although, I will say that the NCAA Tournament people micro manage every damn game and thing, and it wouldn't surprise me if we got "penalized" for playing UGA or UK because they seem to like to screw SEC teams over crap like that.
Could you imagine winning the SEC West and going to the Independence Bowl because our QB was hurt? Or going to a lesser bowl because we beat UT when their QB was hurt, so the win is "devalued"? That is essentially what the selection committee does with basketball.