Like it is

Hey, fellas? Big East isn't what you think it is

Villanova's Dylan Ennis (31) plays against Lafayette during the second half of an NCAA tournament second round college basketball game, Thursday, March 19, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Another bracket-busting opening weekend for the NCAA Tournament, and some of that blame falls on the selection committee.

They might as well just draw names out of a hat.

Making Villanova a No. 1 seed made about as much sense as North Little Rock High School vacating a bunch of games and championships.

Villanova's Wildcats are pretenders, not contenders. Never, ever, in a million years will a certain sports writer pick them in his bracket to go past the second round.

Last year they were picked to make the Elite Eight, and they lost their second game to No. 7 seed UConn, which did go on to win it all.

This weekend, with a No. 1 seed next to its name, Villanova lost again in its second game to No. 8 seed North Carolina State, and the Wolfpack have as much chance of winning the championship as No. 3 seeds Baylor or Iowa State, who were knocked out in the first game.

Thanks mostly to Villanova, the sports writer is in 246,611th place in the CBSsports.com bracket competition.

Thanks mostly to Villanova, the East Region consists of No. 3 Oklahoma, which has won by three and six points, No. 4 Louisville, which beat UC Irvine 57-55, No. 7 Michigan State, giving more credence to the statement never count Tom Izzo out in March, and No. 8 North Carolina State.

It is the only region, thank you Villanova, that doesn't have a No. 1 seed remaining.

It is not the only out of balance region. The South has No. 11 UCLA in its Sweet 16. The Bruins beat SMU by one and then got No. 14 seed UAB, which beat Iowa State. The South's two top seeds, Duke and Gonzaga, rolled easily in their first two games.

Since Kansas was obviously seeded too high, losing to Wichita State 78-65, the Midwest is OK and it doesn't matter who is left as long as Kentucky is still playing.

The West ran closest to expected with No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Arizona advancing, as did No. 4 North Carolina, which managed to run with the Arkansas Razorbacks when the teams weren't shooting free throws. The mild surprise is No. 6 Xavier, but like N.C. State, the Musketeers got a break when No. 14 Georgia State knocked off No. 3 seed Baylor.

Which leads us to how the selection committee should pay more attention to the mid-level conferences and get their heads out of their hats where the Big Five and Big East are concerned.

The Big 12 got seven bids and four of those; Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas lost their first game. Kansas lost its second. The league is 5-5 and has West Virginia and Oklahoma in the Sweet 16, but the Mountaineers play Kentucky next.

The Big East had six bids: Two lost their first games, three more down in the second and it is 5-5 with only Xavier alive.

The SEC had five bids and stands 4-4 with only Kentucky left.

The ACC and Pac-12 have come up big.

Six ACC teams were invited and the conference stands 11-1 and has every team in the Sweet 16 but No. 2 Virginia.

Four Pac-12 teams have combined to go 7-1, and three of them are still playing.

The Missouri Valley and West Coast Conference had two teams each, each conference has a team in the Sweet 16. The Missouri Valley (3-1) is represented by Wichita State and the WCC (2-1) has Gonzaga.

Four one-bid conferences won one game each: Northeast (Robert Morris, second in regular season); Conference USA (UAB, fourth), MEAC (Hampton, sixth) and the Sun Belt regular-season champion Georgia State, the only team in those four conferences to win both the regular season and postseason tournament.

Those leagues deserved more than one bid.

What the selection committee needs to remember next year is the Big East, especially Villanova, isn't what they think it is.

Sports on 03/24/2015