Former Kansas player and current Colorado head coach Tad Boyle gets at his team during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Because America’s workforce slacks off this week in the holy quest to fill out the perfect NCAA Tournament bracket, here are 10 bullet-point observations leading up to the Big Dance. If this blog entry takes you away from work, the Conference Chatter blog apologizes in advance (hey, that rhymed).

1. Colorado got jobbed. Is there any other way to describe this indefensible omission? CU coach Tad Boyle should storm NCAA headquarters and demand answers. Coach, if you need suggestions in listening to some heavy rock to let off some steam while throwing furniture around your office, I highly recommend Avenged Sevenfold’s “Waking the Fallen” album or Sevendust’s “Seasons.”

Former Kansas player and current Colorado head coach Tad Boyle gets at his team during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Seriously, though, the Buffaloes (21-13, 8-8 Big 12) scored six victories against top-50 teams. They beat K-State, a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tourney, three times. They beat Texas, a No. 4 seed. UAB (22-8, 12-4 Conference USA), for example, an inexplicable tournament team, beat … umm … VCU (23-11, 12-6 Colonial Athletic). Well whoop-de-bleepin’-doo. UAB also played the following NCAA tournament teams: Georgia, Duke, Memphis, Memphis again. They lost to all of them. This was an example on Sunday of over-evaluation from the NCAA committee, which typically does a fine job of selecting the field. Perhaps the new, 68-team composition confused some folks this year (the field never should have expanded from 64 in the first place).

2. Each year in the tournament, there seems to be a 5 vs. 12 upset (or two). This year, I like the upstart No. 12 seed Richmond Spiders (27-7, 13-3 Atlantic 10) taking down No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (23-10, 9-7 SEC). Richmond, which owns a quality victory over Purdue, has won seven games in a row and 11 of its last 12. The Spiders recently won the Atlantic 10 tournament. Plus, Vanderbilt has a recent history of being upset. Remember last year? No. 13 Murray State 66, No. 4 Vanderbilt 65.

3. Kansas’ path as the second No. 1 seed seems to be more favorable than the overall No. 1, Ohio State. In the East region, Ohio State will run into a dangerous George Mason squad or Villanova in round 2, while the Jayhawks should be able to handle UNLV or Illinois in the Southwest region in round 2.

Kansas head coach Bill Self walks off the court with a championship hat following the Jayhawks' win over Texas on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at the Sprint Center.

Furthermore, OSU could draw No. 4 Kentucky (winners of six straight, SEC tournament champs) in the Sweet 16, and No. 2 North Carolina or No. 3 Syracuse in the Elite Eight, if seeds hold. No thanks. Kansas could draw No. 4 Louisville in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 Notre Dame or No. 3 Purdue in the Elite Eight.

4. Why is Texas (27-7) a No. 4 seed? This is particularly perplexing when you glance at the bottom right of your bracket and see Florida (26-7) as a No. 2. Was the committee throwing back Patron shots while assigning these two seeds? OK, so Florida has a national ranking of 4 in strength of schedule on realtimerpi.com, and an RPI of 8. UT’s strength of schedule is 15, while its RPI is 11. These are not two teams that should be separated by two seeds, though.

5. Best player in the tournament: BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. As Chris Walken might say: I’ve got a fever. And the only prescription … is more Jimmer. Fredette posted a half-century (more, actually, since it was 52) on New Mexico in a memorable Mountain West tournament semifinals matchup last week. He leads the country with 28.5 points per game. Fredette is one of the most exciting players the game’s offered in a few years.

I’d caution advancing BYU too far in your bracket, though. The loss of Brandon Davies, its best interior post player who was suspended for violating the team’s honor code, could haunt the Cougars.

6. Big 12 outlook: Texas: The Longhorns will take on No. 13 Oakland (25-9) at 11:15 a.m. on Friday in Tulsa, Okla. If they win, the Horns would face the winner of No. 5 Arizona (27-7) and No. 12 Memphis (25-9). I’m pulling for an Arizona-Texas clash in what would be the most exciting second-round matchup I can ever remember. KU fans who make the trip to Tulsa would be fortunate enough to witness it.

7. Big 12 outlook: Texas A&M: The No. 7 Aggies (24-8) find themselves in KU’s bracket in the Southwest region, taking on No. 10 Florida State (21-10) at 3:10 pm. on Friday in Chicago. A&M has a solid shot of winning, but would likely run into No. 2 Notre Dame in the second round on Sunday. When updating your bracket, be sure to check on the status of Florida State star guard Chris Singleton, who’s questionable with a foot injury. It looks like he’s going to play, but the Aggies would have a decisive advantage if Singleton doesn’t suit up. Texas A&M has won first-round NCAA tourney games each of the past five seasons.

8. Big 12 outlook: Kansas State: The No. 5 Wildcats (22-10) have a tough draw in round 1, when they’ll face No. 12 Utah State (30-3) at 8:57 p.m. on Thursday in Tucson, Ariz. If KSU gets by Utah State, it could make a run, with subsequent games against Wisconsin, Pittsburgh and Florida/BYU, if the seeds hold. Time for Jacob Pullen to make his name known across the country.

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor defends against a shot from Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen during the first half on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

9. Big 12 outlook: Missouri: The No. 11 Tigers (23-10) sputtered into the tournament and will face No. 6 Cincinnati (25-8) at 8:50 p.m. on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Missouri has lost four of its past five games and displayed nothing at the Big 12 tournament that would suggest it’s capable of a deep NCAA run. MU would face the No. 3 UConn/No. 14 Bucknell winner if it advances.

10. Fill out your NCAA Tournament brackets on KUsports.com today. We are picking play-in games this year, so you only have until 5:30 p.m. Central time on Tuesday to finalize your picks.

That should be all for now, friends. As always, discuss.