2 biggest winners and losers coming out of Selection Sunday's NCAA Tournament field

From Sunday evening's NCAA Tournament bracket release, there were some notable draws that some teams got that on paper, were better than others. Here's a look at the biggest winners and losers among those who made the field.

Loser: Auburn

How did the committee choose to deal with the Tigers after their dominant year in the hellacious SEC all season long? By giving them by far the most brutal region of any top-seeded team. Assuming the Tigers don’t play with their food and take care of whichever 16-seed they see, they’ll be "rewarded" with either Louisville or Creighton, with both playing much better than their seed lines would suggest as of late. Creighton played tough this past week and found a way into the Big East final with Louisville doing the same in the ACC.

Either way you spin it, it doesn’t look great for Bruce Pearl’s team in the round of 32. Neither matchup is without its potential issues. Whether Ryan Kalkbrenner and a scrappy Creighton team, or playing a pseudo road game against Louisville inside the state of Kentucky, the Tigers will have to truly earn another second weekend appearance.

The rest of the region is FULL of final four level teams as well. The czar of March, Tom Izzo and his Michigan State team sit at the bottom of the bracket as the two seed, a team that has been resurgent this season in the Big Ten. Iowa State is national championship good when healthy on the three line, in addition to Texas A&M and Michigan also looming towards the top half of the region. We’ll see if Bruce Pearl’s team can use Auburn's tough draw as a motivator to help get his Tigers back to the Final Four.

Winner: North Carolina

The biggest question coming out of Selection Sunday is how did this version of the Tar Heels sneak into the field? It's certainly a fair question, but Hubert Davis has already proven that all he needs is a chance to make a run when it counts and he'll have a chance to do so with minimal expectations.

The Tar Heels will face San Diego State in the First Four from Dayton. The ‘Heels limp into the dance after a miserable 1-12 record against Quad 1 teams throughout the year, a head scratching stat for a team to still make it into the field, but UNC managed to win all eight of their Quad 2 games to get in seemingly, by the skin of their teeth.

They absolutely underachieved throughout the regular season, anyone could tell you that but they’re a dangerous group if they can get hot. What wins you games in March? Guard play. RJ Davis will have one more shot in the big dance and alongside fellow playmakers Elliot Cadeau and Ian Jackson and perhaps those team comes out with a vengeance after what was a heartbreaking loss to Duke in the ACC semifinals and the now infamous lane violation at the end. Size down low still remains a huge question and in a region with plenty of size and physicality, those aforementioned guards will have to step up and play their best ball. 

Winner: St. John’s

Is there a hotter team than the Johnnies right now?

After clinching their first outright Big East title since 1984, Rick Pitino’s team completed a convincing conference tournament performance with a win over Creighton on Saturday night. RJ Luis has been the guy all year enters March Madness on a tear of four 20+ point games in the last five contests. The Johnnies are for real, and could be a solid final four pick out of the West region. 

They draw Summit League champion Omaha with a potential matchup against either a Kansas team that frankly, doesn’t seem to love playing basketball together at this point or an up and down Arkansas group looking to rebound after Ole Miss sent them packing in Nashville on a Sean Pedulla buzzer-beater.

St. Johns has the athleticism to give plenty of teams trouble and they’re one of the best defensive units you’ll find in the country. They haven’t been world beaters as shooters by any stretch, but their offensive rebounding has helped put them over the top with plenty of athleticism throughout their position-less lineup.

Loser:  BYU

The Cougars draw an athletic, confident, and well-coached VCU team in their initial matchup. BYU has the talent to make a Sweet Sixteen and potentially the Elite Eight, but their seed position wasn't helpful enough to avoid a team like the Rams, who very well could dance their way to the second weekend.

The good news? They’ll stay out west for the first weekend in Denver, and perhaps a strong turnout from the Cougar faithful paired with continued balanced scoring from guys like Richie Saunders (16 PPG), Trevin Knell (10.3 PPG), and Fousseyni Traore (8.6 PPG) can spark a run. They’ll need to fight and claw for every foot of space against the length and aggressiveness of VCU.