March…sanity?

The only surprise in this year’s tournament, so far, has been a relative lack of surprise. As traditional powerhouses and top seeds pervade the sweet 16—including thirteen teams from the six power conferences—the tournament rolls along rather predictably. Lacking any true Cinderella, more than half the remaining teams have won at least one national title, ten of whom won their league regular-season title or conference tournament this year. To put things in perspective: since the tourney expanded in 1985, there has never been a lower seed total in the Sweet 16 than in this year’s tourney (49). So where has all the madness gone?