As you know the new NCAA Men's Basketball tournament bracket was released today, and above is the new layout for the bracket (proposed teams, as you can see UK got a 1 seed).

SBnation.com had this to say about the new bracket format:

"The field will consist of 68 teams divided into four, 17-team regions. (Yes, the aim is for each region to have a First Round game.)

The "Opening Round" is now the "First Round" or "First Four" for marketing purposes. That means first weekend pods are now the Second and Third Round, instead of First and Second Round ones.

Of the 68 entrants, 31 will be automatically qualifying conference champions. Four of these teams will play in Dayton for two spots on the 16 line.

The other 37 teams will be selected by the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. For the first time, ever the "Last Four In" will be easy to figure out, as these teams will pair off to play--also in Dayton--for two spots in the bracket, likely on the 11, 12, or 13 lines.

With the addition of three teams, there will be an affect on the bracket's S-curve. For example, you can bet that pairs of 3 and 4 seeds will face stiffer Second Round (former First Round) tests, as two 13 seeds are liable to be teams that would have been 12s in the past, with the same going for two 14s in relation to the 13 line. This ripple effect will continue down the bracket."

Pretty interesting stuff, another cool side note is that because of the "new round" of four teams, there may be some inter-conference match-ups as soon as the second round.

Go. Cats.