The NCAA tournament (that could’ve been) selection show. Picking 68 teams
Happy Selection Sunday.
And yes, based on what we’re doing tonight, we can still call it that. At 7 p.m., we’re hosting an NCAA tournament selection show, unveiling live the 68-team field that could have been. Our panel of Luke DeCock, Joe Giglio and Jonas Pope won’t see the bracket until you do, and will debate and analyze the field that was selected for us by Washington Post bracketologist Patrick Stevens. Stevens will join the live stream at the end of the show to discuss his selections.
One small caveat to this 68-team field: Florida State will not be the ACC’s automatic qualifier like commissioner John Swofford named the Seminoles on Thursday. Instead of taking the conference’s No. 1 seed, we simulated using WhatIfSports.com the remaining seven ACC tournament games that had been suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak, and N.C. State came out on top. The Wolfpack will be the league’s AQ.
But the 2020 tournament that could have been doesn’t stop with the selection show (which will be incredibly low tech, using a one-camera setup and Giglio’s classic yellow pad format). Throughout the next month, we will simulate all game results and report back with the weekly results.
Remember: This is supposed to be fun. We could all use a little of that in times like these.
You can watch the selection show on this page at 7 p.m. or hop on over to the News and Observer’s YouTube page.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 3:00 PM with the headline "The NCAA tournament (that could’ve been) selection show. Picking 68 teams."
