Already with a game scheduled for Feb. 11 — 1 p.m. at Texas Tech — the Kansas men’s basketball program and its fans now have another reason to circle that date on their calendars.
Are you ready for more madness?
You better be, because starting this year, the NCAA is going to start cranking up the hype on arguably the greatest sporting event on the planet a few weeks earlier.
Using the model put forth by college football, the NCAA will look to capitalize on the excitement of a little extra buzz and a lot of good, old-fashioned debate, when they unveil the tournament’s Top 16 seeds, as they stand that day, during what’s being dubbed a Bracket Preview Show at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 11 on CBS.
NCAA men’s basketball chairman Mark Hollis will join Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis in studio to discuss the top 16 seeds as well as the reason for creating this show that will air 29 days before Selection Sunday.
“We are excited about giving the fans a glimpse to what the men’s basketball committee is thinking at this point of the season, and creating a buzz as we look toward Selection Sunday,” Hollis said in a press release. “It’s important to recognize after this list has been released there is still a significant portion of the regular season to be played and every league must stage its conference tournament. There’s potential for quite a bit of movement until we do it for real March 12, but this early peek will give everyone insight as to where the committee stands as we hit the stretch run of the regular season.”
In many ways, this concept is nothing new. Various bracketologists, including ESPN’s Joe Lundardi, have been tracking the tournament’s entire field for years, generating hype and excitement about which teams will be sent where, who’s in, who’s out and which teams are on the bubble.
This new concept will be an extension of that, but also will come with some added credibility in that the selection committee chairman will be both leading the way and discussing things as they stand that day.
