The drama and mysticism of the NCAA Tournament Selection Show always has a way of penetrating the human psyche. Something about waiting to hear your favorite school being named as one of the “Field of 64 (or 68)” is absolutely exhilarating.

Conversely, nothing is more demoralizing than failing to see your team make the field. The sad, depressive atmosphere that kind of knowledge creates is something many fans would love to avoid.

A few schools in Texas will have to wait to see if they will be a part of the Madness.

Here is where I feel the Texas teams will shake out. Let’s start with the Men’s bracket:

Lamar is locked to make the tourney, per their Southland Conference title. Unfortunately, the Cardinals will probably be relegated to “Cannon Fodder” status for one of the top 8 seed in the tournament. Expect Lamar to garner a 15 or 16 seed and placed out towards the East Coast.

Although Texas has been horrifically inconsistent all year long, their win over Iowa State on Thursday probably has them in for the 14th straight season. According to ESPN’s Bracket expert Joe Lunardi, Texas is thought to have an 11 seed in the East Regional. I’m thinking that the ‘Horns seeding should be a bit lower; A 12 to 14 seed is just about right for a team that just isn’t quite up to snuff right now.

When it comes to Baylor, Joe Lunardi and I are on the same page. The Bears have earned at least a 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and will stay close to home throughout. Scott Drew’s club played well all year long and should be rewarded for upsetting Kansas. If the NCAA selection committee were even more generous, they could give Baylor a 2 seed…but that might be asking for too much.

So, that leaves Texas-Arlington, Stephen F. Austin and Texas Southern as the odd-teams-out. The unfortunate part is that all of these teams were a victim of playing in the lower tier mid-major conferences. That’ why it was so important for them to get the automatic bids from their conferences, but all failed to take part in that. It’s too bad, as UTA could have been a major factor in the tourney, becoming one of those “bracket buster” teams that many schools fear. Alas, it was not to be.

Finally, some overall thoughts:

It would be a crime if Drexel does not find it’s way into the tournament. Yes, their RPI is horrendous and their Strength of Schedule is in the mid-200′s, but I’ll take a Drexel team full of moxie than a mediocre Mississippi State or Washington team.

Kansas should not get a #1 seed. Sorry, but they were the class of the Big 12 this season, hence why they should have won the automatic bid. Had the Jayhawks kept their Big 12 tourney loss to Baylor closer, I would reconsider their place as a top seed.

The Big East has 10 teams going to the NCAA tournament. Expect half of them to be eliminated within the first two days of play. Outside of Syracuse and Louisville, the Big East is not as powerful as everyone touts them to be. They just have greater numbers.

I will post some thoughts on the Women’s Selection Show a little bit later on in Part Two.