NCAA Tournament: How Oklahoma State caught a bad break

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' first-round opponent, Oregon, is a 12-seed in name only. The Ducks were ranked 43rd by the committee, which means Oregon was an actual 11-seed.

The committee sometimes has to move teams up or down a slot, to make other things work out.

The teams the committee voted in the 12-seed range were Boise State, Saint Mary's, Ole Miss, Bucknell, LaSalle and Middle Tennessee. All seem a tad easier than Oregon.

The Ducks won the Pac-12 Tournament and finished a game out first place in the conference race.

* Meanwhile, the Sooners were the lowest-ranked No. 10 seed. OU was one spot from being an 11 seed.

The difference? Not much. OU's first-round foe, San Diego State, seems about the same as No. 6 seeds Memphis, UCLA, Butler and Arizona. The Aztecs are good.

* I thought Miami deserved a No. 1 seed. Won the ACC, won the ACC Tournament. And I'd probably vote to drop Gonzaga to a No. 2, though I'm pulling for the Zags to make the Final Four.

* The Pac-12 was shown less respect than two mid-major conferences. The Pac-12 got five teams into the field, seeded six (UCLA), six (Arizona), 10 (Colorado), 12 (California) and 12 (Oregon).

The Atlantic-10 got five teams, too, but they were seeded four (Saint Louis), five (Virginia Commonwealth), six (Butler), nine (Temple) and 13 (LaSalle). And the Mountain West was considered even better — its five seeds were a three (New Mexico), five (Nevada-Las Vegas), seven (San Diego State), eight (Colorado State) and 13 (Boise State).