reach 68 teams, 1 goal the...

2012 NCAA Tournament

EXPANDED COVERAGE INSIDEPage C2 ● Snyder: NCAA problems on hold for 3 weeks● Complete tournament bracket ● Bracket by the numbersPage C11 ● Georgetown’s two seniors wary of early upset● Turnaround continues for Loyola ● Regional capsulesPage C12 ● Patrick Stevens breaks down the field of 68

REACHTHE SUPERDOME

68 TEAMS, 1 GOAL

� MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012C2 | SPORTS


1: Team in the field with a losing record. Western Kentuckywas 9-18 when the interim coach tag was removed from RayHarper’s title. The Hilltoppers then won six straight, includingfour in the Sun Belt tourney.

23: Consecutive NCAA tournament appearances for Kansas,the longest active streak in the country. Duke (17) and Michi-gan State (15) have the next longest current streaks.

26-2: Record for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in NCAA tournament games in the state of North Carolina. The BlueDevils will open the tournament in Greensboro, where theBlue Devils are 12-0 in NCAA games under Coach K.

4: Atlantic 10 teams in the field, the most for the conferencesince it sent four teams to the tournament in 2004. Tourna-ment champ St. Bonaventure joined Temple, Saint Louis andXavier in the field.

2: Pac-12 teams selected for the tournament, the second timein three years the Pac-10/Pac-12 earned so few bids. The lasttime it had happened to the conference before 2010 was1988.

3: Consecutive NCAA tournament appearances for San DiegoState, which is back in the field after last year’s trip to theround of 16. The Aztecs had only five NCAA appearances be-fore 2010.

13: Years between Detroit’s NCAA tournament appearances.The Titans won the Horizon League tournament thanks to theMcCallums —- Ray Sr. is the coach, and Ray Jr. is a sophomoreaveraging 15.6 points.

11.8: Rebounds per game for Kansas’ Thomas Robinson, themost of any player in the field. West Virginia’s Kevin Jones andColorado’s Andre Roberson average 11.1 rebounds.

6: First-year coaches in the NCAA field. Lamar’s Pat Knight,Missouri’s Frank Haith, Murray State’s Steve Prohm, N.C.State’s Mark Gottfried, UNLV’s Dave Rice and Vermont’s JohnBecker capped their first seasons with an NCAA bid.

GOT YOUR NUMBERS

The brackets for theNCAA men’s bas-ketball tourna-

ment have been filled,meaning we can forgetabout the regular season. . . except it seems to beforgotten nowadays waybefore Selection Sunday.

Once the bubblesburst and argumentsabout who did/didn’tget in die down, thetournament itself should

be fine. It consistently produces some ofthe most drama, excitement and raw emo-tion that sports can offer. But while thefinal destination remains enjoyable, theroad in getting there is a growing concern.

This might be the wrong time to men-tion college basketball’s problems, such asdwindling attendance, mediocre teams andlimited stars. We’re still digesting whereteams are headed and their potentialmatchups en route to New Orleans. Wedon’t want to hear about “saturation” and“overexposure” right now. At this time ofthe year, we relish the opportunity to seeevery game.

Conference tournaments continue toserve as tasty appetizers, giving us flavor-ful upsets this season in the SEC, Big East,Big 12 and ACC. The nation’s top fourteams going in — Kentucky, Syracuse,Kansas and North Carolina — weredumped by Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Baylorand Florida State, respectively. No. 7 OhioState and No. 8 Michigan State engaged ina delightful, back-and-forth tilt for the BigTen championship, before the Spartansprevailed to earn the final No. 1 seed.

But even those tourneys seem to havelost some luster in recent years. Barely ahandful of teams are capable of playingtheir way into the main event, while thepower-conference heavyweights lose littleground in defeat, as evidenced by Ken-tucky, Syracuse and North Carolina earn-ing No. 1 seeds.

The main question in most mid-majorconferences is whether the regular-seasonchamp wins the automatic bid and therebykeeps an interloper from knocking out adeserving at-large candidate. And arguingwhich of a few mid-major leagues mightmerit multiple bids always makes for agood debate, as does which schools shouldbe forced to play-in to the 64-team field.

Speaking of the “First Four” nonsense,the NCAA should stop making us out forfools. Calling those initial games the “firstround” is ludicrous, considering that 60teams don’t open play until the next

round.The only thing the NCAA has done is

make a mess of historical references.When we say Georgetown hasn’t advancedto the NCAA’s second round since 2007,that obscures the fact that the Hoyas losttheir first game (in the so-called “secondround”) last year against Virginia Com-monwealth University.

This year’s VCU is Iona, a school mostbracketologists had on the outside. Saywhat you will about VCU’s stirring run tothe Final Four last season, but expandingthe field to 68 teams has helped waterdown the regular season that much more.The bloated brackets last year resulted inthe most 11-loss teams, 13-loss teams and14-loss teams ever; there were five teamsin the latter category, one fewer than thetotal since 1985.

Again, none of this should have mucheffect once the games get under way. Theteams shown during CBS’s selection

broadcast still broke into cheers whentheir names were announced, still demon-strated the unbridled exuberance thatmakes March Madness so special. WithCBS and Turner gearing up to broadcastevery game for the second consecutiveyear, the feast is almost upon us.

We should enjoy it. Forget about theregular-season problems for awhile.

But college football continues to be ajackhammer in basketball, chipping Syra-cuse off the Big East and Missouri off theBig 12. Many star basketball players con-tinue to stay on campus for the bare mini-mum, increasing the disconnect with fans.The season’s early months continue tofight for relevancy, which will be near-im-possible if, God forbid, the NCAA tourna-ment expands further.

The next three weeks promise to be asentertaining as ever. We’ll worry about thefour months leading up to them at a laterdate.

Enjoy your bracket; problems can wait

DERONSNYDER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lamar's Pat Knight,son of the legendaryBob Knight, is one of a handful of first-yearcoaches in this year'stournament.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams wasn’t too happy during his team’s ACC Tournament title gameloss to Florida State on Sunday. But it should cheer him up to know North Carolina is one of ahandful of programs capable of playing its way into the NCAA tournament these days.

Men’s Division IBasketball Championship

W E S T M I D W E S T

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March 13-14First Round

Final FourMarch 31

Elite EightMarch 24-25

Sweet 16March 22-23

Third RoundMarch 17-18

Second RoundMarch 15-16

Final FourMarch 31

Elite EightMarch 24-25

Sweet 16March 22-23

Third RoundMarch 17-18

Second RoundMarch 15-16

KentuckyMiss.Valley/W.Ky

Miss.Valley St.Western Kentucky

BYUIona

CaliforniaSouth Florida

LamarVermont

Iowa St.Connecticut

Wichita St.VCU

IndianaNew Mexico St.

UNLVColorado

BaylorSouth Dakota St.

Notre DameXavier

DukeLehigh

Michigan St.Long Island

MemphisSaint Louis

New MexicoLong Beach St.

LouisvilleDavidson

Murray St.Colorado St.

MarquetteBYU/Iona

FloridaVirginia

MissouriNorfolk St.

SyracuseUNC-Asheville

Kansas St.Southern Miss

VanderbiltHarvard

WisconsinMontana

CincinnatiTexas

Florida St.St. Bonaventure

GonzagaWest Virginia

Ohio St.Loyola (Md)

North CarolinaLamar/Vermont

CreightonAlabama

TempleCal/South Florida

MichiganOhio

San Diego St.N.C. St.

GeorgetownBelmont

Saint Mary’sPurdue

KansasDetroit

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 � SPORTS | C112012 NCAA Tournament

VIRGINIACOMMONWEALTHRecord: 28-6, 15-3

Coach: ShakaSmart (83-27, thirdseason)

Conference:Colonial (automatic bid)

Last NCAA appearance: 2011 (FinalFour)

Starters Pos. Yr. Pts.

Darius Theus G Jr. 8.6

Troy Daniels G Jr. 10.0

Bradford Burgess G Sr. 13.3

Juvonte Reddic F So. 10.6

D.J. Haley C So. 3.2

Critical juncture: The Rams split their first six games, all but one awayfrom home. They followed it up with six straight double-digit routs beforeChristmas (including a 73-51 thrashingof Richmond) and kept rolling fromthere.

Reason for optimism: Pick one ofmany. Darius Theus is a more-than-capable point guard. Briante Weber isexceptional at disrupting defenses. TroyDaniels is an efficient outside shooter.Bradford Burgess is a mainstay. Andafter last year’s Final Four run, there’sprobably some belief it could happenagain.

Reason for pessimism: Defensiverebounding. If there’s a nit to pick withthe Rams, it is a defensive-reboundingpercentage that ranked ninth in theCAA. Of course, VCU helps offset thatby easily leading the conference insteals and turnover margin. Make nomistake: The Rams are dangerous.

Wild card: Daniels. The junior helped fillout the rotation in his first two seasonsand started the opening two gamesthis year but generally was a reserve for most of the year. He’s started thepast 15 games, reaching double figuresin 10 and hit a 3-pointer in all but one.If he gets hot, VCU’s tough to stop

The draw: The Rams earned a No. 12seed and get rewarded with a mid-majorshowdown against fifth-seeded WichitaState in Portland, Ore. There’s a pathopen to the second weekend with fourth-seeded Indiana playing without guardVerdell Jones III.

Number of note: 6Coaches to open their careers with 80 wins in their first three seasons:Brad Stevens (89), Smart (83), MarkFox (81), Mark Few (81), Everett Case(80) and Bill Guthridge (80).

Projection: Who wants to bet againstthe Rams after last year? Anyone? Awin or two easily could be in the cardsafter a revamped roster did what lastyear’s bunch couldn’t: win the CAAtournament. Also on tap is even greaterinterest from bigger programs in the 34-year-old Smart after demonstrating hewasn’t a three-week wonder.

LOYOLARecord: 24-8, 13-5

Coach: JimmyPatsos (122-122,eighth season)

Conference: MetroAtlantic (automatic bid)

Last NCAA appearance: 1994 (firstround)


R.J. Williams G Fr. 4.0

Dylon Cormier G So. 13.4

Robert Olson G Jr. 11.2

Erik Etherly F Jr. 13.5

Shane Walker F Sr. 9.1

Critical juncture: A weekend trip in January revealed plenty about theGreyhounds. They rallied from 15 pointsdown to defeat Fairfield, the sort ofgame Loyola wouldn’t have won theprevious few years. The Greyhoundslost two days later at Iona, a setbackthat left them thoroughly unsatisfied.They would beat Iona at home a monthlater and Fairfield again in the MAACtitle game.

Reason for optimism: Depth. Loyolacan go 10 deep if Patsos is so inclinedand usually rotates nine men. Thescorer’s table sometimes feels like arevolving door, but the Greyhoundsaren’t overly dependent upon a singleplayer to thrive.

Reason for pessimism: Outsideshooting. The Greyhounds were amiddle-of-the-pack team in 3-pointpercentage in the MAAC, and as a teamthey’ve made exactly five per game.Robert Olson is an effective gunner, buthe’s the only Loyola player averagingmore than one 3-pointer an outing.

Wild card: Reserves Justin Drummondand Anthony Winbush. Both are D.C.-area products (Drummond attendedRiverdale Baptist in Maryland, andWinbush played at Alexandria’s T.C.Williams High) who provide a jolt onoffense and defense, respectively.When both play well, Loyola’s tough tostop.

The draw: The Greyhounds draw OhioState in Pittsburgh. Loyola earned theNo. 15 seed and will be matched upagainst imposing big man Jared Sullingerand the Buckeyes. Loyola was a No. 15seed in its only other appearance.

Number of note: 39.0Offensive rebounding percentage for the Greyhounds. Loyola consistentlyinflicted damage on the offensive glass,and it is a trait likely to carry overreasonably well to the NCAAtournament.

Projection: The Greyhounds arrived ayear early, though probably a few yearslater than Patsos would have liked. Still,Loyola is a great story, earning an NCAAbid less than a decade after a 1-27season. A win is unlikely, but a feistyouting at Kentucky in December isevidence Loyola won’t be intimidated.

GEORGETOWNRecord: 23-8, 12-6

Coach: JohnThompson III (183-81, eighth season;251-123 in 11seasons overall)

Conference: BigEast (at-large)

Last NCAA appearance: 2011 (roundof 64)


Jason Clark G Sr. 13.9

Otto Porter G Fr. 9.5

Hollis Thompson F Jr. 12.7

Nate Lubick F So. 3.5

Henry Sims C Sr. 11.7

Critical juncture: After a feebledefensive performance in a Jan. 28loss at Pittsburgh, the Hoyas held fouropponents below 50 points during a 6-2 February. That stretch solidifiedGeorgetown as one of the top teams in the Big East.

Reason for optimism: Sims.Georgetown's offense runs through thebig fella, who blossomed as a senior atboth ends of the floor. Sims averaged6.2 rebounds and a team-best 3.5assists during the regular season andhis skill set might be the most difficultfacet of preparing for the Hoyas.

Reason for pessimism: The absence ofextended winning streaks. Georgetownhasn't won more than two consecutivegames since mid-January, and its lastthree-game run featured victories overSt. John's, DePaul and Rutgers. Amemorable run requires ending thatpattern.

Wild card: Greg Whittington. Thefreshman has demonstrated a knackfor scoring at opportune times thisseason, which comes as no surprise to those who followed his high schoolcareer. His defense, though, is betterthan expected, and he can provide helpat both ends of the floor in a pinch.

The draw: Despite dropping two of itsfinal three games, Georgetown held onfor a No. 3 seed in the Midwest regional.The Hoyas will open against Belmont,winner of the Atlantic Sun, in a rematchof a 2007 first-round matchup won byGeorgetown 80-55.

Number of note: 0Combined NCAA tournament victoriesfor Georgetown's roster. The Hoyashave lost to Davidson (2008 secondround), Ohio (2010) and VirginiaCommonwealth (2011) in their lastthree NCAA games.

Projection: These Hoyas don't look likethe sort to suffer a first-round flameoutlike their two immediate predecessors.It is a group that plays well together andsmart in general. But they haven't donemuch of note away from Verizon Centersince the start of 2012, and a staydeep into March seems unlikely.

NORFOLK STATERecord: 25-9, 13-3

Coach: AnthonyEvans (77-81, fifthseason)

Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic (automatic bid)

Last NCAA appearance: None


Pendarvis Williams G So. 11.8

Chris McEachin G Sr. 12.8

Rodney McCauley G Sr. 3.4

Marcos Tamares F Sr. 6.8

Kyle O'Quinn C Sr. 15.9

Critical juncture: The Spartans lostthree out of four home games duringone stretch in January and February,including an overtime setback toDelaware State. They regrouped to winseven in a row, including a 73-70 defeatof Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC titlegame.

Reason for optimism: Size andexperience. The Spartans have thepotential to be a difficult matchup witha lineup whose shortest starter is 6-foot-5. It's an athletic bunch, and it'smore surprising the Spartans lost threeleague games than their conferencetournament victory.

Reason for pessimism: The unknown.How do the Spartans handle the bigstage for the first time since theymoved up to Division I in the late1990s? They'll find out soon enoughhow much they've grown since sufferinglosses to Marquette (twice) and VirginiaTech early in the season.

Wild card: O'Quinn. The 6-foot-10senior is a more-than-credible big man,averaging 10.4 rebounds and 2.7blocks. Should he establish himselfinside, Norfolk would at least have aplausible chance of making thingsinteresting for a while.

The draw: The Spartans avoided thefate of being a No. 16 seed. Instead,they get a one-way ticket to the Midwestto take on a Missouri team less thanpleased about not being a No. 1 seed.Norfolk State’s first apperance in thetournament will begin (and likely end) inOmaha, Neb.

Number of note: 8Consecutive NCAA tournament lossesfor MEAC teams since Florida A&M'splay-in game win in 2004. The league'slast round of 64 victory was Hampton'supset of Iowa State in 2001.

Projection: No one should expect theSpartans to advance to the weekend,but they have a handful of decent wins(Drexel, Long Island and TCU) and losttheir second meeting with Marquette bytwo points. Either way, the Spartansshould have as much fun as anyonesince it is their NCAA tournamentdebut.

VIRGINIARecord: 22-9, 9-7

Coach: Tony Bennett(53-40, thirdseason; 122-73 insix seasons overall)

Conference: Atlantic Coast (at-large)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (roundof 32)


Jontel Evans G Jr. 7.3

Sammy Zeglinski G Sr. 8.7

Joe Harris G So. 11.5

Mike Scott F Sr. 18.1

Akil Mitchell F So. 4.1

Critical juncture: The Cavaliers were15-2 after a 70-38 rout of Georgia Techon Jan. 19. But senior center AssaneSene was diagnosed with a right ankleinjury and didn't play again, and Virginiasplit its final 14 games. Sene wasn't astatistical dynamo, but left the Hooswithout a crucial element in theirdefense.

Reason for optimism: Mike Scott. The well-rounded fifth-year senior was perhaps the ACC's most valuableplayer, carrying the Cavaliers after Seneand Malcolm Brogdon were lost toinjury. He scored at least 20 points infive of Virginia's last six games and willlikely do so again in the postseason.

Reason for pessimism: Depth.Virginia's results in its last three games-- three losses, a two-point win atsnakebit Virginia Tech and an overtimevictory at Maryland -- do not suggest ateam capable of surviving the firstweekend of the tournament.

Wild card: Style. Ultimately, theCavaliers' preferred way to play meansthey'll have a chance against nearlyeveryone. Virginia has suffered sevenof its nine losses by three points orless, and that includes games againstFlorida State (twice), Duke and NorthCarolina.

The draw: The Cavaliers’ five-yeartournament drought ended despite aharrowing end to the regular season.Virginia earned a No. 10 seed and willface Florida in its first game, with eitherMissouri or Norfolk State awaiting inthe round of 32.

Number of note: 1Victory in the last 16 NCAAtournaments for the Cavaliers -- a 2007first round defeat of Albany. Virginia hasnot advanced to the round of 16 since1995.

Projection: There's no reason Virginiacan't at least win one game, but theCavaliers' seven-man rotation has notexactly thrived in the season's closingweeks. Don't expect multiple victoriesfrom Bennett's team, but it is a triumphsimply to have squeezed a tournamentberth out of such a limited roster.

BY PATRICK STEVENS

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

BALTIMORE | As the crowd at ReitzArena cheered when Loyola pre-dictably popped up on a big screenduring the NCAA tournament selectionshow Sunday, coach Jimmy Patsos gotto work.

He quickly scribbled a small chart.In one box was his Greyhounds’ meet-ing with Ohio State. In the other was thematchup between Gonzaga and WestVirginia.

That’s the only concern for theMetro Atlantic champions, the loneteam from the state of Maryland toearn a place in the field.

“It’s genius,” said Patsos, who saidbroadcaster Jay Bilas told him earlierthis season it was the approach Dukecoach Mike Krzyzewski takes to thetournament.

“Krzyzewski says to the players ‘Thisis all you have to worry about. The mostthings we can control in the next weekare beating Ohio State and playing thewinner of West Virginia-Gonzaga.”

That’s easier said than done for theGreyhounds (24-8), who were a No. 15seed in their only previous appearancein the tournament. Loyola will face thesecond-seeded Buckeyes (27-7) onThursday in Pittsburgh.

Elsewhere in the region:● Virginia landed in the field for the

first time in three seasons under coachTony Bennett. The Cavaliers (22-9)were beset by injuries down the stretch,yet they still collected a No. 10 seed, andwill face Florida in Omaha, Neb., on Fri-day.

● Joining the Cavaliers in the WestRegional is Mid-Eastern Athletic champNorfolk State (25-9), which earned theNo. 15 seed. The Spartans, who aremaking their first NCAA appearance,will face second-seeded Missouri onFriday.

● Virginia Commonwealth, theColonial Athletic Association cham-

pion and a Final Four team a year ago,earned a No. 12 seed in the Southbracket and was shipped to Portland,Ore. The Rams (28-6) will face fifth-seeded Wichita State, which won theMissouri Valley regular-season title, onThursday.

Back at Loyola, the selection showwas the culmination of perhaps themost satisfying week of Patsos’ tenure.He inherited a 1-27 team after a longstint as an assistant at Maryland and setabout to rebuild a program in tatters.

It took eight years, but the Grey-hounds clinched their berth with a 48-44 victory over Fairfield in the MAACtitle game. Then came a whirlwindweek as the reality of hitting the bigtime set in.

“It’s been crazy,” junior guard RobertOlson said. “I’ve been trying to be a lit-tle subdued, because we’ve had four orfive days off and we got so excitedMonday when we won, we’ve just beentrying to calm down and focus on prac-ticing and getting ready for whoever wewere going to play. Tonight was crazy.I was nervous at every selection. Whenwe finally got introduced, I didn’t knowwhat to think.”

Now, the Greyhounds can movealong to preparing for their subregional.Loyola already is familiar with elite tal-ent, having played at Kentucky earlierthis season. And landing a game withindriving distance is a boon for a schoolthat’s gradually fostered more excite-ment for its basketball program underPatsos.

As for Ohio State and star centerJared Sullinger, he’s a big part of Loy-ola’s narrow concentration, thoughthe Greyhounds don’t plan to be intim-idated.

“I just see him as another player,”said senior Shane Walker, who beganhis career at Maryland. “You can’t gointo a game scared. We’re going in to tryto play and try and win the game. Everygame we play, we try to win the game.This is no different for us.”

LOYOLA

Tournament trip definesturnaround under Patsos

BY NATHAN FENNO

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Minutes slipped away without men-tion of Georgetown on the sprawlingtelevision blaring the NCAA tourna-ment selection show inside the LeoO’Donovan Dining Hall. So, JasonClark leaned over to Henry Sims.

“What if we didn’t get in?” Clarkwhispered.

The Georgetown senior was joking,of course.

Then came the news Clark, Simsand the rest of Georgetown’s basketballteam waited for Sunday night: TheHoyas will face Belmont as a No. 3 seedFriday in Columbus, Ohio. If George-town advances, it gets the winner ofthe San Diego State-North CarolinaState contest Sunday.

Before the announcement, Clarkwarned Sims not to ask coach JohnThompson III where the team washeaded. Thanks to a mysterious sourcelast year, Thompson tipped off seniorsAustin Freeman and Chris Wright theywould play in Chicago long before theinformation was public.

But the biggest drama Sunday wasnot if Georgetown would get in, asClark quipped, but how losing two ofits last three games would affect theseed. Thompson thought his seedcould range from No. 3 to No. 6.

When the student-led cheers qui-eted, the live television shot from CBSclicked off, top recruit Nerlens Noeland his flattop haircut departed and thefree hot dogs and hamburgers disap-peared, serious looks occupied thefaces of Sims and Clark.

On a team with 10 freshmen andsophomores, they understand theheartache the NCAA tournament canbring. The two seniors haven’t won a

game there, suffering upsets to Ohio in2010 and Virginia CommonwealthUniversity in 2011.

This is their last chance.“That doesn’t leave your mind at

all,” Clark said. “This team is a lot hun-grier than the team in the past.”

In a preseason poll, Big Eastcoaches picked Georgetown (22-8overall, 13-7 conference) to finish 10thin the league.

But behind a talented group offreshmen and the much-improvedSims, the Hoyas are ranked No. 13 inthe country.

Belmont (26-7, 19-2) won the At-lantic Sun Conference tournament andwill move to the Ohio Valley Confer-

ence next season. Thompson has atleast two game tapes of Belmont (thecoach suspects there may be more)and noted the team’s complex offensewith plenty of movement that leavesdefenders in awkward positions.

Belmont opened the season with aone-point loss to Duke.

Sims, still smarting from Thurs-day’s double-overtime loss to Cincin-nati in the Big East tournament, sim-ply was relieved to hear Georgetown’sname called.

“It was a little nerve-wracking eventhough you know you’re in,” Sims said.“You just want to hear your namecalled and get it over with. . . . It waslike a burden off our shoulders.”

GEORGETOWN

Two seniors wary of upsetClark and Simsare familiar withMarch sadness

NCAA tournament capsules compiled by The Times’ Patrick Stevens

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Georgetown sophomore Markel Starks, going to the basket against Marquette, isone of 10 underclassmen on the Hoyas’ roster.

THE POWERFUL

(12 teams to be wary of)

Florida StateWith the possible exception of guard Michael

Snaer, this isn’t a team of stars. But heavens, dothe Seminoles defend, just as they have through-out their run as the best team in the ACC outsideof Duke and North Carolina over the last fouryears. On a night when Florida State can hit some3-pointers, it will be an immensely difficult out.

KansasCredit to Bill Self for shrugging off some pre-

season concerns and leading the Jayhawks to a 27-6 mark. The Jayhawks have a recent history of oddNCAA losses, but have reached the round of 16in four of the last five years. Kansas won’t go qui-etly; its only loss by double digits all season wasa 10-point setback to Kentucky.

KentuckyThe Wildcats are the prohibitive favorite, even

with yet another roster littered with freshmen. Ofcourse, when one of the freshmen is AnthonyDavis and the rest are exceptionally skilled, itmight not matter that much. John Calipari cameexcruciatingly close to a title in 2008 with Mem-phis; he may well get it this year.

MichiganYes, the Wolverines are back among the elite,

earning their highest seed since they were a No.3 in 1998. The next step? Reaching the secondweekend for the first time since Juwan Howardwas still in Ann Arbor. That’s right, Michiganhasn’t made the round of 16 since 1994. JohnBeilein and Co. are poised to end that drought.

Michigan StateBet against Tom Izzo and Draymond Green at

your own risk. As usual, the Spartans are tough,tested and plenty capable of making life miserablefor anyone standing in their way. After a first-round exit a year ago, there’s little doubt Michi-gan State is back to its normal self. The Spartanswill go deep, perhaps back to the Final Four forthe third time in four years.

MissouriIt’s been a magical season for senior guard Kim

English and his teammates, including a Big 12 tour-nament title as a going-away present as the Tigershead into the SEC next year. Missouri enteredSunday with an 11-3 mark against the top 50, a solidsign the program’s elusive first Final Four trip ispossible.

Murray StateThe Racers lost only once, and their seeding

had to be one of the more difficult decisions fac-ing the committee. Nonetheless, there are solidwins (Memphis and Saint Mary’s) on MurrayState’s resume, and the Racers are two years re-moved from knocking off Vanderbilt in the firstround. They’ll be interesting to monitor.

North CarolinaThe Tar Heels have the issue of John Henson’s

wrist injury, which cost the junior forward timein the ACC tournament. But they also haveKendall Marshall, Harrison Barnes and TylerZeller, which means they can probably out-talentopponents for a couple rounds. This team openedthe season with national title expectations; they’restill there.

Ohio StateThe Buckeyes aren’t the overwhelming pick to

go all the way this year, but they’re still plenty ca-pable thanks to guard Aaron Craft, center JaredSullinger and plenty of talent throughout the ros-ter. Ohio State suffered all but one of its losses inthe bruising Big Ten, and it might be well-servedfacing teams it usually doesn’t see.

SyracuseIs this Jim Boeheim’s last chance at a second

national title? Perhaps. The Orange lost twice allseason: On the road against traditional home-court hero Notre Dame, and in the Big East semi-finals to sweet-shooting Cincinnati. Syracuse hashad its share of premature flameouts, but thisbunch has the goods for a deep run.

TempleCoach Fran Dunphy finally made it out of the

first round for the first time in 17 years last sea-son. The next step: The Owls’ first round of 16 ap-pearance since 2001. Senior guards RamoneMoore and Juan Fernandez (as well as juniorscorer Khalif Wyatt) make Temple an exception-ally dangerous commodity.

WisconsinThe Badgers have won their NCAA opener in

nine of 10 years under coach Bo Ryan, and pointguard Jordan Taylor is likely help Wisconsin goat least a step further this season. As usual, de-fense carries the day in Madison; the Badgers gaveup 70 points only twice all season and 60 pointsjust 12 times in 33 games.

THE PRETENDERS

(teams to count on an early exit from)

BaylorThere isn’t an obvious reason to dislike the

Bears, who reached the Big 12 title game last week.But with four losses (out of seven) by at least adozen points, it’s clear Baylor can be blown out.

With a 6-5 finish to the regular season, the Bearscould be a reasonably early out.

CaliforniaYes, it’s a high-major at-large, but don’t pay at-

tention to that. Instead, just realize the GoldenBears have no top-50 wins and a losing record awayfrom home. There’s also the matter of an exception-ally tepid Pac-12. This is a team poised for a rapiddeparture.

FloridaRemember when the Gators were 19-4 and pre-

sumably Kentucky’s best challenger in the SEC?Well, 10 games and six losses later (including threesetbacks against Kentucky), Florida isn’t a partic-ularly imposing bunch and unlikely to escape thefirst weekend.

GeorgetownThe Hoyas (and senior center Henry Sims, es-

pecially) earn a ton of credit for vastly exceedingexpectations in what was thought to be a rebuild-ing year. But Georgetown’s inability to string to-gether more than two wins in a row over the lastsix weeks is a sign such a streak probably isn’t aboutto start now.

IndianaThe Hoosiers beat Kentucky, Michigan, Michi-

gan State and Ohio State, all at home. Alas, thereare no NCAA tournament games in Bloomington.Toss in a season-ending knee injury to seniorguard Verdell Jones III, and Tom Crean’s firstNCAA appearance at Indiana might not be a longone.

LouisvilleYeah, yeah, yeah, the Cardinals won the Big East

tournament, and that certainly helped propel Con-necticut to a national title last season. But this wasa remarkably mundane team throughout leagueplay, and Big East tourney MVP Peyton Siva is quiteinconsistent. It’s a tough team to trust for anotherweek.

Notre DameThe Irish plummeted back to reality after an in-

credible midseason run, dropping three of five (in-cluding wretched performances against George-town and Louisville) to close out the regularseason. Notre Dame hasn’t advanced to the roundof 16 since 2003, a streak unlikely to end this year.

Southern MississippiThe RPI is not a perfect metric. Case in point:

the Golden Eagles. Larry Eustachy’s team waslodged in the top 20 of the noted selection com-mittee tool for much of the last two months. Butwith a 3-4 mini-slide to end the regular season,Southern Miss doesn’t look like it is long for thetournament.

UNLVOn the surface, there’s plenty to like about the

Runnin’ Rebels. But dig into their profile, andthey’re just 1-6 against the top 100 outside of Vegas.As usual, there are no NCAA tournament gamesin Sin City. The Rebs might be one-and-done.

VanderbiltThe Commodores’ last three NCAA appear-

ances ended with first-round exits against double-digit seeds (Siena in 2008, Murray State in 2010 andRichmond in 2011). Past performance may not in-dicate future results, but that’s a startling recenttrend and it makes Vanderbilt tough to trust.

VirginiaThe Cavaliers have Mike Scott, a not-entirely-

healthy Joe Harris and a lockdown defender in Jon-tel Evans. They don’t have much depth. Asking any-thing more than one win is a bit too much.

BEST IN CLASS

(a dozen certain to succeed)

Best point guard: Kendall Marshall, UNCThe Tar Heels sophomore wasn’t a first-team

all-ACC selection, but he just might be the mostvaluable player on a credible national title con-tender. Marshall’s ability to analyze the move-ments of the other nine players on the floor is ex-traordinary, and Carolina will need it to make aFinal Four run.

Best freshman: Anthony Davis, KentuckyWho else would it be? Davis is the nation’s

best freshman, best defensive player and ar-guably its best player overall. With 4.6 blocks pergame, Davis is certainly the country’s top shot-swatter. Enjoy it while it lasts, Big Blue Nation;it’s doubtful Davis plays more than six more col-lege games.

Best postgame: Jimmy Patsos, LoyolaYou never know what sort of direction Patsos’

stream-of-consciousness monologues will take,only that they will be memorable, worldly and atleast somewhat cathartic for the Greyhounds’ en-ergetic eighth-year coach. His pressers before andafter Loyola’s round of 64 game will be must-seeTV.

Best nickname: South Dakota StateThere’s no way to top the Jackrabbits in this cat-

egory. South Dakota State wasn’t even in DivisionI a decade ago, but enters its first NCAA tourna-ment on an eight-game winning streak. Remem-ber the name Nate Wolters, who can both score(21.3 points per game) and distribute (six assistsper game)

Best senior class: LamarNo one would have suggested this after a Feb.

22 loss at Stephen F. Austin. Coach Pat Knighteviscerated the leadership of his seniors, andvideo of it went viral. Six consecutive victorieslater, the Cardinals are in the tournament for thefirst time since 2000.

Best father-son duo: CreightonGreg McDermott fled Iowa State for Creighton

to perform a little career revival two years ago.Guess what helped? Bringing along his son Doug,who is averaging 23.2 points and shot 61 percentfrom the floor for the Bluejays, who won the Mis-souri Valley tournament.

Best team no one is talking about: MemphisThe Tigers didn’t take advantage of their early-

season chances to lock up impressive wins, but nomatter. Josh Pastner’s team remains loaded with tal-ent. Memphis has won 11 of 12 and coasted throughthe Conference USA tournament. Memphis is a se-rious round of 16 contender.

Best lion in late winter: Jim Calhoun, UConnWith his many triumphs over health scares and

enemies real and imagined, it seems like Calhounis practically indestructible. But trouble looms, withdefections to the NBA and a tournament ban for2013 on the way. But don’t count out the possibil-ity the three-time national champ makes things in-teresting in the next few weeks.

Best mayor: Fred Hoiberg, Iowa StateThe Cyclones aren’t a Final Four contender, but

Hoiberg deserves praise for getting his alma materback to the NCAA tournament in only his secondseason. Known as “The Mayor” in Ames during hisplaying days, Hoiberg cobbled together a rosterthat’s beaten both Kansas and Baylor this season.

Best comeback: Robbie Hummel, PurdueAfter back-to-back ACL tears, Hummel re-

turned to lead the Boilermakers in scoring (16.3)and rebounding (7.1). His injuries probably cost Pur-due a shot at a Final Four last season, but his pres-ence was crucial to this year’s team navigating itsway to the Boilers’ sixth straight NCAA appearance.

Best battle-tested low-major: Long Beach St.Dan Monson took the 49ers to Pittsburgh. And

San Diego State. And Louisville. And Kansas. AndNorth Carolina. And to Hawaii, where they facedXavier and Kansas State. Long Beach won the BigWest and will not be remotely rattled by a big stage.The 49ers should be a chic upset pick.

Best response to a brawl: CincinnatiThe Bearcats dramatically improved their seed-

ing with victories over Georgetown and Syracusein the Big East tournament. But remember, thisteam was 5-3 when a brawl against Xavier led to thesuspensions of several players. The Bearcats startedplaying better, winning 19 of 26 to lock up a bid.

PLENTY TO PROVE

(teams/players/coaches with a lot on the line)

Colorado StateSo, are the Rams simply a team that wins a

bunch of home games and played the RPI formulaperfectly? Or can they make a serious impressionduring their first NCAA appearance since 2003?With no top-100 wins outside of Fort Collins, thisisn’t a bunch that’s earned the benefit of the doubt.

GonzagaAs omnipresent as the Zags are — this is their

14th straight NCAA appearance — they’ve ad-vanced to the second weekend just once in the lastfive years. With a smattering of solid wins to gowith a fairly talented roster, Mark Few could stillcoax a little more out of this year’s bunch.

Tommy Amaker, HarvardHard as it is to believe, Amaker is coaching in

the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000.He also happens to have a loaded Crimson teamthat survived arguably the most ferociously com-petitive Ivy League season ever. Harvard has a shotto make some noise in the next week.

C.J. McCollum, LehighHow the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio

ever wound up in the Patriot League is anyone’sguess. But the 6-foot-3 McCollum has a chance toshow just what everyone missed out on whilemaking his second NCAA appearance. Two yearsago, he dropped 26 on Kansas in a loss.

MarquetteHere’s a question: Despite a second-place fin-

ish in the Big East, the presence of the league Playerof the Year (Jae Crowder) and a trip to the secondweekend last season, are the Golden Eagles under-rated? It’s tough to believe, but Marquette is sur-prisingly overlooked for a protected seed.

Steve Alford, New MexicoBack in 1999, Alford led what was then called

Southwest Missouri State to the regional semifinals.He’s 2-4 in the NCAA tournament since then dur-ing stops at Iowa and New Mexico, twice losing toa double-digit seed. After an impressive MountainWest title run, it’s time to see if he can sustain somepostseason mojo.

Kyle O’Quinn, Norfolk StateThe Spartans big man has an impressive skill

set and an outsized personality to match it, and it’snot hard to see him making money playing basket-ball somewhere around the globe for years tocome. A good showing this week certainly wouldn’thurt, though.

N.C. StateThe Wolfpack slipped into the field on the

strength of a decent record away from Raleigh (9-6) and a credible showing at the ACC tournament(beat Virginia, pushed North Carolina to the finalseconds). Despite an absence of great wins, theylooked like they belonged. It would be nice if theyshowed they did this week.

TexasThe Longhorns haven’t beaten a higher-seeded

team in the NCAA tournament since 2002.Granted, they haven’t had many opportunities,but they’ve seen seven postseason trips end againsta lower-seeded outfit. They’re not the hunted thistime, and will need to pull off a surprise to advance.

Gregg Marshall, Wichita StateHe has an NCAA tournament upset to his name

(2007 when Winthrop knocked off Notre Dame).He has an NIT crowd. But a deep run with theShockers will make Marshall an especially covetedcoaching commodity. Despite a Missouri Valleytournament loss, Wichita State is dangerous.

Tu Holloway, XavierAfter last year’s five-point, five-turnover, 1-for-

8 shooting adventure in a round of 64 loss to Mar-quette, the Musketeers star guard could use a lit-tle postseason redemption. He’s off to a good startthis month after Xavier’s Atlantic 10 tournamentrun.

PREGAME PRIMER: The Times’ Patrick Stevens breaks down the field of 68

�� MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012C12 | SPORTS


The [Kentucky] Wildcats are the prohibitive favorite,even with yet another roster

littered with freshmen. Of course, when one of thefreshmen is Anthony Davis

and the rest are exceptionallyskilled, it might not matter.

reach 68 teams, 1 goal the...

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