March 13, 2001
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP MegaSports Writer
A look at this year's version of March Madness, from A to Z:
A - At-Large Bids. Schools from small conferences were again
practically
shut out if they didn't win their respective conference tournament. The Big
East, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, Pac 10 and SEC accounted for 29 of the 34
at-large
teams.
B - Back-to-Back. It's tough to win consecutive NCAA championships, as
evidenced by the fact that only six schools have done it. UCLA made it look
easy with seven in a row from 1967-1973, but Michigan State, the top seed in
the South, will try to become just the seventh to repeat. Duke was the last
to
do it, in 1992.
C - Coaches. The tournament is always a chance for small-conference
coaches
to make a big name for themselves. Keep your eye on first-year coaches Thad
Matta of Butler and John Thompson III of Princeton.
D - Denny. With just a 12-18 record, Louisville had a disappointing
season.
As a result, Denny Crum, who coached his final game for the Cardinals last
week, will be noticeably absent from this year's field. Still, with two
national championships and 23 appearances, his contribution to college
basketball will not soon be forgotten.
E - East. Of the four No. 1 seeds, Duke looks to have the easiest road
to
the Final Four thanks to a relatively weak field in the East. The Blue
Devils
could be hampered by the injured ankle of Jason Williams and the right foot
of
Carlos Boozer, but should have enough weapons to advance to Minneapolis.
F - Final Four. Minneapolis will play host to the Final Four for the
third
time. The last time the championship was held there, Duke beat Michigan
81-61.
G - Georgia. The Bulldogs tied the record for most losses (14) and
lowest
winning percentage (.533) by an at-large team. Only Villanova (16-14, 1991)
had
as poor a record.
H - Hawaii. The Warriors, playing in the tournament for only the third
time
in school history, will have the longest commute as they head to Dayton,
Ohio,
where they will play Syracuse. Hawaii faced the Orangemen the last time they
were in the tournament - in 1994 - and lost 92-78.
I - Indiana. Mike Davis had a tough start to his year, taking over the
Hoosier coaching reins from Bob Knight. But he overcame the controversy of
the
situation and guided Indiana to the Big Ten final and its 16th straight
tournament appearance.
J - Jubilation. The feeling Oklahoma State must have had after
receiving one
of the tournament's final at-large bids. The Cowboys, who had to deal with a
January plane crash that killed 10 members - including two players - of
their
traveling party, were made the 11th seed in the East and will play Southern
California in the first round.
K - Knight. Even though he isn't currently coaching, Bob Knight is in
the
spotlight again as he will meet with Texas Tech this week to discuss its
vacant
coaching position. It will be strange watching an NCAA tournament without
him,
but it will surely make the life of NCAA press stewards a whole lot easier.
L - Lefty. Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell became just the second
coach
to lead four different teams to the NCAA tournament. Driesell also took
Davidson, James Madison and Maryland, which could wind up being his
second-round foe in Boise, Idaho this weekend. Eddie Sutton was the first
coach
to accomplish the feat, and Georgia coach Jim Harrick became the third when
his
Bulldogs received an at-large bid Sunday.
M - Mascots. They have a simple job: Rouse the fans and incite the
opponent.
Everyone knows the Duke Blue Devil, Boston College Eagle, even the Stanford
Cardinal. But what exactly is a Western Kentucky Hilltopper, Hofstra Pride
or
Southern Utah Thunderbird?
N - NIT. Only 65 could make the NCAA tournament this year, so the quest
to
be the 66th best team in the nation will be headed by UConn, Villanova and
Seton Hall.
O - Office pools. The only three-week period of the year where the
entire
office comes together to test their college basketball knowledge and win a
few
bucks. Inevitably, most of the time the one who knows the least ends up
winning
the most.
P - Play-in. With the addition of a 65th team into the field,
Northwestern
State and Winthrop will meet in the first play-in game since 1983-84. Back
then, the tournament had 52 teams. The winner earns the privilege of losing
to
No. 1 Illinois in the first round. No 16 seed has ever defeated a No. 1.
Q - Question marks. Duke's title run hinges on the health of Jason
Williams
and Carlos Boozer. Iowa could make some noise in the tournament if Luke
Recker
can play. Florida will have to overcome the loss of Brent Wright.
R - RPI. The Ratings Percentage Index is to a college coach what the
Dow
Jones is to a stockbroker. It's one of the most important factors in
determining who gets in to the tournament and who doesn't. Just ask Cal
Irvine,
which failed to make the tournament despite a 22-4 record because its RPI
was
just 71. Conversely, Georgia, with 14 losses, can thank its RPI rating of
27.
S - Spotlight. The tournament is the chance for the stars to show their
stuff. Player of the year candidates Jason Williams of Duke, Joseph Forte of
North Carolina and Troy Murphy of Notre Dame have carried their teams all
season long. Watch out for some lesser known stars like Marvin O'Conner of
St.
Joseph's, Shernard Long of Georgia State or Dan Dickeau of Gonzaga.
T - Top seeds. Duke, Michigan State, Stanford and Illinois earned the
four
top seeds. Last year, being a No. 1 seed was not a blessing. Two were upset
in
the second round, and only eventual champion Michigan State made it past the
regional finals.
U - Upsets. Some favorites are going down and going down early. The
only
question is, who will it be? Look for Southern Utah, BYU, Temple and
Providence
to have the best shots of pulling off early round upsets this year.
V - Vitale. Love him or hate him, nobody gets more excited around
tournament
time than ESPN commentator Dickie V. He's picked the NCAA tournament
champion
the last two seasons, and if he's correct for a third straight year, expect
Duke to be cutting down the nets in Minneapolis.
W - Wildcats. With the starting five returning from a team that went
27-7
and won a Pac 10 championship, Arizona was the consensus pick in the
preseason
to win it all. But the season got off to a rough start with center Loren
Woods
being suspended for six games and the death of coach Lute Olson's wife,
Bobbi.
Arizona has finally looked like the team that was expected to make it to
Minneapolis for the Final Four.
X - "X" factor. So much can happen to make or break a team's tournament
run. But keep in mind when filling out your brackets that either Duke or
North
Carolina has made 12 of the last 13 Final Fours. Also remember that only one
No. 3 seed has won the national championship - Michigan in '89 - since the
field expanded in 1985.
Y - Young guns. While most teams are led by their seniors, these
freshman
will be called upon to take their team past the first round: Center Rodney
White carried Charlotte to the Conference USA tournament crown, Mississippi
freshman Aaron Harper and Justin Reed took the Rebels to the SEC tournament
championship game.
Z - Zags. The tournament darlings of the last two seasons, Gonzaga
returns
for a third straight year, facing Virginia in the first round. The Spokane,
Wash., school put itself on the basketball map in 1999, coming a win short
of
the Final Four. Last season, the Zags made it to the regional finals before
bowing out.
