The last 12 games don't matter....

....as much as the 1st 20. That's the determination of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee after meetings earlier this month.

More on this from The NCAA News(click above).

Potential NCAA Tournament Venues: 2011-13(Updated 8-20)

Here's a list of cities that are bidding to host NCAA 1st/2nd round and/or regionals from 2011 to 2013(This list will be updated throughout the months ahead). The NCAA will announce the venues in September, during the Championships/Sports Management Cabinet meeting. The venues themselves will be chosen by the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. According to this article in the Birmingham News today: http://www.al.com/sec/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1244708141315750.xml&coll=2 , 60 cities have put in bids to the NCAA.

City(Prospective Host and Venue)
Albuquerque, NM(University of New Mexico; University Arena)
Arlington, TX(Big 12 Conference; Cowboys Stadium)*
Atlanta(Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia Dome)*
Austin, TX(University of Texas at Austin; Erwin Events Center)
Birmingham, AL(Southeastern Conference; BJCC Arena)
East Rutherford, NJ(Rutgers University; Izod Center)
Grand Rapids, MI(Western Michigan University; Van Andel Arena)
Jacksonville, FL(Jacksonville University; Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
Knoxville, TN(University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Thompson-Bolling Arena)
Lexington, KY(University of Kentucky; Rupp Arena)
Little Rock, AR(University of Arkansas, Little Rock; Verizon Arena)
Louisville, KY(University of Louisville; Riverfront Arena)
Memphis(University of Memphis; FedEx Forum)
Newark, NJ(Seton Hall University; Prudential Center)
New Orleans(Tulane University; Louisiana Superdome)*
New York City(Big East Conference and St. John's University(NY); Madison Square Garden
Orlando(University of Central Florida or Stetson University; New Orlando Arena)
Tampa(University of South Florida; St. Pete Times Forum)
Wichita, KS(Wichita State University; InTrust Bank Center)

*Denotes the city will be guaranteed a regional in this cycle, owing to their status as a Final Four host.

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Predicting the NCAA's

Sweet 16 picks
Midwest: Ohio State, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State
West: Connecticut, Washington, Missouri, Memphis
East: Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke
South: North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma

National Semis
Memphis over Wake Forest
Pittsburgh over Oklahoma

National Championship
Pittsburgh 79, Memphis 71

Field review

#1 Seeds
I went with my gut putting Memphis on the top line, thinking Connecticut would be penalized by being in the same conference of two #1 seeds(Louisville and Pittsburgh). Mike Slive and his committee felt differently and rewarded the Huskies with the last #1 seed, which I have no problem with(The Huskies were my top #2 seed). In terms of the overall #1, I had North Carolina even after losing to Florida State, but again I have no qualms about Louisville being the #1 of #1's, especially as I got the regions right.

The Last Teams In
Arizona was the only team I missed(having Creighton instead). Evidently, the committee overlooked a horrible road and rewarded the Wildcats, who have home and neutral wins over Kansas, Gonzaga, Washington and UCLA. The Bluejays should fault no one but themselves, especially after getting blown out by Illinois State in the Missouri Valley semis. Wisconsin was also a 12 seed, evidently punished by a six-game losing streak.

Big Ten
Wisconsin was one of THREE teams from the conference seeded tenth or below(Michigan and Minnesota were the others). Michigan State received a 2 seed, Illinois and Purdue(despite winning today) are 5 seeds. Ohio State may have an easy 2nd round game vs. Louisville in Dayton(if they can get by Siena, who probably would've gotten an at-large bid if needed).

Personal Stats
Teams Missed
Arizona(instead of Creighton)
Teams at exact seeds: 30
Teams plus/minus 1: 54
Biggest miss: Tennessee(3 seeds lower)

Most advantageous pod placements
Gonzaga and Washington in Portland.
Villanova in Philadelphia

Most disadvantageous pod placements
Kansas in Minneapolis(Playing North Dakota State in 1st round, possible 2nd round matchup with West Virginia)
Louisville in Dayton(Possible 2nd round game with Ohio State)
Arizona in Miami and UCLA in Philadelphia(3 time zones away)