Bracketology 2022: 3 takeaways from Selection Committee bracket reveal

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: Led by committee chairman Mark Hollis (3rd from L), the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

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Bracketology Justin Moore Villanova Wildcats (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

3. Who lands in the same region as Villanova?

As many of you already know, East Region has a set location for the Sweet 16 and Elite matchups.

West Region: San Francisco, California

South Region: San Antonio, Texas

East Region: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Midwest Region: Chicago, Illinois

The way the Selection Committee works, teams picked in the top-4 seeds get location preference when placed in certain regions, as long as they don’t get in with another conference team or in a rematch with a regular-season opponent. In some seasons, those rules are enforced when a conference gets a ton of bids. But this time, the spread of bids allows for most programs to get placed fairly.

In the case of Villanova, they got a 3 seed in the East Region, which means, if they get to the second weekend, would effectively get a pair of home games for a shot to make the Final Four. For those who aren’t fans of that move, the committee almost didn’t have a choice. The Wildcats couldn’t go to the South Region, as regular-season opponent Baylor gets preference in the South Region. Same goes for Purdue in the Midwest Region as well. And because Illinois and Wisconsin couldn’t be placed together, Villanova just slide nicely into the East Region.

Next. Latest Bracketology Field of 68. dark

But if you’re Kansas, Kentucky, or Wisconsin in this projected scenario, you can’t be too happy. But Villanova is allowed to play in the East Region, just like how Illinois could end up in Chicago in the Midwest Region if things were different. Only a few teams each season are in this potential opportunity and it just so happens to be the Wildcats’ turn. It’s already hard enough to beat Villanova, having to do it in March in a defacto road game is even harder.

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