Would You Rather?

You know the game. You get two options, and you must answer. Would you rather hit every red light for the rest of your life, or always be wrong? Would you rather have the ability to fly or to be invisible? (I’m going with invisible here, because I have a dirty, dirty mind.)

Well, with Rob’s breakdown of how the Cards could land a No. 1 seed in the tourney, I got to thinking. Would I rather have a No. 1 seed and be facing a UConn, Pittsburgh, or even a UNC as a No. 2, or would I take a No. 2 in a bracket that has Memphis as a No. 1?

Would I rather be a No. 1 in the West, staring at perhaps Oklahoma and/or Cal, UCLA, or Michigan State to deal with in Arizona? Or would it be better to take a two or even a three seed in the Midwest, with the Regionals being played in Indianapolis?

Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology has Louisville the No. 2 seed in the South bracket, with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Wake Forest, and No. 4 Clemson waiting in the wings. Like I’ve said before, a 2 seed draw in Oklahoma’s bracket isn’t something I fear. Our first games would be in Dayton, definitely not a bad little car ride. The Regionals for the South are in Memphis, and I’d be willing to bet the house, wife and kids that Beale Street would be crawling with Cards fans over Sooners at a 3 to 1 ratio. (I have none of the above, so don’t try to take me up on that.) While Wake and Clemson scare me, this is about just a good a draw as we could ask for.

But would you rather play in the Midwest? Trouble with that is (1) the No. 2 seed plays in Kansas City in the first rounds, and (2) according to Lunardi, Pittsburgh has the No. 1 seed there all wrapped up. I realize we beat them already, but Pitt is in my top 3 of teams I don’t want to see in March. But the Midwest bracket features the closest Regional Championship – Indianapolis, which makes a Midwest draw just a tad sexier than a draw in the South.

But let’s assume Memphis wins out, and Oklahoma and/or Pitt sputter down the stretch. Say the selection committee gives Memphis the nod for the No. 1 in the Midwest. (They wouldn’t put them in the South because that would set up a home game for them if they made the Regionals.) Would you rather have a No. 2 seed in the Midwest with Memphis at the No. 1 and the Regionals being played in Indianapolis?

There’s a lot of basketball left to be played. But the chips are starting to fall into place for Selection Sunday and the greatest sporting event God’s green earth has ever seen – the NCAA basketball tournament. There are a lot of different scenarios that could have the Cards playing as a No. 1, a No. 2, or a No. 3 in any of the four regions. Wherever we end up and however we’re seeded, the most important thing is getting a draw where we have good match-ups and can play in an accessible venue. And it sure is fun to speculate and debate in the meantime!