Mock Bracket Mocks Bracket

Twenty sports media members picked their NCAA tournament field for 2007 in the Mock Bracket exercise in Indianapolis.

Pitt is seeded in the East Rutherford region with its first- and second-round games in Buffalo. With all due respect, when I go to the NCAA tournament to cover Pitt basketball, I want to go to an exciting place.

What are my options for 2007? For the first- and second-round games, these cities host:

Sacramento -- Pretty sweet trip to Cali, but Pitt will never be shipped there in a pod as the top seed given every other city is closer
Buffalo -- Cold. Just...cold.
Columbus -- I mean, Ohio? Ohio.
Chicago -- This would be cool. I haven't been to Chi-town enough
New Orleans -- A few years ago, it would've been a party. Now, it would be an unreal experience. I could handle it
Spokane -- Eastern Washington meet watching paint dry. Paint, meet Spokane
Winston-Salem -- I've entered North Carolina. I've left North Carolina. And I want to keep it that way
Lexington -- Could this be? A return to my place of birth? Well. Not likely. Pitt has a very small chance of being sent there. The Panthers would have to lose out.

But more importantly, this simulated "Selection Committee" put Pitt as the No. 3 seed. That means there are at least eight teams better than the Panthers. Who did the Committee deem superior to the Big East leaders?

UCLA -- OK
Marquette -- Well, it did beat Pitt in the Petersen Events Center...but Pitt is winning the Big East. Which is more important?
Wisconsin -- The Badgers beat Pitt
Texas A&M -- Probably right there with UCLA as the best defensive team in the nation
UNC -- Duh
Kansas -- Ahead of Pitt? Really? I guess beating Florida helps when compared to a whopping 0-3 against top 25 teams
Florida -- Well, yeah.
Ohio State -- You're telling me you'd rather have Greg Oden than Aaron Gray?! Yeah, me too.

I'd have to say that Pitt winning the Big East regular season title would push them to a No. 2. And furthermore, if the Panthers win the Big East tournament, they are definitely a 2 seed.

In my opinion, there are three teams I can't imagine Pitt beating on that list -- Florida, UCLA and UNC. The Panthers could compete -- and I emphasize "could" -- with Ohio State and Wisconsin. And I certainly think Pitt is in the same class as Texas A&M, Kansas and Marquette.

Beating Georgetown and Marquette in their lairs would help Pitt's case. But that's a tall order. A safer bet is splitting those games and the Panthers winning the BEast in New York City. Assuming Pitt wins all of its other games, that would leave the Panthers at 30-4 if they won the BEast tourney.

If that's not a 2 seed then I don't know what is. But still, that's a lot of prognostication for an early-February post.

But I still see teams in the field, according to these "experts," that don't belong there or are seeded way too high.

Arizona a No. 7 seed?
Creighton a No. 9 seed?
Gonzaga a No. 7?
Florida State a No. 6?
Kentucky a 3?
Villanova a 6?
Washington State a 3?!?!

Here are teams that got shafted by this Mock Bracket...

Southern Illinois as a 5
Clemson as an 11
UNLV as a 9
Butler as a 4
Kansas State as an 11
Pitt as a 3
Oregon as a 4
Air Force as a 5
Virginia Tech as an 8

And that's it. That's all I have for today. Boy, I was busy. As Jim Jones would say, "Postin'!"

See yinz guys tomorrow.