Why 2007 will be the best tournament ever

I haven't watched as much college basketball this year as I usually do, but I've kept up with PTI and SportsCenter, and I've been watching most of the conference tournament games. From what I know, and what I've seen, I'm pretty sure this is going to be the most competitive NCAA tournament ever. Allow me to explain.

1. The best teams aren't unstoppable.

Every one of these teams that are in the hunt for a #1 seed have had their struggles. They all have weaknesses. Florida has struggled lately, but maybe they have gotten back on track. Ohio State is so young, and their star players were cutting down the nets in the Indiana State High School basketball tournament this time last year. Wisconsin is having injury problems. Memphis hasn't played any competition. No one knows anything about UCLA because they are on the west coast, but they blew a game at the end of the regular season and then chalked it up in the Pac-10 Tournament. Kansas is probably the strongest team at the moment, but nobody was talking about them a couple months ago. It really just feels like a toss-up at the top.

2. The best teams are getting the automatic bids

Check out this list (conference-bid winner-regular season rank):
Ivy League-Penn-1
Big South-Winthrop-1
Atlantic Sun-Belmont-2
Southern-Davidson-1
Ohio Valley-E. Kentucky-2
Missouri Valley-Creighton-2
Colonial-VCU-1
Metro Atlantic-Niagara-2
West Coast-Gonzaga-1
Mid Continent-Oral Roberts-1
Horizon-Wright State-1
Sun Belt-North Texas-5
Northeast-C. Connecticut-1
Big Sky-Weber State-1
Patriot-Holy Cross-1
America East-Albany-2
Conf USA-Memphis-1

Minus the Sun Belt, every bid has gone to a team that finished first or second in the regular season! This may not necessarily lead to upsets, but I think it's going to be one of the most competitive first rounds, top-to-bottom, ever. These teams can play. Winthrop is ranked #24. Davidson is 29-4. Wright State has beaten Butler more than once. Memphis thinks they deserve a #1 seed. I'm glad I'm not on the selection committee deciding who gets a 13-14-15-16 seed, because that's going to be tougher than ever.

3. Great Players (Thanks David Stern!)

Thanks to the NBA's new age rules, college hoops have been given a chance to see some players they'd have never seen. Kevin Durant is amazing. He can carry Texas all the way through this tournament if he gets hot. Greg Oden has been fun to watch, and I can't wait to see what he can do with a good right hand. There are so many other freshmen and sophomores that are palying major roles this year, and now that they've gotten a taste of college, some of them are seriously considering sticking around. Not that they will, but we'll see.

4. More hope than ever

Every one of these teams has seen what George Mason did last year, and knows they could be next. Eight of the teams I listed above were in the tournament last year, and 14 of them have players who've been to the tournament. All this experience has to lead to some improved play. The parity in college basketball is stronger than ever and these teams can legitimately win.

So anyway, with Selection Sunday around the corner, I'm gonna settle in for the end of this A-10 championship game and prepare for a great three weeks of basketball. The upsets will come, the great ending will happen... but let's hope there are more opportunities for those great endings because of all the close games. We'll check back in on all this stuff after next weekend.