Jay Bilas, College Basketball Analyst 7y

Don't fall for the obvious line that 'anybody can win'

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The dog days of the season are over, and we are in the stretch run toward Championship Week. Listen not to the tiny little minds that will tell you this field is as "wide-open" as ever and those who wonder how we will figure out this crazy landscape. The unwashed masses are left scratching their heads while trying to figure out what The Bilastrator lays at your feet in easily digestible form.

The "field" isn't wide-open. Rather, overall, it is inconceivably weak. There are quite a few teams that can play well on a given day and win games. But the field of teams that can perform dependably at a high level is pretty small.

There has not been such a squishy, pliable, drippy bubble in the history of the NCAA tournament, nor has there been such a shortage of worthy mid-major teams. That is not to say that some cannot win games in the first weekend, or that Gonzaga cannot win the whole thing, but the committee is going to let in at-large teams that have more losses than the Washington Generals.

This year, the committee should spend far less time on selection, as there is no real value at the end of the at-large line, and more time on seeding to make certain that the best teams are seeded accurately. Teams such as Duke that have had injuries and are far more advanced now than the record indicates must be seeded properly or there will be a repeat of 2014, when Kentucky was inexplicably seeded as a No. 8 seed and ended Wichita State's undefeated season in the second round. That was unconscionable and should not be repeated.

What should be repeated is that The Bilas Index is the best and most reliable measure of basketball excellence and accomplishment known to man. The Bilas Index should be used for good and not for ill, for pure enjoyment and not for financial gain and should not be used to wager. If The Bilas Index is used in such a diabolical manner, our friends in the desert can be brought to their knees and an entire industry toppled. That would be most unfortunate.

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