Vols #2 Seed in East

The Road to the Final Four won't be an easy one for the Tennessee Volunteers as they dropped to a #2 seed in the East Bracket alongside Louisville, Indiana, Butler, Oklahoma and #1 overall seed North Carolina.

It is not a kind draw for Coach Pearl and the Vols.

Many people are clamoring that the tournament committee basically ranked the Vols #8 since it is the #2 seed alongside the overall #1. I have no idea if the #2 seeds are ranked or not. I never thought they were. Do they rank the rest of the seeds too? Does that mean Louisville is the ninth best team?

Frankly, I'm happier about playing in Birmingham than I would be if we were sent to the West like Duke.

Beyond that, is Carolina such a clear #1? Memphis could easily have been the top overall seed with just one loss on the season. UCLA might be a better overall team than UNC as well. This is a Tar Heel team that lost at home to Maryland. Tennessee does not have a blemish on its record even close to as embarrassing as that. All in all, I am not as horrified about being in Carolina's region as many Volunteers.

I have read a few complaints about South Alabama basically getting a home game. Are you serious? First, Mobile (where USA is located) is about four hours from Birmingham, roughly the same distance as Knoxville. Next, does South Alabama really have enough of a fan base to create any sort of advantage? If the Vols meet South Alabama in the second round, does anyone expect the place to be nuts for the Jaguars?

Before you call me a Pollyanna about this draw, I do have some complaints. Well, one complaint.

Butler.

The Bulldogs are a three-loss, #17 RPI, #10 ranked team that year-in, year-out wreaks havoc in the tournament, and they are a #7 seed? I don't understand it. Seriously - they are ranked ahead of Louisville. They will be a tough 2nd round game for the Vols with their experienced backcourt of A.J. Graves and Mike Green.

As for the rest of the draw (not even considering a potential problem with American despite their fluke win over Maryland...the Eagles lost to Morgan State, Fairfield and Brown this season), the potential game against Louisville is one that has everyone salivating. Pitino vs. Pearl. Pressing team vs. pressing team. That one could be an all-time great Sweet Sixteen game if both teams advance.

It is hard to imagine Carolina not advancing out of the East unless Indiana gets re-motivated or Notre Dame plays lights out (Brey is a Dukie...). Vols fans remember the last time UNC and UT met in the Dance when Jerry Green's bunch looked poised to head to the Elite Eight before a 2nd half rally stunned the Big Orange.

I don't look at this year's UNC team and think they are unbeatable. They are not as talented overall as Memphis, UCLA or even Kansas. They will run with the Vols which is great. After some initial shock about the draw, I'm feeling more and more confident by the minute about the Volunteers' chances (so long as the defense improves this week, the bench players return to form and the press is resurrected from its sudden and unexpected demise).

Other Madness thoughts:

* How about Georgia? I was pulling like heck for the Dawgs today. What a story. The tornado, two games in a day, two overtime wins...unbelievable.

* An interesting thing in the paper today - if Alabama had not made the miracle three-pointer to force overtime on Friday night, that game would have ended around the same time the storm was moving towards the Dome. There would have been hundreds, maybe even thousands, of fans heading for home into potential harm if not for that shot.

* O.J. Mayo vs. Michael Beasley!!!

* Tennessee owns wins over eleven different teams in the Dance. UNC - seven. Memphis - eight. UCLA - eight. Kansas - seven. I'm just saying...

* "We didn't front the post," Bruce Pearl after the Arkansas loss. It sounds like the bigs refused to do it all night and it cost the Vols a chance for a championship.

* Snubs - I don't see any terrible snubbing this season. Arizona State has the best case, especially after the awful call against them in the tournament, but their resume is not overly impressive. I thought Ohio State would get into the field after beating Michigan State and Purdue, but the Georgia win might have stolen their spot.

* My sleepers (without looking too hard at match-ups) - Clemson, USC, Cornell and Arizona.

I'm going to break down each bracket and each match-up before we get to Thursday. Stay tuned.