The man in charge of the NCAA selection committee insists a win in November is worth the same as a win in March. Harry Carson Jersey . Dont believe him? Check out the seeds slapped beside these conference champions: --A 4 for Louisville of the American Athletic. --A 4 for Michigan State of the Big Ten. --Yet another 4 for UCLA of the Pac-12. --A 7 for New Mexico of the Mountain West. Oh, and dont forget that 8 for Kentucky, which had the ball and a chance to beat Florida, the NCAA tournaments top overall seed, in the waning seconds of the SEC title game. Only Virginia, which wrapped up the ACC tournament Sunday to back up its regular-season title, seemed to get a significant bump from the conference tournaments that polish off resumes of teams before the start of Americas favourite office pool -- March Madness. Ron Wellman, chair of the NCAA selection committee, said the Cavaliers, considered a 2 or 3 on most mock-ups, "continued to impress us throughout the year." Asked to explain the mediocre seed for a team like Louisville, the defending national champion that has won 12 of 13 and rolled through the AAC tournament, Wellstone explained the committee looks at the entire resume, not just March. "We look at the total body of work, everything they did from November to March," he said. "Every time we scrubbed that seed, Louisville ended at the same place every time when compared to the people above them." The people above them in the Midwest region, which shapes up as the toughest, include top-seeded and undefeated Wichita State, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Duke. Yes, thats three of last years Final Four teams. The national semifinals are April 5 in Arlington, Texas. On the 1 line in the West was Arizona, which stayed there despite falling in the Pac-12 title game to UCLA. The Bruins are a 4, same as Michigan State and Louisville -- their fellow power-conference champions. "They pass everyones eye test," Wellman said. "Theyre playing as well right now as anyone in the country. If you look at the last three or four weeks, they probably wouldve been seeded differently. When you look at the entire season, then its a little bit different." Of course, the numbers are just that -- numbers. In an era of one-and-done, superstar coaches and unending parity, the real drama starts after the brackets are out. Thats why Warren Buffett had no problem paying the insurance premium against a $1 billion payoff for anyone who fills out a perfect bracket. "Theres more good teams and less great teams," said coach Bill Self of second-seeded Kansas. "The difference between a 2 seed and a 7 or 8 seed is as narrow as its ever been." The last four bubble teams in this years draw were 12th-seeded North Carolina State and Xavier, who play in the First Four on Tuesday, and 11th-seeded Iowa and Tennessee, who play Wednesday. Left out of the tournament was SMU of the AAC -- a team almost all the experts had securely in the bracket. But not the folks in the conference room, who couldnt overcome the Mustangs strength of schedule: 129. "When I saw Louisville, I kind of figured that they didnt have a lot of respect for our conference," said coach Larry Brown. "But we only can blame ourselves, thats the way I look at it." The committee handed out only seven at-large bids to mid-majors after they took 11 in each of the last two seasons. The Big 12 led all conferences with seven teams, though winning the conference didnt move Iowa State past the 3 line. Other conference titles that didnt change much: --St. Joes was the champion of the six-bid Atlantic-10 and got a 10 seed while the team the Hawks beat, VCU, was seeded fifth. --Providence went from the bubble to Big East champion and was seeded 11th. Meanwhile, Kansas lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 but remained a 2 seed because of its ranking in the RPI -- No. 3. The Jayhawks have to get through the first weekend without centre Joel Embiid, out with a back injury, but could face a third-round game against Mountain West champs New Mexico. "Off the top of my head, I cant remember exactly what the conversation was about New Mexico," Wellman said. "I can tell you the conversations about New Mexico were very positive." In the West, Arizonas second game could come against eighth-seeded Gonzaga, which lost its second game as a No. 1 seed last year, or No. 9 Oklahoma State, which has one of the nations best players in Marcus Smart. The nations top scorer, Doug McDermott (26.9 points per game), is on the other side of that bracket with No. 3 Creighton. On Virginias side of the East bracket is one team nobody wants to play come tournament time -- No. 4 Michigan State, which hadnt won back-to-back games since late January, but strung three together to win the nations second-toughest conference. "You dont get many teams that are talented, have inside and outside, show toughness, are together, have great chemistry," coach Tom Izzo said. "Ive said three times in my career that I thought we were good enough to get to a Final Four. I thought this team was next in line." Keenan Robinson Jersey . -- Brendan Leipsic had two goals and an assist and Nicolas Petan extended his point streak to 11 games as the Portland Winterhawks slipped past the Red Deer Rebels 5-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Eli Manning Jersey . The Italian football federation announced the appointment, three days after new president Carlo Tavecchio was elected. Tavecchio and Conte spoke on the phone early Thursday. WASHINGTON -- Thanks to their pitching, the San Diego Padres have hovered around the .500 mark despite having the second-lowest batting average in the National League. On Friday night, their hurlers didnt give them a chance. Three San Diego pitchers surrendered 17 hits as the Washington Nationals clubbed the Padres 11-1. "I think tonight was a function of three (young) pitchers not commanding their fastball," manager Bud Black said. "Youve got to command your fastball in this league and if you dont, major league hitters are going to have you pay." San Diegos Robbie Erlin (1-3) was the primary victim, allowing eight runs and 13 hits over 5 1-3 innings. He struck out three and walked two. "Everything was elevated and I worked behind most of the night," Erlin said, "so put those two together, kind of put me in some holes and let runners on and they got a few big hits." Rookies Kevin Quackenbush, in his major league debut, and Donn Roach allowed three runs in 2 2-3 innings of relief. Everth Cabrera had three hits for the Padres. Bryce Harper drove in a career-high four runs before leaving the game with a jammed thumb, and Stephen Strasburg pitched seven scoreless innings for the Nationals. Harper drove in a run with an infield single in the first and had a bases-loaded triple in the third. Following his headfirst dive into third base on the triple, Harper flexed his left wrist. "I slid into the bag and I caught it a little bit," he said of his thumb. "Went into the dugout, swung a couple in the cage, felt fine. Went out to the outfield, it swelled up a little bit. So (up 6-0) I thought we were in a good spot, and (manager) Matt (Williams) did too, so I got in and got some treatment on it." He was replaced in left field by Nate McLouth to start the fifth inning. Williams said X-rays were negative and Harper would be re-evaluated Saturday. Strasburg (2-2) allowed seven hits and wallked two, but struck out 11. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Jersey. He lowered his ERA from 5.33 to 4.24. One night after Washington went 0 for 16 with runners in scoring position in a 4-3 12-inning loss, the Nationals bounced back by going 7 for 17, including 5 for 7 over the first three innings as they built a 6-0 lead. Harper, who came in with five RBIs in his first 21 games, nearly doubled that. With runners on first and second and two outs in the first, Ian Desmond lined Erlins first pitch to right-centre for a double, scoring Anthony Rendon. Harper followed with an infield single up the middle to make it 2-0. In the third, with one out and the bases loaded, Harper drilled a 3-2 pitch off the wall in right. Three runners scored and Harper, under increased scrutiny since his benching last Saturday for not running out a grounder to the pitcher, was looking triple all the way and slid in ahead of the relay. He scored on a single by Jose Lobaton to make it 6-0. In two career starts against Washington, Erlin has allowed 17 runs in 9 1-3 innings. Pitching against his hometown team, Strasburg allowed at least one baserunner in six of his seven innings, but the Padres couldnt get a timely hit. With the bases loaded and two outs in the third, Yonder Alonso flied to left. In the fourth, the Padres had first and second with one out, but Xavier Nady struck out and, on the pitch, Lobaton caught Nick Hundley roaming too far off first. NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 57 minutes by rain. ... The Padres placed 3B Chase Headley (right calf strain) on the 15-day disabled list and optioned INF/OF Tommy Medica to Triple-A El Paso. They promoted INF Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and Quackenbush from their top minor league team. Peterson made his major league debut as well and collected his first hit, a single off Strasburg in the seventh. ... San Diegos Andrew Cashner (2-2, 2.10) opposes Tanner Roark (1-0, 3.80) on Saturday. 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