Alabama players pose with the trophy after an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 82-63.
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson celebrates after making a basket during the first half of the NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Houston forward Jarace Walker (25) reacts after a dunk as Cincinnati guard David DeJulius (5) looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Iowa State celebrates after winning an NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas guard Gradey Dick, left, passes the ball to guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. (0) during the first half of the NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Alabama players pose with the trophy after an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 82-63.
John Amis - freelancer, FR69715 AP
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson celebrates after making a basket during the first half of the NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Charlie Riedel - staff, AP
Houston forward Jarace Walker (25) reacts after a dunk as Cincinnati guard David DeJulius (5) looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ron Jenkins - freelancer, FR171331 AP
Iowa State celebrates after winning an NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Colin E. Braley - freelancer, FR123678 AP
Kansas guard Gradey Dick, left, passes the ball to guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. (0) during the first half of the NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
The Tennessee Vols (23-10) drew a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Sunday. They'll take on No. 13 Louisiana (26-7) on Thursday at 9:40 p.m. on CBS in Orlando, Florida.
The Vols are part of the East Region. Their next possible opponents could be No. 5 Duke or No. 12 Oral Roberts.
The top overall seed, Alabama, has been on a roll despite being entangled in a murder case. Another No. 1 seed, defending national champion Kansas, is coming off a blowout loss and has a coach coming out of the hospital. Yet another, Houston, just watched its best player go down in a heap with a scary injury.
This year’s March Madness frontrunners are anything but perfect, but the presence of these teams and all their questions at the top of the bracket could make for precisely what the NCAA wants its tournament to be – a perfectly unpredictable mess.
Most of the drama in picking this year’s bracket was resolved far before Selection Sunday.
Arizona State and Nevada made it off the bubble and into the 68-team field. Rutgers and Oklahoma State did not. Purdue, with 7-foot-4 Zach Edey leading the way, edged out UCLA for the fourth and final No. 1 seed.
And in a decision most everyone saw coming, the selection committee left North Carolina, last year’s national runner-up, out of the tournament. It made the Tar Heels the first team since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to start the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and finish it by not making the Big Dance.
The team they lost to, Kansas, is trying to become the first back-to-back NCAA champion since Florida in 2007.
The Jayhawks earned the top seed in the West Region, but only the third overall, behind the Crimson Tide and the Cougars. The Jayhawks are awaiting the return of coach Bill Self, who went to the hospital last week complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance. He has been discharged and is expected back this week.
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