ON MATT’S MIND- Think it’s advantageous to be a two-seed? Not exactly

What a tough year to be a No. 2 seed
in the NCAA Tournament. Do you know
when the last time was that all four No.
2 seeds failed to make the Sweet 16?

Never.

After the four No. 2s escaped firstround
upsets, Tennessee barely survived
a scare from Butler in the East region,
and Texas skated by Miami in the South
region in the second round. Duke and
Georgetown were not as fortunate in the
West and Midwest, respectively.

At first glance, this seems like a case
of several major-conference teams hitting
the snooze button on the alarm of the
NCAAs.

That’s not true at all, though. Davidson,
which knocked off Georgetown,
was ranked 23rd in the country the day
after Selection Sunday. A school usually
could expect to earn 6 seed in its region,
maybe as low as an 8, with that type of
performance – but the Wildcats are the
Midwest’s 10 seed.

Playing a top-25 team in the second
round was an unfortunate matchup for
Georgetown. Especially having to take on
Stephen Curry, a man who became just
the sixth player in NCAA tournament
history to score at least 30 points in his
first three tourney games.

Curry has been playing lights out.
After falling to Maryland in the first
round last year as a freshman, Curry led
Davidson past Gonzaga and Georgetown
(and for trivia’s sake, his only other
scholarship offer came from VCU).

But how many times have all four No.
2 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 since
the tournament expanded to 54 teams?
Also zero. There have been plenty of
upsets in the early rounds.

Just ask Tennessee of two years ago.
The Vols fell to upset-minded Wichita
State in the second round. They avoided
the same fate this year and, for my
bracket’s sake, will play more-inspired
basketball and advance to the Final
Four.

The math would tell you that being
a No. 2 seed means par is a trip to the
Elite Eight, but it’s not that easy. West
Virginia beating Duke isn’t a “David
vs. Goliath,” at all. The Mountaineers
captured the NIT championship last
year and are a play in the Big East – a
conference that is now stronger than the
ACC from top to bottom.