Initial Bracket Reaction

There will be more on all of this as the week goes on, but I wanted to get my initial bracket reactions on the record.

• They hate the little guy.  Both VCU and Illinois St. are left out.  The ones that they “had” to include, they put up against each other.  Davidson vs. Gonzaga.  S. Alabama vs. Butler.  Just awful.  God, there will be more of this…
• I like Temple’s draw, as a 12-seed.  Michigan St. is very inconsistent and that is winnable.  I am scared of Pitt, but let us just get there first.
• I hate UMBC’s draw.  I know, I know, they are a 15-seed, so how good can the draw be?  But, UMBC’s big problem is that their center is 6’5″.  And, they draw Georgetown.  I think this is the worst matchup of all the 2-seeds for the Retrievers.  Even Tennessee or Duke, I think would be a better matchup for UMBC.  Then again, Georgetown relies on defense and struggles to score at times, which is good to a long run, but vulnerable for first-round upsets.  I am a Retriever Believer, and I am picking them.
• Is Stanford vs. Cornell the smartest matchup in the history of the tournament?
• Why is Memphis going to have to play Texas in Houston?  A lot more on this later, too…
• How does St. Joe’s get a higher seed than Temple?  I don’t mind because I kind of like the Michigan St. draw and I LOVE being a #12 seed, but didn’t Temple just beat the Hawks?
• How is TX-Arlington (the 7th place team in the Southland Conference) not in the play-in game?  I know that they try and protect the traditionally black colleges from this game, but I don’t think that TX-Arlington is a traditionally black college, right?
• I know that it is human nature, but are these guys using prior tournament results in picking the bottom seeds?  Winthrop did not even win the Big South and they are a 13-seed?  Oral Roberts seemed to get a high seed because they have been there 3 straight years.  Now, I am no low-major expert, but I think Austin Peay (a 15-seed) is a better team than either of those two. 
• How crazy is it to see an SEC team get a 14-seed?  Pretty remarkable.  More on this later in the week…
• The brackets made it even easier for me to stick with my very first national champion pick, UCLA.  I think they have the easiest road to San Antonio and they have a semifinal matchup projected against Memphis from the South, which has the potential to be a crazy, upset-filled region, so who knows who UCLA will get on Final Four Saturday?  That is a long way off, though.  I am sure there will be more on that…

Just initial reactions.  Anyone else?