With the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament brackets officially unveiled Sunday night, the Kansas Jayhawks, Duke Blue Devils, Syracuse Orangemen and Kentucky Wildcats all earned top seeds.

All 65 Tournament Teams were announced about an hour after Evan Turner  capped the final conference tournament with a 31-point performance in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ 90-61 trouncing of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  

With championship week behind us, the NCAA tournament kicks off with Winthrop against Arkansas Pine Bluff in the play-in game on Tuesday, to see who will earn the right to play the South Region's No. 1 seed Duke on Friday. Here's the complete bracket:

MIDWEST

 (1) Kansas vs. (16) Lehigh, Thursday, Oklahoma City

 (2) Ohio St vs. (15) UC Santa Barbara, Friday, Milwaukee

 (3) Georgetown vs. (14) Ohio, Thursday, Providence

 (4) Maryland vs. (13) Houston, Friday, Spokane

 (5) Michigan St vs. (12) New Mexico St, Friday, Spokane

 (6) Tennessee vs. (11) San Diego St, Thursday, Providence

 (7) Oklahoma  vs. (10) Georgia Tech, Friday, Milwaukee

 (8) UNLV s. (9) Northern Iowa, Thursday, Oklahoma City

 

EAST

 (1) Kentucky vs. East Tennessee St, Thursday, New Orleans

 (2) West Virginia vs. (15) Morgan St, Friday, Buffalo

 (3) New Mexico vs. (14) Montana, Thursday, San Jose

 (4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Wofford, Friday, Jacksonville

 (5) Temple vs. (12) Cornell, Friday, Jacksonville

 (6) Marquette vs. (11) Washington, Thursday, San Jose

 (7) Clemson vs. (10) Missouri, Friday, Buffalo

 (8) Texas vs. (9) Wake Forest, Thursday, New Orleans

 

SOUTH

 (1) Duke vs. (16) Winner of Arkansas Pine Bluff/Winthrop, Friday, Jacksonville

 (2) Villanova vs. (15) Robert Morris, Thursday, Providence

 (3) Baylor vs. (14) Sam Houston St, Thursday, New Orleans

 (4) Purdue vs. (13) Siena, Friday, Spokane

 (5) Texas A&M vs. (12) Utah St, Friday, Spokane

 (6) Notre Dame vs. (11) Old Dominion, Thursday, New Orleans

 (7) Richmond vs. (10) Saint Mary’s, Thursday, Providence

 (8) California vs. (9) Louisville, Friday, Jacksonville

 

WEST

 (1) Syracuse vs. (16) Vermont, Friday, Buffalo

 (2) Kansas St vs. (15) North Texas, Thursday, Oklahoma City

 (3) Pittsburgh vs. (14) Oakland, Friday, Milwaukee

 (4) Vanderbilt vs. (13) Murray St, Thursday, San Jose

 (5) Butler vs. (12) UTEP, Thursday, San Jose

 (6) Xavier vs. (11) Minnesota, Friday, Milwaukee

 (7) BYU vs. (10) Florida, Thursday, Oklahoma City

 (8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Florida St, Friday, Buffalo

 

Here are some of the key storylines to pay attention to entering the tournament.

 

No Matter Who You Are, Momentum Really IS Important:

 The Oakland Grizzlies:

The Good : They are in the tournament for only the second time in school history (2005). After opening the season 6-7, they have gone on a 20-1 clip. The Reality: They will face Pittsburgh in the first round. The prospect does not look good, but they are a wonderful Cinderella Team. 

Notre Dame:

The Good: They might have lost to West Virginia, but the fFghting Irish are fighting strong. Just when it looked bleak after the OT loss back on February 17th against Louisville, they pulled off six straight to clinch a berth. The Reality: Expect some more wins. It would be an upset if they went out in the first round.

Baylor Bears:

The Good : Despite losing to Kansas State on Saturday, Baylor comes into the first round on an 8-1 run. The Reality: Should make it to the Sweet 16.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks:

The Good: They made their first NCAA Tournament since 2004 and to top it off defeated their rival school the Lafayette Leopards. The Reality: They are facing Kansas. There is about a 110% chance they will lose.

The Sam Houston State Bearcats:

The Good : If it were not for two overtime losses in February and March, the Bearcats would have lost only once in 2010 (January 3rd to Western Michigan). Riding that momentum, they too are in their first NCAA Tournament since 2004. The Reality: It could be an interesting matchup. They are facing Purdue, who lost Robbie Hummel and have struggled mightily of late. 

The Montana Grizzlies:

The Good : Anthony Johnson. They overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Weber State 66-65 in the Big Sky Championship on March 10. They are in the Tournament for the first time in four years. The Reality: They face New Mexico, a team that generally doesn’t underachieve.  

 

Bad Performances to Close Out the Season WILL NOT Help:

The Purdue Boilermakers:

The Bad: Would you believe a No. 4-ranked school would score 11 points in the first half of a game? They did. The Reality: They lost Robbie Hummel. But an advancement could turn into a Cinderella story…School goes on despite biggest star lost to injury. This would be intriguing.

The Missouri Tigers:

The Bad: Only an OT win against Iowa State kept them from losing four straight to close out the regular season. Then they lost to Nebraska in the Big 12 Tournament. The Reality: They could win their first round game against Clemson, but will most likely not get past the second.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:

The Bad: Despite their cool name, the Demon Deacons lost five of their last six games and they will face Texas in the first round. The Reality: This could be an interesting matchup, because Texas has severely underachieved this year.

Texas Longhorns:

The Bad: This could have been a historic season for Texas. All they have done is go 7-9 since January 13 after starting the season 17-0. The Reality: Unless they manage to turn it around, they are going to go out against Wake Forest in the first round in the always tense 8-9 game.

 

Expectations are ALWAYS Supposed to Be Met:

Kansas Jayhawks:

The Team: With Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry the Jayhawks  are the team to beat this year. They can beat most teams with their “B” game; it’s time to prove they can beat anyone. The History: Tournament Appearances: 38. Record: 84-37. Final Fours: 13. Championships: (3) 1952, 1988, 2008.

Kentucky Wildcats:

The Team: Led by rookies John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky is the team to watch. They have one of the most dynamic and popular coaches in college basketball in John Calipari who is known for his recruiting skills. Now it’s time for his team to show that they’re not just NBA hopefuls. The History: Tournament Appearances: 50. Record: 100-45. Final Fours: 13. Championships: (7) 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998.

Duke Blue Devils

The Team: Senior Jon Scheyer and juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith lead a team that has pleasantly surprised Coach K into the final top seed in this year’s Tournament. Is this an overachieving team or are they just flying under the radar? The History: Tournament Appearances: 33. Record: 88-30. Final Fours: 14. Championships: (3) 1991, 1992, 2001.

Syracuse Orangemen:

The Team: Led by the seasoned Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins, this veteran team is extremely dangerous based on experience alone. Imagine if Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf were still around! The History: Tournament Appearances: 32. Record: 50-32. Final Fours: 4. Championship: 2003.

West Virginia Mountaineers

The Team: Da’ Butler did it in Da’ Garden with Da’ Basketball. One of the more clever headlines to come out of the season was enabled by one of the more dynamic athletes. With his performance against Georgetown in the Big East Final victory, Da’Sean Butler not only solidified his status as a true game-changing player, but proved to everyone that his fellow Mountaineers could make a serious run at the Championship this year. The History: Tournament Appearances: 22. Record: 20-22. Final Fours: 1. Championships: None.

Kansas State Wildcats

The Team: With Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, the Wildcats have compiled one of the greatest seasons in school history. A record of 25-7 has given them a second seed in the Tournament. Three of their seven losses have come against Kansas. The History: Tournament Appearances: 23. Record: 28-27. Final Fours: 4. Championships: None.

Villanova Wildcats

The Team: Snuck into the second seed at the last second, the Wildcats are led by Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena. The History: Tournament Appearances: 30. Record: 48-30. Final Fours: 4. Championship: 1985.

Ohio State Buckeyes:

The Team: Player of the Year Evan Turner proved that even his smile is no fluke with his game-winner against Michigan. This team could be dangerous in the Tournament and could be as good as Kansas. The History: Tournament Appearances: 25. Record: 43-24. Final Fours: 10. Championship: 1960.

Georgetown Hoyas

The Team: Big Man Greg Monroe and guard Austin Freeman lead one of the more dangerous teams in the tournament. They beat Syracuse on March 11 but lost to West Virginia in the Big East Championship game. Georgetown could get on a hot streak and go all the way, but they are in the strong East bracket with Kentucky and BYU who could both do the same. The History: Tournament Appearances: 25. Record: 45-24. Final Fours: 5. Championship: 1984.

 

Finally, a few interesting facts about the NCAA March to Madness in April :

• The words “bracketologist” or “bracketology” are not actually words , according to any current version of Webster’s Dictionary. This just makes our invariable obsession oh-so much cooler.

•The NCAA tournament is extremely insensitive, just like the NFL and NCAAF playoffs. In no other sport, not even in the NBA, is a team’s fate decided so quickly and violently.

• The only reason the NBA doesn’t adopt a system like this is because there would be far too few upsets. The good teams would win year in and year out and re-sign better and better players. There would be no chance at all for turnover. Plus nobody cares about the NCAA regular season; the Tournament is the major draw.

• In 1985 the Tournament Expanded to 64 teams.

• In 2001 the No. 64-65 seeded game was introduced.

• There has been much speculation about increasing the tournament size to as many as 128 teams. However there have been no formal talks of doing so, and many consider the current format a huge success.

• Only nine teams, since the beginning of the seeding process in 1979, have entered  the tournament ranked No. 1 in at least one poll and gone on to win the tournament: North Carolina (1982), Duke (1992), UCLA (1995), Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001), Maryland (2002), Florida (2007), and North Carolina (2009).

• 2009 marked the first time in tournament history that all 12 of the No. 1, 2, and 3 seeds made it to the Sweet 16.

• Of the four No. 1 seeds, Kentucky has the most championships with seven, the last coming in 1998.

• Click Here for a list of Tournament Dates.

• Click Here for the 2010 NIT Brackets.

 

Big Bold Prediction that will be laughed at by the end of the month:

  The Final Four will be Ohio State, West Virginia, Duke and Syracuse.

Here’s to predicting the perfect bracket.

 

Joshua Worn is the author of the blog, Two On, One Out, as well as a Syndicated Writer and Feature Columnist at The Bleacher Report. If you have comments or questions, you can reach him at his private e-mail address thebaseballglutton@comcast.net.