who guards jeremy lamb? who guards ryan boatright? so much of the national media is focused on who we cant guard? what about iowa state? they are the 8 seed. they should be the favorite. this is a horrible matchup for them on paper.
I would have loved to be a fly on the wall hearing the committee discuss UConn. On paper, UConn looks like a matchup for most teams. I mean, on any given night, UConn has the talent to beat Kentucky, Syracuse, and any other top teams out there. The #1 vs #8/#9 game is supposed to be a relative cakewalk for the #1 seed. As long as the #1 team plays a decent game, the #8/#9 team should have very little chance to beat them barring a Villanova circa 1985 performance. That is clearly not the case with UConn and Kentucky (or any other top seeded team). Kentucky could play a decent game, and if UConn brings it, they could easily win. It's similar for other seeding things as well.
On the other hand, UConn has been maddeningly inconsistent and don't deserve any higher than a #9 seed. As likely as they are to give Kentucky their hardest game of the season, they are equally likely to give Iowa State a walk into the "3rd" round.
What do you do with a team like that? Do you overseed them in an attempt to not potentially screw a deserving team from an easier game that they deserve? Or do you try and just put them in the spot they deserve and make the teams they play earn their victories, even though they deserved an easier draw based on their body of work throughout the entire year? I think the committee ultimately decided on both. They didn't want to make UConn the #10/#11 seed that they probably deserved because that wouldn't be fair for the #6/#7 seeds, but at the same time, they seeded they didn't want to put them too high.
Anyways... I would have loved to hear the conversations that went on about where to place UConn. If I were Kentucky, I would not be happy about possibility of playing UConn as my 2nd game. They should still win vs UConn or Iowa State, but they might be in for a pretty big challenge a lot earlier than they expect.