The feeling is all too familiar for Auburn fans. Every year the country throws this big party called March Madness and the Auburn faithful are always left off the invitation list. At least Tiger fans are in good company this year; watching Alabama get kicked to the curb in favor of Georgia does brighten the week.
Many of you have already printed out your bracket sheets and are trying hard to find a way to remain relevant on Final Four weekend. I suggest shying away from conference pride when making your choices.
This is hardly a banner year for SEC basketball.
Despite beating Georgia twice, the NCAA was not impressed with Western Division Champion Alabama. Like football, this season was truly a tale of two divisions. While the West was going 0-for-6 on Selection Sunday, the East placed five of its six teams in the big dance with only South Carolina staying home.
In somewhat of a surprise, Florida grabbed the highest conference placement - a second seed - despite losing the tournament championship game to Kentucky, 70-54. They'll take on UC-Santa Barbara in the first round of the Southeast Regional.
Kentucky grabbed a four-seed and will face Ivy League champion, Princeton in the first round of the East Regional. Georgia joins them in the bracket with a 10-seed and will face Washington in Charlotte.
Tennessee will also start in Charlotte and face Michigan this Friday. Fifth-seed Vanderbilt heads to the Southwest Regional where they'll face Richmond in the first round in Denver.
What SEC team has the best shot of ending up in Houston the first weekend in April? Try none of the above. It's hard to imagine any SEC team going on a run that significant.
If you have to pick one, you have to look at Florida. But even that's a stretch. They'll likely have to get past UCLA and BYU before facing a probable matchup with Pittsburgh. Who are we kidding? Right?
There's a reason the SEC is a football conference. That gets proven each March.
How many days to spring football practice?
Ever wish that more things worked like college brackets? That you could seed everything that way? Top 64 pre-game foods. Top 64 college players. Well, now you can do just that with your friends, with the Allstate BFF Brackets, which takes your 64 top Facebook friends (an algorithm seeds them based on interaction) and seeds them in four regions, exactly like the real tourney. Once the tourney starts, your friends advance with the corresponding seeds – till one is left standing. Check it out at http://apps.facebook.com/bffbrackets/