It’s officially here.
I never thought I would view the NCAA Tournament as a diversion,
but alas, this year that’s exactly what it is. Is the luster gone?
No.
It’s still the greatest sporting event on earth. It’s still one
of the most emotional. It’s everything James Naismith could have
wished for and more. It’s March Madness.
Without further ado, here is your OFFICIAL guide to the NCAA
Tournament.
Television
With the war going on now, the tradition of watching the NCAA
Tournament on CBS may be put on hold. So, to keep people from
missing it altogether, CBS struck a deal with ESPN to help carry
the games in case CBS had to cut away to cover the war. As of the
start of the tournament on Thursday, that has been the case so
far.
For women’s action, you also need to pay attention to ESPN and
ESPN2 as they have full rights to all 63 games of the women’s
tournament. So watching it is simple. You want men? Go to CBS and
then ESPN. You want the girls? Go to ESPN and ESPN2.
Men’s East Regional
Our beloved SEC West champion Bulldogs will be playing in the
East Region of The Dance. MSU is the No. 5 seed, so they are
matched up first with No. 12 Butler in Birmingham, Ala. For a
little background on Butler (who also carry the nickname Bulldogs),
they finished with an identical 25-5 record last year but were
snubbed by the selection committee and sent to the NIT. This year,
they have something to prove. Plus, there’s also the “five-twelve
curse.”
Over the years in the tournament, the No. 5 seeds have had
trouble beating the No. 12 seeds. No one knows why, it just
happens. But, to look at it a different way, the last time MSU made
the Final Four (1996) they were a No. 5 seed.
As for the rest of the region, it’s wide open. If they get by
Butler, State will face the winner of No. 4 Louisville and No. 13
Austin Peay. Oustide of the Birmingham region, No. 1 Oklahoma is
the paper favorite to take the East, but a matchup with MSU or
Louisville in the regional semifinals could spell trouble for the
banged-up Sooners. The No. 2 seed in the East, Wake Forest, won the
ACC regular season title but was ousted by North Carolina State in
the ACC Tournament. Wake could be headed for a regional semifinal
matchup against No. 3 Syracuse and freshman sensation Carmelo
Anthony. Who has the advantage after the second round? Well, if
Syracuse can beat No. 14 Manhattan and then take care of either No.
6 Oklahoma State or No. 11 Penn, then the Orangemen could be the
favorites for one reason–they’re playing in Albany, N.Y., not far
from the Carrier Dome.
More men’s brackets
Chances are, if you’ve followed college basketball at all this
year, you might have at least penciled in Kentucky in the Final
Four, if not the national title. The ‘Cats are playing the best
basketball in the country right now and are the No. 1 seed in the
Midwest region. UK should have no problems running through the
Midwest bracket, as the best team they could face is Pittsburgh in
the regional finals. Stranger things have happened though. Remember
Kansas in 1997?
In the LOADED West bracket, Arizona has the No. 1 seed but may
not even be the favorite to win the region. No. 2 Kansas, No. 3
Duke and even No. 4 Illinois could make a case that they belong in
New Orleans in April, but the team to watch in the west bracket is
No. 6 Creighton. They may not have the talent to win the national
title or even make the Final Four, but they’re one of those teams
you refer to as “giant killers.”
Finally, the South region could be one of the more intersting
regions due to the fact that so many different teams could win it.
No. 1 Texas got a gift by getting the No. 1 seed, but they have
some stiff competition with No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Xavier, No. 4
Stanford, No. 5 Connecticut and defending national champion
Maryland, who is the No. 6 seed. The upset to watch could come if
LSU gets by Purdue and gets a shot at the Longhorns in
Birmingham.
Women’s East Regional
Just like the men, the Lady Bulldogs are also in the East
regional of the NCAA Tournament this year. The Lady Bulldogs are
coming off a semifinal appearance in the SEC Tournament and have
earned a No. 3 seed in the East. MSU will take on No. 14 Manhattan
in the first round at Albuquerque, N.M. A win could match the Lady
Dawgs up with homestanding New Mexico in the second round.
After that, MSU will more than likely play No. 2 Texas Tech, but
do not count out UC-Santa Barbara just yet. UCSB is the most
underrated team in women’s college basketball, and could suprise a
couple of teams, especially the Red Raiders.
No. 1 Duke heads the list of teams in the East regional and is
picked by most to not only win the East, but to possibly dethrone
UConn as national champions.
More women’s brackets
Even though their 70-game winning streak was snapped by
Villanova last week, the UConn Lady Huskies are still a team you
should heavily consider for the national title again this year.
UConn has a somewhat easy region with only Vanderbilt and Kansas
State posing the biggest challenges, but a national semifinal
matchup with SEC champion LSU could be the one of the tournament’s
marquee matchups.