I’m already on record as saying that this year’s run-up to today’s NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament field selection, has convinced me of the need to expand the field to 64 teams.

 

Today the selection committee announced the field, and unsurprisingly, there are a number of teams left out who have a very strong case to be included (and that’s not arguing against anyone who is in).

 

North Carolina was the committee’s choice as the top seed, followed by Creighton, Boston College and Connecticut. No big shockers there, but it’s a little surprising to see undefeated New Mexico as a 10 seed overall.

 

Then you get to the group that is outside looking in, and you expect there are some distraught players and coaches out there. I’m talking about teams such as Clemson, Wisconsin, Washington and Santa Clara. It looks like the men’s committee leaned more heavily on the RPI than the women’s committee did last week, but any way you slice it, there’s an argument there for expansion.

 

See the full NCAA Men’s Tournament field here.  

 

Some notable first round matchups for this Thursday begin with Northwestern, the Big 10 regular season and tournament champion, playing defending national champion Akron. Really? I mean, really? Akron is not same team as last year, but with three losses, they are not exactly an also-ran. You have to look at Northwestern at the end of the league season as one of the best teams in the country. This game shouldn’t be happening until later in the season.

 

Some other good-looking matchups include South Carolina vs. Wake Forest, Xavier vs. West Virginia and Saint Marys vs. CSU Bakersfield.

 

Looking ahead to potential 2nd round matchups on Sunday, New Mexico vs. the Duke-Georgia State winner and Louisville vs. the Loyola, IL-Bradley winner catch the eye.

 

So while lamenting is unavoidable for those excluded, we now begin to focus on those who indeed made it. It’s a wide open field this year. Let the games begin.