Who is on the selection sunday committee

This is one misconception that Shaheen wants to clear up: The committee doesn't select teams strictly by RPI. That process begins on Wednesday afternoon when each member reports on his or her conferences. The 31 conferences are split between the members before the season, and each committee member receives the satellite packages that allow him or her to view every game. Committee members also check in with representatives from each conference, receiving injury updates or any other relevant information.

After reports are given on Wednesday afternoon, each member submits an initial ballot for the 37 at-large teams that will be selected. In the first column, each member lists the teams considered no-brainers that require no further debate. Whether that is 20 teams, 25 or another number at that point is up to the committee member. The teams that receive all but two eligible votes are put in the field.

If a member is the athletic director at a school or commissioner of a league, he or she is not eligible to vote for those teams. The second column on the initial ballot is for any teams that deserve to be considered and debated, and the teams that receive three or more mentions are thrown into the pool.

Into the weekend, the committee continues to whittle down these teams until it can agree on Conference tournaments can influence this, as some of the initial at-larges will become automatic qualifiers. Other than the results of the conference tournament, Shaheen insists it does not matter which conference a team plays in.

Four of those teams are eliminated in the opening round of the tournament known as the First Four , leaving us with a field of 64 for the first round. Those 64 teams are split into four regions of 16 teams each, with each team being ranked 1 through In order to reward better teams, first-round matchups are determined by pitting the top team in the region against the bottom team No. Then the next highest vs. In theory, this means that the 1 seeds have the easiest opening matchup in the bracket.

You can also stream every game on March Madness Live. By filling out a bracket! There's only so much certainty when it comes to which teams will make the NCAA Tournament; some, such as Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan, are virtual locks as 1-seeds barring late-season meltdowns. Others, such as traditional powers Duke, North Carolina and Michigan State , need strong finishes to subpar seasons just to make the field. Until then, here are Sporting News' predictions for the final field of 68 , according to Bill Bender:.

The NCAA Tournament starts on Thursday, March 18, with every First Four game taking place in a single day as opposed to previous years, in which they took place over the course of two days. March Madness will proceed as usual from there, culminating with the Final Four and national championship game in Lucas Oil Stadium on April 3 and 5, respectively.

Eight teams — the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and four lowest-seeded at-large bids — will play in four "First Four" games on Thursday, March That will cut the initial team field down to 64, finalizing the tournament bracket. March Madness will conclude with the Final Four and national championship game rounds in Indianapolis.

Even with a stance in that timeframe this is at least one seed off. OU deserved to be a No. Oklahoma State as a No.

Based on how well Cade Cunningham and the Cowboys , played down the last stretch of the season, including an upset of Baylor in the Big 12 tournament, OSU was worthy of a No. It's okay to give Texas, a team Oklahoma State lost to in the conference tournament final, a No. But that doesn't mean the Cowboys didn't deserve one, too.

Ten Quadrant 1 victories should've held more weight. San Diego State as a No. The committee sent a mixed message with how it assessed Mountain West Conference teams with strikingly similar profiles.