Duke (Go Blue Devils!) gets a #1 seed, in the South, for the 5th straight year, an NCAA record. Maryland (Fear The Turtle!) gets the #1 seed in the East; in the Midwest, it's Kansas (even after losing to Oklahoma) and in the West, it's Cincinnati.

Gonna be some bloodshed here in 'Bama. Alabama's the #2 seed in the South, which means that they'd have to get past Duke (and a bunch of other good teams!) to get to the Final Four. There are a lot of Duke fans here, believe it or not (including Sandy and me!).

Glad to see Utah, Gonzaga, and Valparaiso in there again; I've always liked them as underdogs (though no one should consider Gonzaga an "underdog" anymore!).

A few names missing, though -- UNC and Temple, to name a few. Those hurt; I've been a Tarheel fan for years and I've always liked Cheney's program. Both have been tournament regulars for as long as I can remember.

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 10, 2002

Answers

Who is it here who's the big Penn fan? Is it Peggy, or Pammy?

I know Buddy's a Terrapin.

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 10, 2002.

Basketball sucks dick.

-- Send (mo@money.please), March 10, 2002.

Dream up a new handle little one. B-ball rules and Arizona will take home the heavy hardware.

Sorry Poole.

-- Send (mo@money.please), March 10, 2002.

Carlos, is it true that in AZ there is a backboard on every saguaro?

-- (lars@indy.net), March 11, 2002.

Lars,

Don't know about AZ, but back home in NC when I was growing up, there was a backboard and hoop on every garage, tree and pole. :)

Hey, we WERE in ACC country, y'know. :)

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 11, 2002.

Maryland has Duke's number. That fact cannot be denied.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), March 11, 2002.

Peter,

You may be right. But wouldn't that be a heck of a championship game? :)

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 11, 2002.

Stephen, it sure would. And I just got my DirectTV dish installed for the tournament.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), March 11, 2002.

Peter, you lucky dog.

Stephen, I can't believe you are a Duke fan, oh well, no ones perfect ; ) Sorry Stephen, but my 2cnd favorite team is the team that slays the Dookies. If Bama makes it to the Duke game I'll go with the SEC.

Carlos, Zona always has potential, I wouldn't ever count'em out, though the OK game will be a toughie.

There is a goal in every backyard in Kentucky and although we're probably not much of a threat this year I'll be rootin' like hell for my Wildcats, GO BIG BLUE!!!

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 11, 2002.

Peter,

So ... are you inviting us all over? Are you gonna be hurt if I show up in my Blue Devil shirt?

Cap'n,

"To each his own," he sniffed diffidently. The only thing that worries is that Duke has been slumping a bit lately; I hope they get it back in gear for the tournament.

Arizona should make it at least to the Sweet 16. But I think my big underdog this year is going to be Hawaii, in honor of Jonathan Latimer. :)

-- Stephen (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 11, 2002.

Are any of you old enough to remember when regional pairings had some meaning? As opposed to, e.g.:

USC in the South; Miami in the West; Texas Tech in the East; and Oregon in the Midwest.

Just Wondered.

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 11, 2002.

Z,

They use to do it that way but the home region/floor advantage was seen as tilting the odds in a biased manner. Plus, when the field was opened up to 64 teams the logistics of keeping teams in their geographical region while still keeping the seedings equitable became harder to do.

Stephen,

I wouldn't hold it against ya my friend; ) I agree with your Hawaii observation, they also have a kid, Sobovich (sp?) who can flat shoot the 3, could be a 1st round surprise. The Zags are in one of my picks to take the west, they got screwed in their seeding and I think they will take that insult out on the opposing teams.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 12, 2002.

I would just like to see a champion other than one of the perennials, like Duke. If only Kent State could come out of the South bracket, I'd be tickled. Maybe Wake Forest out of the Midwest, Gonzaga out of the West and Texas Tech out of the East. Now there's a Final Four I'd get excited about! Hmmmm, Duke vs. Maryland in the Finals? Only if it must be, Lord.

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), March 12, 2002.

Cap:

They use to do it that way but the home region/floor advantage was seen as tilting the odds in a biased manner. Plus, when the field was opened up to 64 teams the logistics of keeping teams in their geographical region while still keeping the seedings equitable became harder to do.

Didn't expect you to be an apologist for the NCAA. This is all about making money. I think that they would make more if they the regionals were really regional. Sort of an Enron in sports, they be.

The Zags are good, but I doubt that they will go that far. The WCC just isn't good enough competition to build that kind of team. Their coach is good. You might find him in the SEC shortly. He can't compete on a national level in the WCC.

ZAGS

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

No apologist here, just history of events. I agrree with your point actually and as a matter of fact the NCAA took steps in that direction with all 1st round games being further broken into pods, where teams stayed more in their locale. Granted they did it for monetary reasons and i think it's a great idea.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 12, 2002.

Z,

It's not all money, it's the expanded field, too. Duke and Maryland are both East Coast ACC teams, and both deserved to get #1 seeding. So where DO you put them? Someone's gonna have to travel!

Like Carlos says, they've tried to mitigate that a bit this year by moving some of the early games around. This doesn't mean that there aren't some inexplicable move-arounds in there; I'll grant you that.

Incidentally, we interviewed the head of the selection committee on our sports show this afternoon, and they talked about this for a good bit. The guy said that figuring out where to put the teams was one of the hardest parts of the deal (next to determining which "at large" teams get in, of course[g]).

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 13, 2002.

Poole:

"It's not all money, it's the expanded field, too."

You may know more about this than me, but I don't agree. I do know something about the budget process. Most athletic programs must support themselves. As I recall, our little conference had 6 teams go the the playoffs. The money will be distributed to all 12 teams by some formula and will be essential in operating the athletic programs. All sports depend on the income from basketball and football [although someone in town just donated 23 million dollars as beginning funds to start a new basketball arena]. The more fans that they can draw and the more TV coverage they get the more money they make. There would be more interest in a true regional playoff system.

Seems to me that few people went to Albi-kirk-ee to see Missouri embarrass Miami.

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 14, 2002.

Got here late. Pant, pant.

Well, my AZ Cats avoided their famous first round bounce. Was actually figurin they'd win this one and get hammered by Gonzaga in the second. What's with these Wyoming cowpokes knocking off 6 ranked Gonzaga? Need a better pirate box soz I can get more games.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), March 15, 2002.

Hell, in Kentucky the basketball team supports the school : ))))

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 15, 2002.

Poole:

I said: :"The Zags are good, but I doubt that they will go that far. The WCC just isn't good enough competition to build that kind of team."

When I am wrong, I admit it. [g].

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 16, 2002.

I caught a fair chunk of Oregon v. Wake Forest. That's entertainment! It was enough to reconcile me to rooting for the higher seeded team. I think I have a dog (duck?) in this fight, now. Of course, this might just mean the kiss of death for Oregon. Hey! Kent State won, too!

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), March 17, 2002.

Sorry they didn't make it Stephen.

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.

Dang! The Az cats lost :(((

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.

Anyone know how the Duke/Indiana game came out? Just wondering.

-- Jack Booted Thug (governmentconspiracy@NWO.com), March 21, 2002.

IU pukes on Duke

-- (lars@indy.net), March 21, 2002.

Sorry bout that Stephen...... Sorry bout that Carlos & B........Sorry to any of the UCLA fans too.

This year my brackets look like I'm a basketball psychic guru, the hell of it is though, is that for the last 20+ years I have entered into pools and lost more (times not $$$) than I won overall. This year I was so busy surviving and getting the biz going that I didn't submit the brackets I picked, it is killin me!!! Oh well.......

Tomorrow night my underdog Kentucky Wildcats will take the floor against a top notch Maryland team and if the basketball god's are smiling on the Cats another #1 seed and the ACC go dowm in flames. I can hardly sleep with the anticipation of being a giant killer.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 22, 2002.

Cap'n,

I was pulling for Duke, but let's face it: Indiana EARNED that victory. They came back from 17 points down! You have to like them for that.

I'll have to side with Peter and pull for Maryland against Kentucky, though. :)

-- Stephen (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 22, 2002.

Blaspheeeeeeeemers!!! ; )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 22, 2002.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), March 22, 2002.

Just wondered where everyone went when this became a replay of the Big 12 . You must still be out there. ;o)))

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

One last thing. Have you noticed. I had not. I went over to the Olsen site. Haven't looked-in in a while. No mention of this subject. That is a sure give-away. ;o)))

Welcome to the Big 12 Tournament.

Best Wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

Hey,

The Big 10 still as two in the tournament on a down year for the league. I wouldn't get too carried away with this Big 12 stuff yet. Kansas will probably choke tonight, even though it does have two Iowa boys in the starting line-up.

As far as Mizzou goes, pure luck at this point. They will revert to form soon.

-- Jack Booted Thug (governmentconspiracy@NWO.com), March 22, 2002.

I wouldn't be all that suprised to see another final between Kansas and Oklahoma. And I was looking forward to a final between Kent State and Southern Ill. ;<)))

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 23, 2002.

Bobby who?

-- (lars@indy.net), March 23, 2002.

Alabama's the #2 seed in the South, which means that they'd have to get past Duke (and a bunch of other good teams!) to get to the Final Four.

To quote a well-known line of Shakespeare: "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), March 24, 2002.

Nipper,

You're telling ME? :)

But like I said, give Indiana credit. They outplayed Duke in the 2nd half, plain and simple.

-- Stephen (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 25, 2002.

That's what makes if fun Nip.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), March 25, 2002.

I count myself among the mortal fools, too. I will admit the Final Four is a strong bunch this year. But it is harder to get excited when three of them are traditional "basketball royalty" and the fourth is not exactly an upstart. It's like watching the Lakers get to the NBA Finals again and again and again. It's hard not to become a chronic underdog-rooter.

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), March 25, 2002.

Nipper,

I think maybe they ought to reconsider the way they do the seeding. A #1 or #2 seed faces mostly creampuffs until the later rounds, while the poor #16 and #15 have to fight through a horde of monsters just to advance.

But that said, the thing that continually amazes me is how much parity there is in college sports now -- arguably FAR more than in Pro ball. Yes, the Big Monster schools usually do better, but who would've though that a Hawaii, or a Butler, or a Murray State would be in there?

Our after noon sports program is hosted by Scott Moore, a long-time sports agent, and Jay Barker, former NFL and XFL quarterback, and I love listening to them talk about college sports, especially football. They're the ones with the barrage of statistics to show that there IS a lot more parity now than in the past.

Think about it: some decades ago, you thought of Notre Dame, Alabama and a few other schools when you thought "college football." You thought of UCLA, UNC and a couple others when you thought "basketball." That's just not the case now, with "little" schools making a mark and scoring some big upsets.

So, back to my first point: that's why I think that maybe RANDOM seeding might make the tournament more interesting. Why not flip some coins, and maybe you'd have Duke face Kansas in game #1. Why not?

Hey, it's just an idea.

-- Stephen (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 25, 2002.

Stephen--

Don't you think the parity is largely due to the fact that the truly superior players typically jump to the pros after 2, 1 or 0 years? That didn't used to be true. Kareem would spend one year max at UCLA if he were starting today.

-- (lars@indy.net), March 25, 2002.

Lars,

There's probably something to that, but is it a chicken-before-egg thing? As these little schools get more attention, THEIR top players are being recruited for the pros, too.

I think it has a lot to do with the NCAA clamping down on recruiting practices. Notre Dame and Alabama were successful, in part, because they had the huge programs that could afford to send people all over the country looking for the best high school players. Success breeds success.

Now that everyone is doing it, there is a bit more parity. A team merely needs to get into the NCAA tournament (basketball) or get a decent bowl bid (football), and high school players will take them seriously. Because of the rules that have been put in place, there's a more level playing field for recruiting, too -- strict limits on the number of scholarships you can grant, on how much money the players can receive to live on, etc., etc.

But again, that's just my opinion. :)

-- Stephen (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), March 25, 2002.

Big 10 advances to the championship game. There goes your all Big 12 title game Z.

-- Jack Booted Thug (governmentconspiracy@NWO.com), March 30, 2002.

Hoosiers cruiser/Soonerz swooners

-- (lars@indy.net), March 30, 2002.