ESPN analyst Bilas thinks Louisville-Minnesota unnecessary

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas thinks the NCAA selection committee did a decent job overall seeding this year’s tournament, though there is one matchup he would rather not see in the opening round.

Bilas tells PodcastOne Sports Now co-hosts Jim Litke and Tim Dahlberg that matching Rick Pitino’s son — who coaches Minnesota — against his father’s former team is not a story line that the tournament needs.

Bilas called the Minnesota-Louisville first round matchup unnecessary and said it would draw attention to off-court issues when the focus should be on basketball itself at this time of the year.

Bilas also questioned putting Michigan State in the same East region as Duke, but said that the committee did better in picking tournament capable teams this year than in the past.

“There were mistakes this year but they weren’t as bad as some of the mistakes we found in the past,” Bilas said.

Also joining the podcast this week is Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson, who breaks down Rory McIlroy’s win at The Player’s Championship, and talks about the story lines that will likely emerge at the Masters three weeks from now.

Ferguson said that Tiger Woods still overshadows everything in golf, but said the leaderboard at The Player’s Championship was so good and so many players were in the mix that it was championship golf at its highest level.

Litke and Dahlberg also discuss Bradley University’s ham-headed move in banning a local beat writer from covering the school’s first NCAA tournament in 13 years, and debate the positive — and negative — effects of chicken noodle soup.