Balancing the bracket to get the most geographically beneficial arrangement -- which is what the NCAA selection committee aims to do each season -- has been one of the more troubling aspects of Bracketology this year.
The entire hang-up this season boils down to Oregon State and the Spokane Regional. It makes sense to have the Beavers slotted in the northwest, and a highly seeded Oregon State would provide the best-case attendance scenario in Spokane. Maximizing crowds and building a better atmosphere were the impetus for going to the highest seeds hosting the opening two rounds. Oregon State in Spokane follows that logic.
Unfortunately, it doesn't follow the easy logic of laying out the bracket, in what used to be referred to as the S-curve fashion, for the best seed balance. As the final No. 1 seed in this week's bracket, Tennessee would generally be assigned its region last among the top seeds. That would put the Lady Vols in Spokane. Oregon State is seventh on the board. Also placing the Beavers in Spokane means the worst No. 1 seed and the third No. 2 seed would be in the same region. That isn't balanced.
That is why, for weeks, I have had Oregon State in the Greensboro Regional, acknowledging all along that the committee would ideally rather have the Beavers stay west.
After playing with four brackets consisting of different permutations of the top seeds, this week's 64-team projection was the best. The biggest change was shifting Notre Dame as a top seed to the Spokane Regional from Oklahoma City. It doesn't provide the perfect S-curve balance, but it is markedly better than one with Tennessee and Oregon State in the same region.
This scenario likely wouldn't make Irish fans particularly happy, but it could happen. That is just another piece of intrigue building to next month's unveiling of the NCAA tournament field. Will the committee move Oregon State east or someone else west? This will invariably be a major conversation on selection weekend.
The way the teams are aligned now, something will have to give and someone will be unhappy. Unless some major upsets occur involving Maryland and Baylor, and unless Tennessee slides out of the top six, there doesn't appear to be a scenario where the Beavers can be in Spokane and still preserve the perfect S-curve bracketing principle. Oregon State would need to move up two spots on the board or fall to a high No. 3 seed for that to happen.
Tennessee factors prominently in this dilemma and the Lady Vols are still that final No. 1 seed despite the season-ending injury to Isabelle Harrison. Because they haven't shown any ill effects yet, the Lady Vols have to be viewed the same way. The committee needs to see how they play without their best player. A significant dropoff can't be assumed.
They pulled away from Kentucky and easily handled Alabama in the small sample size without Harrison. Tennessee's ability to stay a No. 1 the rest of the way will depend not only the results the rest of the way, but also how Tennessee performs. Beating South Carolina on Monday night might not be necessary, but the Lady Vols can't get blown out, either. Then the Harrison injury becomes an issue.
The difference among Tennessee, Baylor and Maryland is paper thin. If the Lady Vols just look like a noticeably diminished team without Harrison, which logic says is likely, then a shift will occur. And while that means the layout at the top of the bracket will change again, it doesn't mean the issue of what to do with Oregon State, perhaps Selection Monday's most intriguing subplot, goes away, either.