10 things to expect on Selection Sunday

Unless a team like Xavier or North Carolina wins its respective conference tournament, expect Kansas, Michigan State, Villanova and Virginia to earn No. 1 seeds. Why? They've been among the top-ranked teams all season, and the committee is afraid to stir the pot. You can pretty much lock in the Jayhawks and Spartans no matter what, however if the Wildcats or Cavaliers falter and the aforementioned teams have good conference tournament showings, there's a chance Nova and the Wahoos get bumped down to two seeds. Just don't expect that to happen.

Mid-major conference tournaments always wreak havoc on the field, and this year is no different. With Green Bay winning the Horizon, Iona, Northern Iowa, Austin Peay and Gonzaga, none of which were the top seed in there conference tournaments, securing their spots, some teams will get left out. Just don’t expect those teams to include the likes of Valparaiso, Monmouth, Wichita State, Belmont or Saint Mary’s. Wichita State is a virtual lock, while Monmouth and Saint Mary’s did more than enough to secure bids. Given the emphasis on mid-majors in recent years, don’t be surprised to Valpo and Belmont in there as well.

According to the polls, SMU and Louisville are absolutely worthy of tournament bids given their talent and play. There's just one problem: both schools are banned from postseason play for infractions. With that, expect Larry Brown and Rick Pitino to earn some airtime on Selection Sunday to discuss their teams and the field they don't get to be a part of. Who doesn't want to hear from these two legends?

Love him or hate him, Charles Barkley is all over basketball television for a reason. He knows the NBA, even if he has irrational opinions about Steph Curry. What he doesn't know, and has admitted as much in the past, is the college game. So expect Charles to say something over-the-top that comes from no actual evidence. And expect him to get away with it, because that's what Charles does.

Syracuse has not had a very good season, sitting at the bottom half of the ACC. The Orange is squarely on the bubble. Should Cuse not get in, expect coach Jim Boeheim to get in. If his team does make the field of 64/68, expect him to be unhappy about his seed. It's Boeheim's way, and he's particularly irked this season with talk of Syracuse getting punished for his suspension earlier this year by the committee. Jim Boeheim is always unhappy about something, and Selection Sunday will be no exception, one way or the other.

Legendary college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale is never one to shy away from the spotlight, and Selection Sunday is one of his favorite times to start yelling. It could be joyous yelling of excitement, thrilled for certain teams, players and coaches for getting it. It could be angry yelling, discussing how one team got snubbed in a major way. Or it could just be talking yelling, because that's just the volume of his voice.

Michigan State and Indiana are legitimately good basketball teams that deserve excellent seeds. Beyond that, the highly overrated Big Ten really doesn’t. However, given the conference’s reputation and big-name coaches, expect the Big Ten to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to seeding. Maryland was supposed to be a potential No. 1 team but faltered, while Iowa has slipped since its stint in the top five. No matter — both schools will get better seeds than they deserve, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for a few bubble teams — Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan — to get in over perhaps more deserving squads from other conferences.

For the first time in a long time, Duke isn't a top 10 team. However, the Blue Devils are a top 20 team, which makes the seed they get even more interesting. Should they be punished with something below a three or four, expect Duke fans to cry foul. Should the Blue Devils earn a four seed or better, expect the rest of the country to proclaim bias. When it comes to Duke, not program in the country is more polarizing.

It never fails — in a field of 68 teams, teams 69-80 always feel snubbed. The notion is absurd, but it's a fact of life. Given that, it always leads to talk of expanding the field with 96 being the number usually getting thrown around. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but this is the NCAA we're talking about. Expect the topic to come up yet again, because it always does.

This is Joey Brackets' time to shine. No matter what channel you tune to, talk of Lunardi's bracketology always makes the rounds on Selection Sunday, and for good reason. He's usually pretty darn good at predicting just what the selection committee is going to do. Selection Sunday is his time to shine, and shine he will.