Going into Selection Sunday, the talking heads start obsessing over seeding. But the great thing about the NCAA tournament is that you have to win six games to hoist the trophy. If you’re a top team, then the politics just don’t matter. It might feel good to lobby for a 1 seed after getting drubbed in the first round of the conference tournament, but the 1 seed isn’t going to win any games for you. Because it’s not the seeding, it’s the matchups.

Stanford goes 29-1, avenges it’s only loss in the conference tournament final, earns a 1 seed and is rewarded with 8 seed Alabama, 4 seed Maryland and 2 seed Connecticut. Alabama poses matchup problems; Maryland is riding high after beating Wake Forest, NC State and Duke to win the ACC tournament; and Connecticut was pre-season number 1, beat Pittsburgh to win the Big East tournament and is favored by many to be the last team standing. Some reward.