Backtime Official Bracket: 2010 Edition

We refer back to Backtime's Bracket rules, established last year in this forum:

1) Print it the day it's released.
2) Free your mind of any personal prejudice.
3) Grab a pen, not a pencil.
4) Fill it out in 5 minutes or less, relying solely on your instincts.

In this day and age, 3 out of 4 are easy. Item #2 is what gets everyone. How do you free your mind of personal prejudice?

Well, it's simple. Just make your alma mater (Syracuse) and the team you regularly cover (Kansas) #1 seeds. Then they'll face off in the National Semifinals and party like it's 2003 (and in the Elite Eight in '96 as well), only with the Blue team prevailing.

There, that's done. I wish this was one of those wide-open tournaments free of top-heavy super conferences, but unfortunately it isn't. I got two #1 seeds, a #2 (West Virginia), and a #3 (Baylor). Two from the Big East, two from the Big 12. And those two conferences own 6 of my Final 8.

I've got only two dark horses in the Sweet 16, #12 UTEP and #11 Minnesota, both on Syracuse's magic carpet out west.

And only one major 1st Round upset, #14 Oakland over #3 Pitt. Ironic, since Pitt's campus is located in a neighborhood called Oakland. Pitt overachieved this year, after being picked 10th in the Big East before the season, and now they get the early exit.

Kansas over West Virginia in the final for their second title in three years. Nothing exciting, sexy, or outside the box. It's where my instincts led me through the stroke of a pen on Selection Sunday. And it's official.

Gophers In The Bubble, Not On It

Why is this man smiling? Because his team is in. Yes, on paper it's still the perfect bubble case.

Minnesota is 21-12 and 9-9 in the Big Ten, and scored huge wins in the conference tournament over Michigan State and Purdue. But their overall body of work says that they finished 7th in their league and the RPI was still #69 coming into today.

But they're in, and you can book it. And there's one factor that may trump the resume.

Minnesota plays Ohio State in the Big Ten title game Sunday, with a tip time shortly after 3 PM EDT. The Selection Show airs on the same network at 6 PM EDT.

As any TV producer knows, a chance of freak event - a fight, extended injury, clock malfunction, or good old-fashioned overtime - can push the finish time of the Big Ten Championship dangerously close to the start time of the Selection Show.

The official bracket has got to go to press before the Selection Show airs. Now if it was Iowa or Penn State that made this run, there would have to be some sort of contingency plan. But if the Gophers are close enough (which they are), they're going to be slotted no matter what. Timing is everything.

What's ironic is that the Big Ten Championship, the Selection Committee, and the Final Four are all in Indianapolis in 2010.

So now Minnesota will have a snowball's chance to return to Indy. But who knows? What are the chances to beat Michigan State, Purdue, and Ohio State on three straight days?