VC: we're just hours from Selection Sunday!

They say we lose an hour of sleep tonight as we move our clocks forward one hour when we go to bed. Not me, I'll wake up tomorrow morning refreshed like I feel most mornings. In fact, tomorrow I may have a little more giddy-up in my step.

At 5 p.m. Central Sunday, college basketball's version of Christmas reveals the field of 68. Months of hearing RPI, quality wins, bad losses, strength of schedule are brought to a forefront. Last four in, first four out, next four out are officially determined as to who gets to dance and who gets relevated to the NIT.

I can remember the days when only 32 teams danced and NBC had the television rites to the NCAA Tournament. Now, there are 68 teams which require four play-in games to get the field to 64 and CBS now has to share some games with TBS and TNT. Finally, the tournament is getting it right. I never have understood why teams like Bucknell, Manhattan and Rider had to take part in the play-in games when they won their conference tournaments and teams like Michigan State and Clemson from a power conference and one of the last at-large teams in got slotted 11. I've always said let the last at-large teams have to duke it out and let them play a 1 seed if they won the at-large game.

Thank you for listening NCAA!

So four play-in games will be contested in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday. This leads me to another gripe I have. Why not play the four play-in games at sites where the winner will play their next game? That way they don't have to travel, they're already there. But oh well, guess that's an argument for a future blog.

When the field is announced Sunday, look for Ohio State to be the overall No. 1 seed. Now the real question...where will the committee place the Buckeyes? The four regions are East, Southeast, Southwest and West. I look for a Big East team - Pitt or Notre Dame - to be the top dog in the East Regional. Kansas, I think, will be No. 1 in the Southwest. I think Duke will be the top choice in the Southeast which leaves Ohio State going west young man, haven't you been told, California's full of whiskey, women and gold. Oh sorry, just heard Toby Keith on the radio and got side-tracked.

Seems odd Ohio State would go west, but I'm not sure what else the committee can do.

Kansas deserves the Southwest Regional. KU's first two games should be played in Tulsa, Okla., thanks to the pod system the NCAA uses to put the top teams as close to home as possible in the opening rounds. San Antonio should greet the huge KU contingent for the regional semifinals and finals. As long as KU keeps winning, the short drive from San Anton to Houston will be KU's final leg of the national championship pursuit.

No matter what happens in tonight's Big XII championship game, KU is a 1 seed.

I think Texas has solidified its justification for a 2 seed and I envision the Longhorns going to the Southeast Regional. My other 2 seeds are San Diego State or BYU out West, North Carolina in the East and a Big East team in the Southwest.

The Big XII deserves six teams and I'm not sure how Colorado, which in my mind secured its spot with its win over Iowa State on Wednesday, all of a sudden appeared on Joe Lunardi's "Last four in" group after losing Friday to Kansas. Lunardi has the Buffaloes as an 11 seed which is the sign of being one of the last teams in. How? Colorado beat my Wildcats three times as well as Texas and should have beaten Texas A&M were it not for a desperation last-second shot from 30 feet!

The Buffs, in my opinion, are a 9 seed. I think the committee, in the spirit of Colorado joining the Pac-12 next year, will put the Buffs out West which means a possible second-round game against Ohio State. Wow, how much fun could that be and if Alec Burks and Corey Higgins are on, this has possible upset written all over it.

Texas A&M is looking at a 5 seed somewhere, possibly East. Missouri, I'm forecasting a 7 spot for the Tigers out west.

Lastly, K-State which was hot until it stepped foot in Sprint Center. I texted coach Frank Martin yesterday that he should not play any more games in Sprint Center for awhile. The last two games there? Losses to UNLV and Colorado.

The Wildcats are a 7 seed in the East Regional. Because they lost their Big XII Tournament opener to Colorado, I think the Cats played themselves out of a first-round date in Tulsa. Look for K-State to play in Cleveland in their opener. I'd like to think K-State may still go to Denver for the first two games, but Colorado's three wins in head-to-head matchups may trump that.

It will be a fun tournament. And for the 26th consecutive year, I'm heading up an office pool. My two-dollar charge is the same it was in 1986 when I headed up a small pool at The Manhattan Mercury. Message me on Facebook if you're interested in taking part or send me a message below. Cutoff is tipoff in the Tuesday play-in games.

Finally, our prayers go out to the Wes Leonard family from Fennville, Mich. Wes was buried this week after going into cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart. Just moments earlier he had made the winning basket for his high school basketball team as they capped a perfect regular season. Wes grew up in Baldwin City before his family moved to Michigan. Wes still has family in the Sunflower State.