March Madness Bracket: Upsets and Surprises

0:00On March 16th, the NCAA tournament bracket is locked in with 60-18s ready to chase the title in March Madness. This year's field felt top-heavy and then overall, but the selection committee handled it well amid plenty of debate over seeds. A handful of squads landed higher or lower than many expected, based on their records and stats. Take North Carolina as a number 6 seed. They look solid on paper with strong efficiency numbers, but freshman star Caleb Wilson's season ending wrist. Injury leaves a huge gap in their lineup. Southern Methodist as an 11 seed also raises eyebrows after a late skid in weak road wins, setting up a tense first four clash. Kansas at number 4 carries injury questions too, with inconsistent offense despite a tough schedule. Fans and analysts are buzzing with gripes, especially from SEC programs that dominated late. Georgia as an 8 seed feels short-changed after big wins over Alabama and Kentucky, boasting a fast-paced attack that could spark a surprise run.

1:01Their opener against St. Louis will test if they're overlooked or overmatched. Vanderbilt sits at number 5 after storming to the SEC title game with elite back-core play and top efficiency rankings, they were pegged higher before that run. Tennessee matches the profile of past champs at number 6, with strong defense and key wins led by talents like Nate Aiman. Meanwhile, keep an eye on these mismatches as the games tip off this week. Upsets could reshape brackets fast and hand underseated teams a shot at glory.