By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Football is the most popular sport in the country and baseball may be America’s favorite pastime, but for my money there is no better sporting event than the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

With its close games, buzzer beater shots, upsets, and feel good storylines, it always seems to deliver year after year, even though some years are better than others. It’s basically the sporting world’s version of Marvel movies.

As unpredictable as the opening weekend has been in the past, this year has the potential for there to be even more surprises than usual.

Normally, in most seasons heading into the tournament, there’s two or three teams you feel fairly confident in having a legitimate shot at making a run. This year though, it’s wide open; just take a look at this past week’s top ten.

Dayton and San Diego State have had arguably the most successful seasons, and depending on conference tournament results, could both wind up being number one seeds.

They’ll also be the two teams picked most likely to lose before the Sweet Sixteen.

Then you have teams like Florida State, Maryland, Louisville, Baylor, and Seton Hall that have all exceeded expectations this season, but they suffer from major flaws, many of which have been exposed over the year by inferior teams.

And as much as you’re likely to hear John Calipari complain about where Kentucky is seeded, along with how difficult their bracket is, and how disrespected they are, the truth is they’re not very good. Throw in Hagans taking time away from the team and they seem primed for an early tournament exit.

Which leaves Kansas and Gonzaga, who are probably the two best overall teams, yet I’m not really sure there’s much confidence in either. Or, looking at it another way, whatever confidence there is has more to do with what the rest of the field looks like, as opposed to the talent level on each team.

You could almost make the argument there are more teams ranked outside of the top ten with a better chance of winning it all.

It’s one of the reasons why this year’s outcome, more than ever, will rely heavily on seeding and which bracket teams are placed in.

It’s actually kind of a scary proposition when you think about it; the committee doesn’t exactly have a great track record of getting those decisions right.

That’s not to say the committee is charged with an easy task when it comes to seeding, but those choices will be extremely impactful.

One of the running jokes come tournament time, once the field has been set and the brackets have been printed out, is that anyone can win their local office pool, no matter their knowledge of college basketball.

That the tournament itself is such a crapshoot that you almost have a better chance of winning by guessing or picking teams because you like their mascot or the color of their uniforms than you do overthinking the whole thing.

In a year where very little separates the top team and say, the twenty fifth, that joke may never be more true.

And for a tournament that predicates itself on upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella runs, don’t be surprised if this year’s edition shows you something you haven’t seen before. Personally, I can’t wait for it to begin.