The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team is playing the disrespect card once again this year, but they may not have the biggest beef with this years selection committee. My advice to John Calipari and his Tigers -- take a look at the Butler Bulldogs and then get back with me.

The Bulldogs started the season out 19-1 and once they cracked the top 25 in the polls they never fell out. Since their best start in school history, the mid-major team finished with 7-4 to conclude their regular season with a sparkling 26-5 record. Their loss to Cleveland State in the championship game in the Horizon League must have left a sour taste in the selection committee mouth's as the Bulldogs were deemed a No. 9 seed in the big dance.

Butler defeated Cleveland State twice during conference play, by a combined four points. The Bulldogs only non-conference loss on the season came at Ohio State, and also defeated Xavier on the road. The Buckeyes received a No. 8 seed, while the Musketeers earned a No. 4 seed for the dance.

If the Bulldogs want to survive through the first weekend of the March Madness, they must get through LSU in their first round match-up then face the daunting task of No. 1 seed North Carolina in round two.

With more and more parity in the game this year, filling out my bracket I have 13 higher seeds advancing out of the first round. This includes all four No. 9 seeds beating No. 8 seeds -- not really considered a major upset -- and three out of the four No. 12 seeds -- which would be considered upsets. The only No. 12 seed I projected to lose was Arizona, who I do believe is actually favored to win over No. 5 Utah, so I guess you could still consider Utah winning as being an upset when looked at that way. So yes, I am saying the No. 5 Boilermakers are going to see their season come to an end in the first round. Sorry to all those Purdue fans. One of the biggest NCAA snubs -- in my opinion -- was Creighton, who hails from the Missouri Valley Conference. Northern Iowa was the lone pick from the MVC and I have them not only getting by Purdue but also sneaking past Washington in the second round and advancing on to the Sweet 16.

Staying in the Big Ten, I have the Fighting Illini being bounced by No. 12 Western Kentucky -- my Wildcats are suffering through the NIT so I believe the Hilltoppers have one upset in them. But don't worry Big Ten fans, I have Wisconsin making a run in the No. 12 seed, knocking off Florida State in the opening round and also getting past No. 4 Xavier in round two to advance to the round of 16.

My other big upset picks, will be by the before mentioned Vikings of Cleveland State. I like them pull off the biggest upset of the tournament by knocking off No. 4 Wake Forest, then slipping by Utah to reach the round of 16. The clock will hit midnight for this seasons Cinderella, as No. 1 Louisville will end the season for Cleveland State in round three.

Right behind the Vikings' huge upset I have No. 11 VCU knocking off No. 6 UCLA.

Seven will be an unlucky number this season, as I have all the No. 7 seeds falling in the opening round. I have Boston College falling to No. 10 Southern California, California losing to No. 10 Maryland, No. 7 Texas falling to Minnesota (coached by former UK coach Tubby Smith), and Clemson come up short against No. 10 Michigan.

My other two high seeds I have moving on are No. 9 seed Tennessee over No. 8 seed Oklahoma State and No. 9 seed Texas A&M over BYU.

There has never been a No. 1 seed lose in the first round, and that will hold true at least one more season, but North Carolina will receive a scare from No. 16 Radford before finally waking up.

Aside from the upsets in the second round that I have already mentioned (Cleveland State, Northern Iowa, and Wisconsin) I have IU head coach Tom Crean's former team Marquette slipping by No. 3 Missouri to advance to the round of 16 as a No. 6 seed.

Just as seven was an unlucky number for teams, I have three being a lucky number in round three. I have all three remaining No. 3 seeds defeating No. 2 seeds to advance to the elite eight. I have Kansas knocking off the Big Ten's last standing team, Michigan State; Villanova squeaking past Duke; and Syracuse racing past Oklahoma (in just three overtimes and not six).

And for the second straight season, I have all No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. I have Louisville knocking off defending champs, Kansas; UConn ending the season for Big East foe Marquette; Pittsburgh doing the same against the Wildcats of Villanova; and Carolina ending the possibility of it being an All-Big East Final Four as they knock off Syracuse.

I also have the Tar Heels making sure the Big East is not guaranteed a National Champion as they will end the Panthers run, while Louisville knocks off UConn. Although the Cardinals are coached by former UK coach Rick Pitino, I have North Carolina making a late comeback just as Kansas did last season (maybe not quite as dramatic) to send "psycho T", Tyler Hansbrough off in style with a national title.

I may be dead wrong on some of my picks, but one thing is for sure -- if this years big dance is anything like the regular season, it has all the ingredients for an exciting 63 games.

Travis David is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at 812-847-4487 or at tdavid@gcdailyworld.com