SELECTION SUNDAY: March 10
Mids vs. Majors: Breaking down the bids
The jury has spoken. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has picked the 34 at-large teams to round out the field of 65. A few things stood out to me...

I think Gonzaga got a raw deal, and then it got placed in the toughest region by far.

First of all, Gonzaga being seeded sixth (in the West Region) is an absolute crime. This is a program that has made three straight Sweet 16 appearances, lost just three games all season and gotten very little respect. Look at the schedule coach Mark Few's team played: Illinois, Marquette, Texas, St. John's, Pepperdine, St. Joseph's, Fresno State...

I think Gonzaga got a raw deal, and then it got placed in the toughest region by far. Six of the top seven seeds won their conference tournaments: Cincinnati won Conference USA, Oklahoma beat Kansas to win the Big 12, Arizona beat USC to take the Pac-10, Ohio State won the Big Ten, Gonzaga won the WCC and Xavier captured the Atlantic 10 title. And Hawaii, the 10th seed, won the WAC tournament.

Gonzaga's Dan Dickau and company vs. Arizona's Jason Gardner as a possible second-round matchup would be awesome, baby. But the Zags deserved a higher seed. I felt Gonzaga should have been a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

It was obvious to me that the seeding out West was done before the end of the Big 12 title game, won by Oklahoma (the West's No. 2 seed). That's not to disrespect the job done by coach Bob Huggins and No. 1 seed Cincinnati. Now the Bearcats have the tough task of a potential second-round showdown against either UCLA or Mississippi. That could spell trouble for the Bearcats.

Then there is the fate of Butler and Bowling Green. Coach Dan Dakich and Bowling Green beat Mississippi and made it to the MAC final. The Falcons got 24 wins, but it wasn't enough to earn an invitation. I cannot believe that league gets only one bid! It is really sad, because the MAC can flat-out play. Go tell some of the power conferences to try playing on the road in that league!

Butler won 25 games this season, including victories over Indiana, at Ball State and at Purdue. This program proved something last year when it blew out Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament.

The little guy doesn't get a chance to improve his RPI because the powerhouse programs don't want to give them a shot. This rewards mediocrity instead of taking care of teams that posted impressive winning records. They got a raw deal, and I will fight for the little guy until I take off my microphone -- and that won't be for a while, baby!

People talk about schedule strength, but nobody wants to play them. I coached at a small school (Detroit) and it really bothers me. Every big guy knows they don't want to face a Bowling Green or a Butler.

Taking five out of the Big East or two from the Mountain West would have been sufficient. Then Butler and Bowling Green would have been given the shot to go to the Big Dance.

Maybe it's time for a rule to be put in place where only five teams from a conference can qualify for the NCAA tournament. It would open up a few more bids for the little guy and it would make the regular season more exciting. It would be great to make the season even more meaningful instead of giving bids to teams that finish .500 in a major conference.

DICKIE V'S SLEEPER TEAMS
As for this year's tournament, here are my sleeper teams (I consider teams seeded fifth or lower to be in the sleeper category): Marquette, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga and Kent State.

Two teams with tough first-round draws are Stanford (vs. Western Kentucky) and Oklahoma State (vs. Kent State). I can't wait to see Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus and Stanford's Curtis Borchardt battle in the middle. Eddie Sutton's Cowboys will be challenged by Stan Heath's club; remember, Kent State upset Indiana last year.

DICKIE V'S FINAL FOUR PICKS
My picks for the Final Four:

EAST: Maryland
SOUTH: Duke
MIDWEST: Kansas
WEST: Arizona

When all is said and done, I think it will come down to Duke's Big Three -- Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer. And I see the Dukies cutting down the nets again for a second straight national championship. The last Duke team to win back-to-back titles (in 1991-92) was led by another trio: Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner.

It's time to dance, baby! I can't wait for them to tip it off! Remember, it starts Tuesday with Alcorn State vs. Siena, the opening-round game (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET).