State
4. Florida State vs. 13. Vermont

South Region:

4. Kansas State vs. 13. UC Irvine
6. Villanova vs. 11. St. Mary’s

Midwest Region:

5. Auburn vs. 12. New Mexico State
7. Wofford vs. 10. Seton Hall

My Final Four

1. Duke vs. 2. Michigan
1. UNC vs. 7. Cincinnati

National Championship

1. Duke vs. 1. UNC

Champion

Duke Blue Devils