More Parity Atop the Bracket, but Less Talent on the Bubble

From left, Erving Walker of Florida, Tai Wesley of Utah State and Blake Hoffarber of Minnesota. Their teams, none of which had a stellar résumé, were among the last to receive at-large bids.

By PETE THAMEL
NYT

The N.C.A.A. revealed the 65-team field for its men’s basketball tournament on Sunday amid vigorous discussions about significantly changing this rite of March by adding 31 teams. Yet the assembling of this year’s field was perhaps defined by the undistinguished nature of the teams on the tournament’s bubble.

Among the final teams to receive bids were Utah State, Florida and Minnesota, none of which had a particularly impressive résumé. Jay Bilas of ESPN called it the weakest field in the history of the tournament.

Others wondered if it was one of the least fair in recent memory. The No. 1 overall seed, Kansas, appears to have a much more difficult road to the Final Four in Indianapolis than any of the other three top seeds, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse. Duke, the third overall No. 1 seed, appears to have the easiest path, with reeling No. 2 Villanova, inexperienced No. 3 Baylor and injured No. 4 Purdue in the South Region.

“Purdue slipped,” said Dan Guerrero of U.C.L.A., the chairman of the selection committee. “Purdue, in my opinion, would have been much higher than that.”

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