In keeping with the car theme from last year’s debacle in Detroit, we’ve got some equally great prizes on tap for this year’s game.  That’s right, since the Final Four is in Indianapolis, Indiana, this year, we’re offering you a chance to win your very own Hickory High Letter Jacket, so you too can roll around in style like your Hoosier Hero, Jimmy Chitwood.  And if you’re reading this site and you aren’t Spike Lee, you undoubtedly have a soft spot in your heart for that movie somewhere beneath your gruff exterior.  Remember kids, the rims are ten feet here too, even if you can barely touch the net and 15-year old Oscar Robertson over there is doing backflips over the darn things.  Solution: win before he gets really good.

You Too Can Style Like Jimmy Chitwood

Second prize is even better, a still-hilarious Hoosier Daddy t-shirt.  See… it’s a play on words, and that’s always funny, right?  If you don’t like that, we’ll send you an RTC t-shirt instead.  And we’ll be sure to dip it in Pennzoil beforehand so you’ll get the true Indy experience.  Here’s the relevant info:

Name: RTC Bracket Nonsense
Group ID#: 66865 (there is no password)

Last year’s winner was MSUSpartans, but he never picked up his prize.  Hopefully this year our big winner will actually enjoy the fruits of his labor… hope to see you over there.

Pretty compelling evidence that Illinois, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech were the last four out of the NCAAs, eh?

Keep in mind that if the NCAA Tournament expands to 96 teams, all of the above would have been added to our field.  This means that fourteen additional BCS teams would have been added to the Big Dance, making it a grand total of 46 total teams from the super six conferences.  Of the 73 schools in those leagues, that would represent 63% making the expanded tournament (vs. 49% now).  Do we really need teams like Texas Tech, St. John’s and UNC in the field this year?  Of course not.

One other interesting note is that the NIT shows the depth of some of these leagues by how many additional bids they receive.  The Big East (+5) has 13 teams going to either the NCAA or NIT, while the ACC (+3) has nine.  The SEC (+2), Big Ten (+2), Big 12 (+1) and Pac-10 (+1) make up the rest.  What’s amazing is just how poor the Pac-10 was this year, with only three teams among the top 96 in America.

Edward Jones Dome Hosts the Midwest Regional

Region: Midwest

Favorite: Kansas, #1-seed, 32-2. The overall #1 seed.  The experts say there are no dominant teams this year, but for our money this year’s Jayhawks are just as dominant as North Carolina was in 2008-09.  Top-flight weapons at every position.  A solid bench.  Excellent coaching.  Youth.  Experience.  Any way you prefer to be beaten, they’ll beat you.  That switch they flipped to put Texas A&M away in the Big 12 Tournament was scary, but that’s the sort of command of which they’re capable.

Should They Falter: Ohio State, #2-seed, 27-7. We all know how special Evan Turner is.  But teams seem to make the mistake of thinking that this team has no other weapons.  David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and William Buford are all capable of big games.  They defer to Turner, yet Turner enjoys sharing the wealth.  As a team, they almost never take a bad shot, a trait that will serve them well even more this time of year.

Grossly Overseeded: Northern Iowa, #9-seed, 28-4. Northern Iowa’s only win in the NCAA was 20 years ago.  I know that has nothing to do with now, but the last four times they’ve been to the Tournament, they’ve been a popular upset pick and have always come up short.  To be honest, based on their body of work, they’re probably seeded where they should be, it’s just that there are a few teams seeded lower than them that are playing a little better brand of basketball right now.  If UNI can give us some results in the Tournament, then we’ll be happy to put some chips on their square in the future.

Grossly Underseeded: Michigan State, #5-seed, 24-8. At this point, we should all be used to Tom Izzo overachieving in the NCAA Tournament.  This team went 14-4 in the extremely tough Big Ten.  After that stretch in which they dropped three straight (at Wisconsin, at Illinois, and Purdue), everyone forgot about them.  Then they won five of six to end the year before the conference tournament, the only loss coming against surging Ohio State.  Don’t ever sell the Spartans short in the Big Dance.

Sweet Sixteen Sleeper: Houston, #13-seed, 19-15. Aubrey Coleman is the nation’s leading scorer at 25.0 PPG, and it looks like he and Kelvin Lewis have finally started to put it together.  Honestly, we thought we’d see more out of the Cougars this year.  They’ll be a tougher out for Maryland than everyone thinks.  Houston is second in the nation in turnovers per game (8.8), and 12th in turnovers forced (16.8), nice numbers when you have a pair of guards who can scoop up those turnovers and score quickly.

Final Four Sleeper:  #5 Michigan State. They can own a game through their work on the boards.

Carmelo Anthony Award: You’ve got to go with Evan Turner, here (20.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 5.9 APG).  There aren’t many players in the game today who, even with a nice supporting cast, can tell all of them to climb on his shoulders, because he’s got this.  Turner is one of them.

Stephen Curry Award:  Tre’Von Willis, UNLV, 17.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.3 SPG.  He averages almost seven points a game more than his team’s second-leading scorer.  UNLV has a nice overall team but Willis is the relative unknown who can carry his team if he gets hot.

Home Cooking: Not too much on the stove in terms of home cooking in this region, though the teams whose first round sites are closest to home are Kansas (315 miles from Lawrence, KS, to Oklahoma City, OK), and Georgetown (406 miles from Washington, DC, to Providence, RI).  The regional site of St. Louis would favor Kansas (288 miles), Ohio State (415 miles), and Oklahoma State (465 miles).

Can’t Miss First Round Game: #7 Oklahoma State vs #10 Georgia Tech, Friday @ 7:15 PM.  Oklahoma State has the Big 12 player of the year in James Anderson, a powerful scorer who went nationally underappreciated all year until about the last two weeks of the season.  Georgia Tech is loaded with talent and looks like they just may be getting it together this late in the season.  It will serve as many fans’ introduction to GT’s excellent freshman Derrick Favors, a player who (gasp!) appeared higher on some recruiting lists than John Wall last year.

Don’t Miss This One Either: #4 Maryland vs #13 Houston, Friday @ 9:40 PM.  Putting Greivis Vasquez against the nation’s leading scorer in Aubrey Coleman almost seems like you’re just daring Vasquez to shoot more and get more creative.  #6 Tennessee vs #11 San Diego State on Thursday @ 9:45 PM was another attractive option.

Lock of the Year: Michigan State will outperform their #5 seed. The three teams that stand in their way to St. Louis: #12 New Mexico State, their first-round opponent who they’ll beat; #4 Maryland who lives and dies by Vasquez and will be well-guarded by the Spartans if they face him; and #13 Houston whose talent and experience doesn’t approach that of the Spartans.

Juiciest Potential Matchup (purists): #2 Ohio State vs #3 Georgetown in the Sweet 16. Turner, the national player of the year, versus Greg Monroe, another of the nation’s best players and the best interior passer in the game.  Intriguing matchups would make this one a lot of fun, and there’s a darn good chance it’ll happen.

Juiciest Potential Matchup (media): #1 Kansas vs #5 Michigan State in the Sweet 16. A rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 game in Indianapolis in which MSU controlled the tempo and beat the Jayhawks, 67-62.  You know Self would love the chance to exact some revenge.

We Got Screwed: Georgetown, #3-seed, 23-10. After losing leading scorer Austin Freeman to a confusing illness which later turns out to be diabetes, they get him back and get to the finals of the Big East Tournament, lose on a last-second shot (close to a travel) by Da’Sean Butler.  Then, after a lot of speculation that they’d raised themselves to the 2-seed line, they’re made a 3-seed in a bracket with the overall #1 and possibly the best #2?  Yeesh.

Strongest Pod:  No doubt — Milwaukee. Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Ohio State.  Lots of star power and fun teams to watch.  And in the West region, Milwaukee also has Xavier and Pittsburgh.  If you have Milwaukee pod tickets, you scored.

Wildcard, Bitches: You should watch the San Diego State vs Tennessee game if only to pay tribute to SDSU’s Kelvin Davis.  This man was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma early in his Aztec career, underwent 12 chemotherapy rounds, and missed most of the 2008-09 season.  He’s played in all but one game this year and averages 19 minutes a game.  What’s most impressive is that he was nominated for the Jimmy V Foundation’s Comeback Player of the Year award…by BYU coach Dave Rose.  It’s the first time ever that a coach has nominated an opposing player for the award.  Davis won the V Foundation’s Most Courageous award last season.

So-Called Experts: It’s almost a unanimous Kansas vs Ohio State regional final, and everyone’s taking Kansas.

Vegas Odds to Win Title:

• Kansas = 2:1
• Ohio State = 15:1
  
• Georgetown = 25:1
  
• Maryland = 40:1
  
• Michigan State =30:1
• Tennessee = 60:1
  
• Oklahoma State = 200:1
  
• UNLV = 300:1
  
• Northern Iowa = 200:1
  
• Georgia Tech = 100:1
  
• San Diego State = 300:1
  
• Field = 50:1

Energy Solutions Arena Hosts the West Regional

Region: West

Favorite: Syracuse, #1 seed, 29-4.  Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange is the favorite in this region by a good margin.  His team has lost their last two games and there are whispers that center Arinze Onuaku may not be available for the first two rounds, but SU is talented enough to survive the first weekend without him (as a comparison, UNC didn’t have Ty Lawson at full strength for the first weekend last year).  K-State is realistically the only team in this region capable of standing toe-to-toe with Syracuse in terms of relative talent, but they play too loosey-goosey to actually beat the Orange.

Should They Falter: Kansas State, #2 seed, 26-7.  Should Syracuse get upset, K-State is in position to take advantage.  With a dynamite backcourt of Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen capable of going off in bunches, the Wildcats could make a run to their first Final Four since the mid-60s.  The quality of talent in this region just isn’t very deep, so outside of Syracuse or K-State, who else could realistically win the requisite four games?

Grossly Overseeded: Vanderbilt, #4 seed, 24-8.  A team that lost to Western Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State, none of whom are Tourney teams, should not have gotten a protected seed with only a couple of marquee wins this year.

Grossly Underseeded:UTEP, #12 seed, 26-6.  The Miners really didn’t start rolling until they integrated Derrick Caracter into the lineup, but they’ve been fantastic since then.  At worst, this team should have been in the #8-#10 range.  Instead, they’ll get an opportunity to prove themselves against the annual public darling #5 Butler, where Vegas has UTEP as only a 2.5-point underdog.

Sweet Sixteen Sleeper (#12 seed or lower): UTEP.  For the same reasons as above, once UTEP beats Butler, they will also be able to get past #4 Vanderbilt who is probably overseeded, or #13 Murray State, a team they’re simply better than.

Final Four Sleeper (#4 seed or lower): BYU, #7 seed, 29-5.  This is an easy one.  Everyone knows that BYU is murder to play at home, and if the Cougars can get past their first two opponents (Florida and K-State), then they will have as partisan a home crowd as possible in Salt Lake City to play two eastern teams,  either Pitt or Xavier and Syracuse.  The problem for BYU will be getting there.  They’ve had NCAA first round problems for the better part of two decades, and even though they’re much better than their initial opponent Florida, they’ll need to play really well to beat Kansas State.

Carmelo Anthony Award: Wes Johnson, Syracuse, 16.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.9 BPG and 1.7 SPG.  Like Melo seven years ago, why not another first-year member of the Orange to lead his team to the Final Four and beyond?  Much has been made of the fact that Johnson has been a little banged up for the last month, but he looked strong in the loss against Georgetown last week and will have had over a week to rest up for the first round game against Vermont.  In much the same way as UNC losing in the ACC Tournament may have helped the Heels get healthy last year, the same could be true for SU and Johnson this time around.

Stephen Curry Award: Jimmer Fredette, BYU, 21.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 4.7 APG.  Fredette is the type of player who can go off at any time, as his 49-point and 45-point efforts this season attest.  He knocks down over 45% of his threes and nearly 90% of his foul shots, so in those respects, he’s even more like Curry than simply the name of this award.  BYU is a more talented team across the board than 2008 Davidson was, but Fredette has a chance to become a household name with a couple of big games this weekend.

Home Cooking: Clearly BYU if they can make it to the regionals in Salt Lake City, 45 miles from their campus in Provo, but Syracuse will also have the advantage of playing its first two rounds in upstate New York, just a couple hours down I-90.  It will be ironically amusing to hear Jim Boeheim complain about this situation if they do end up having to play BYU in Utah.

Can’t Miss First Round Game: Butler vs. UTEP, Thursday @ 4:45 pm.  As we talked about above, this is an evenly matched game despite what the Selection Committee thinks about their seedings.  The tempos of the two teams are different, but the things that both like to do are similar — they both look to pound the ball inside to their bigs and find the guards cutting and setting up for the occasional three.  It’s a shame that one of these two teams will go out in the first round.

Don’t Miss This One Either: Gonzaga vs. Florida State, Friday @ 7:10 pm.  This one is intriguing because of the offensive firepower that the Zags bring  to bear versus the defensive intensity that the Seminoles have at hand.  Will Matt Bouldin and Elias Harris be able to solve the towering frontline of Solomon Alabi and Chris Singleton inside?  Will FSU be able to find enough points on their offensive trips to outlast the freewheeling Zags?

Lock of the Year: Slot Syracuse into the Elite Eight.  There isn’t anybody in their first three games who has the athleticism and ability to solve their zone defense or defend them well enough to outscore the Orange.

Juiciest Potential Match-Up (Purists): The purists would love to see a defensive-minded battle between #3 Pittsburgh and #11 Minnesota in the second round — a Big Ten/Big East battle du jour where the first team to fifty wins the game.  Jamie Dixon and Tubby Smith would love it, but we doubt many viewers would.

Juiciest Potential Match-Up (Media): The media wouldn’t be as enamored with that game, but a #1 Syracuse vs. #7 BYU regional final would have lots of interesting subplots, including the home-court advantage that the Cougars would enjoy as well as the miraculous story of head coach Dave Rose’s survival of pancreatic cancer and ensuing redemption this year on the court.

We Got Screwed: Vanderbilt, #4 seed, 24-8.  Vandy was gifted with a #4 seed, so they really don’t have much of a right to complain.  But Kevin Stallings cannot be happy about getting shipped 2,500 miles from home as a protected seed to play a team that many feel can spring the upset.  Of course, if BYU makes the regionals in Salt Lake, then the three other remaining teams really got screwed.

Strongest Pod: Milwaukee. #3 Pittsburgh, #6 Xavier, #11 Minnesota, #14 Oakland.  We wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the first three teams in the Sweet Sixteen of this region.  Even Oakland is capable of pulling an upset here if Pitt for some reason doesn’t show up.

Wildcard, Bitches: The wildcard of this region is the health of Arinze Onuaku’s knee.  If he’s close to 100% by the Sweet Sixteen, then it may not matter who Syracuse is playing in Salt Lake City because there’s nobody in this region that can challenge the Orange.  If he’s closer to half-speed, suddenly things get mighty interesting.  Guess we’ll know more later this week.

So-Called Experts: The majority of experts and the country are picking Syracuse here, but it’s not a dominant selection like it is for Kansas and Kentucky.  The rest of this region is just really weak, so even without a full-strength Orange, folks are hesitant to pick another team.

Vegas Odds to Win Title:

• Syracuse = 6:1
• Kansas State = 15:1
  
• Pittsburgh = 60:1
  
• Vanderbilt = 75:1
  
• Butler =75:1
• Xavier = 75:1
  
• BYU = 100:1
  
• Gonzaga = 200:1
  
• Florida State = 200:1
  
• Florida = 100:1
  
• Minnesota = 200:1
  
• UTEP = 300:1
• Murray State = 300:1
• Field = 50:1

Carrier Dome Hosts the East Regional

Region: East

Favorite: Kentucky, #1 seed, 32-2.  No surprise here, as UK is considered one of the top two national title favorites along with Kansas.  The Cats have one of the most talented starting lineups in the country, but have made a living this year sneaking past teams in the last few minutes.  The team that thinks they can beat Kentucky will have to find a way to deal with a strong inside tandem of DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson in addition to the playmaking abilities of John Wall.  Can anyone in this region bring that kind of defense?

Should They Falter: West Virginia, #2 seed, 27-6.  WVU comes into the NCAA Tournament with momentum, having won six in a row against top-drawer competition in the Big East.  They rebound with almost as much ferocity as the Cats, while coming in much more battle-tested in terms of schedule.  As an added bonus, they may have the most dynamic player in the bracket with Da’Sean Butler whom no less an authority than Evan Turner predicted would hit the game-winning shot in the Big East Tournament final.

Grossly Overseeded: Marquette, #6 seed, 22-11.  The Golden Eagles have won seemingly every close game they’ve played this year, but they’re probably not as good as you’d expect an 11-7 Big East team to be.  They were 2-6 against the RPI top 25, and most simulations (including Vegas) we’ve seen so far have MU as a relative tossup against #11 Washington in the first round.

Grossly Underseeded: Temple, #5 seed, 29-5.  Temple should have been a protected seed.  The Owls were 6-3 against the RPI top 50 and their defense is stickier then day-old sweat.  In a very competitive A10 this year, they outlasted several other NCAA-quality teams to win the regular season title and won the conference tournament as well.

Sweet Sixteen Sleeper (#12 seed or lower): Cornell, #12 seed, 27-4.  Jay Bilas’ nuttiness aside, Cornell is an excellent team that could grind it out with #5 Temple and #4 Wisconsin long enough to steal a couple of wins here.  The Big Red arguably have more offensive options at the end of the game than either of those two higher-seeded teams.  The trick will be to ensure that the game is close in the last five minutes.

Final Four Sleeper (#4 seed or lower): Wisconsin, #4 seed, 23-8.  Should Cornell not make a run, Wisconsin might be the team to get past Kentucky and Villanova to crash the Final Four.  With Jon Leuer back in the fold healthy, the Badgers have the inside/outside play along with Trevon Hughes to go along with their typically unbending defense to push the two sets of Wildcats to the brink.

Carmelo Anthony Award: Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, 17.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.3 APG.  Six game winners in one season?  Sign us up.  Butler is putting together a magical senior season and could very well carry his team a few weeks more.

Stephen Curry Award: Ryan Wittman, Cornell, 17.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 42% 3pt.  Cornell’s star shooter is gifted enough to carry his team for a couple of rounds so long as the rest of his team contributes enough to keep the Big Red close.

Home Cooking: None are very close. West Virginia playing in Buffalo (~300 miles) is the closest during the first two rounds.  Cornell, if they can make it to the Syracuse regional, would undoubtedly have a huge local crowd (~55 miles).

Can’t Miss First Round Game: Clemson vs. Missouri, Friday @ 2:35 pm.  This game promises to be very athletic and all over the court.  Mizzou will bring its full-court pressure defense to bear against a team that also loves to trap and turn teams over.  Whoever can break through taking better care of the ball will likely have the advantage in this one.

Don’t Miss This One Either: Temple vs. Cornell, Friday @ 12:30 pm.  The subplot here is compelling enough, in that former Penn and current Temple coach Fran Dunphy faces his former assistant Steve Donahue at Cornell.  The styles of play will be similar, as both teams are mentally tough, but the individual matchups are also interesting — Lavoy Allen battling Jeff Foote inside and Ryan Brooks going up against Ryan Wittman.

Lock of the Year: New Mexico will advance to the Sweet 16. I don’t see much of a threat for the Lobos in their pod. Their second round game will either be against an over-seeded Marquette squad or a Washington team that lost seven games in the Pac-10.

Juiciest Potential Matchup (Purists): New Mexico vs. West Virginia, Sweet 16. This should be a tremendous basketball game with the lengthy West Virginia wings trying to contain Darington Hobson and Roman Martinez shooting the three. Da’Sean Butler may be the difference in crunch time, but the Lobos have a point guard advantage with Dairese Gary.

Juiciest Potential Matchup (Media): Kentucky vs. Texas, Round 2. The media will love to talk about all the NBA talent on the floor in this one, as no fewer than a half-dozen first-rounders will be scattered between the two starting lineups.

We Got Screwed: Marquette’s seed is actually quite favorable, but they have to face Washington in the first round and likely New Mexico in the second round in San Jose, California. Those two teams both reside on the west coast, setting up a quasi-road game.

Strongest Pod: Temple, Cornell, Wisconsin, Wofford. I could see both lower seeds pulling off first round upsets in this 4-13-5-12 pod. While there’s no Kentucky or West Virginia to boost the group, this pod from team 1 to team 4 is the strongest.

Wildcard, Bitches: Wisconsin could potentially be a poor matchup for Kentucky. If they slow the pace and keep the game in the halfcourt, Wisconsin can pull off the upset. In the end, though, I see the UK athleticism winning out and the Wildcats advancing to the Elite Eight.

So-Called Experts: Most experts are going with chalk with top seed Kentucky facing #2 seed West Virginia in the regional final. Some felt that the Mountaineers should have been a #1 seed and New Mexico doesn’t pose an enormous threat as a #3 so far away from home in Syracuse.

Vegas Odds to Win Title:

• Kentucky = 3:1
• West Virginia = 10:1
  
• New Mexico = 60:1
  
• Wisconsin = 40:1
  
• Temple = 100:1
• Marquette = 100:1
  
• Clemson = 200:1
  
• Texas = 100:1
  
• Wake Forest = 200:1
  
• Missouri = 200:1
  
• Washington = 200:1
  
• Cornell = 300:1
• Field = 50:1

Reliant Stadium Hosts the South Regional

Region: South

Favorite: Duke, #1 seed, 29-5. Yeah, I know it isn’t shocking that they are the favorites especially in what many are calling the weakest of the four regions, but the Blue Devils have a solid combination of perimeter talent (albeit limited in numbers) and interior players (quantity more than quality, but still something). With the way Jon Scheyer has been playing this season and the sudden re-emergence of Kyle Singler in the ACC Tournament, Coach K and the Blue Devils should have their sights set on Indianapolis.

Should They Falter: Villanova, #2 seed, 24-7. A Final Four team last year, the Wildcats had the appearance of a Final Four team a month ago (many will still pick them now), but after losing five of their last seven games to close the season some of that luster has worn off. Still we would be remiss not to list them here as all but one of those losses came on the road (neutral site in one case to a #6 seed) against a team that is in the NCAA, another team with a top-3 seed and another to a UConn team back when Jim Calhoun’s players still cared.

Grossly Overseeded: California, #8 seed, 23-10. I know they won the Pac-10 regular season, but as you may have heard the Pac-10 was awful this year. When we asked Mike Montgomery about the possibility that the Bears might miss the NCAA Tournament this year he was perturbed. While he might have made it into the NCAA Tournament it does not erase the fact that they did not beat a single team in the top 50 of the RPI ratings. The Bears might deserve a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but I think most people would agree that they have not earned a seed this high.

Grossly Underseeded: Siena, #13 seed, 27-6. This might be where they deserve to be seeded based on their resume this year, but this is the team with the most “growth potential.” The Saints struggled in their conference final, but they have won first round games as an underdog in each of the past two years. Last year they knocked off Ohio State as a #9 seed and the year before knocked off Vanderbilt as a #13 seed. With an experienced squad they would be a tough out as a #13 seed in any bracket.

Sweet Sixteen Sleeper (#12 seed or lower): Siena. Like we said they won their first round games each of the past two years and there might not be a team more set-up to be upset in the first round than the Robbie Hummel-less Purdue Boilermakers. If they get past Matt Painter’s crew, they will play the winner of the Texas A&M and Utah State. It won’t be an easy second round game, but since it is in Spokane, Washington, we can’t imagine that either team will have a huge following there (although Utah State could conceivably travel up there).

Final Four Sleeper (#4 seed or lower): Richmond. Anybody who follows college basketball is aware of the Spiders’ reputation for pulling off shocking first round upsets. That won’t be the case this year as they come in as the #7 seed against the #10 Saint Mary’s Gaels. Still if they can get past Omar Samhan in the first round they could cause all sorts of problems for Villanova with their Princeton Offense.

Carmelo Anthony Award: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, 18.5 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.5 SPG. He did it last year. He may well be the most dynamic small players in the nation not named John Wall. If anybody is going to carry their team to the Final Four out of the South Region it will be Reynolds.

Stephen Curry Award: Omar Samhan, Saint Mary’s, 20.9 PPG, 11 RPG, and 3 BPG. Just a year after Patty Mills left the Gaels, they have another potential superstar. Samhan isn’t your typical small-school star who is going to run up and down the court and destroy your team with a barrage of three-point shots. Instead, he is going to go down low and embarrass your big men while emasculating them.

Home Cooking: The South Region might as well be called the Sky Miles Region because nobody is playing close to home in the opening weekend. The only way any of these teams will play close to home is if they advance to the Regional in Houston and in that situation Baylor (probably), Texas A&M (maybe), and Sam Houston State (unlikely) would likely have the home crowd on its side. This could play a major role in determining the outcome of the South Regional.

Can’t Miss First Round Game: Richmond vs. St. Mary’s, Thursday @ 2:50 pm. Normally we hate it when two mid-majors meet like this because it feels like another play-in game, but this game is too good to miss. Richmond has been a borderline top 25 team throughout the year, but after a four-point loss in the Atlantic 10 Finals to Temple they slipped to a #7 seed. As a result they will face a St. Mary’s squad that destroyed Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Finals. Look for an entertaining game with two of the best mid-major teams you will see all year.

Don’t Miss This One Either: Purdue vs. Siena, Friday @ 2:30 pm. This is the “upset du jour” in the first round for the South Region. It almost sounds too straightforward. A big-name school that has had a disappointing finish to the season—first with Hummel’s season-ending knee injury, then with an evisceration at the hands of Minnesota—going up against a small school that has the pedigree and the experience of having knocked off big-name schools in the past (see above). Still with E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, and Chris Kramer, the Boilermakers will not be an easy out.

Lock of the Year: Purdue not “living up” to their seed. Even if they manage to escape their first round match-up against Siena, I can’t see them getting to Houston. And just remember that they were seeded well below where they probably would be if you looked at the ranking. . .

Juiciest Potential Match-Up (Purists): Richmond vs. Villanova in the second round. Sure the media will eat up the giant-killer angle with Richmond (ignoring the fact that Villanova is the most famous giant-killer knocking off Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas in the 1985 NCAA title game), but between Richmond’s Princeton offense and Villanova’s bevy of talented guards this game should thrill everyone who loves “old-school” basketball.

Juiciest Potential Match-Up (Media): Duke vs. Louisville in the second round. Almost everyone is circling this as a potential trap game for the Blue Devils, but that only scratches the surface of the media angles here. Rick Pitino and his Karen Sypher saga will come up again [Ed. Note: Nobody was more appreciative of the Tiger Woods fiasco than Pitino.] Then there is the coaching matchup between Pitino and Krzyzewski. We will have replays of the 1992 East Regional Finals. [Ed. Note: If you aren’t watching you will know when it is on from the blood-curdling screams coming from the state of Kentucky. And speaking of Kentucky, Wildcats fans will most likely have an aneurysm. Who do they root against? Afterward are they happy that someone lost or sad that someone won?]

We Got Screwed: Notre Dame, #6 seed, 23-11. The Irish got all they could have asked for in terms of seeding, but they could have had a much better draw. They open with a very good Old Dominion team that nobody wanted to play (ask Digger Phelps). If they win that they will most likely get a Baylor team that is a trendy pick to make it to Indianapolis. So even though nobody in the South Region can complain about their draw too much, the Irish have the biggest beef. Looking at the draws for the other #6s I would definitely rate Marquette’s (East) and Xavier’s (West) as easier with only Tennessee’s (Midwest), most likely having to get through San Diego State and Georgetown, as more difficult.

Strongest Pod: Spokane. Tough call between this and the New Orleans pod, but that pod has a bad team (Sam Houston State) while all four in Spokane (Purdue, Texas A&M, Utah State and Siena) are solid.

Wildcard, Bitches: Chad Ford tweeted during the Bracket Selection Show that there were no lottery picks in Duke’s region. He might have been too kind. Outside of Duke’s team where Mason Plumlee is the #37 prospect and Singler is the #55 prospect on Ford’s NBA Draft rankings, only one other player is in the top 65: Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson at #50.

So-Called Experts: It seems like a somewhat even split between #1 Duke and #2 Villanova among the ESPN crew.  Currently 44% of users in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge game are picking Duke out of this region, with Villanova at 34% and #3 Baylor garnering 11% of the vote.

Vegas Odds to Win Title:

• Duke = 8:1
• Villanova = 20:1
  
• Baylor = 30:1
  
• Purdue = 60:1
  
• Texas A&M = 100:1
• Notre Dame = 100:1
  
• Richmond = 300:1
  
• California = 100:1
  
• Louisville = 100:1
  
• St. Mary’s = 300:1
  
• Old Dominion = 300:1
  
• Utah State = 500:1
• Siena = 300:1
• Field = 50:1
  

• No problem with Duke as a #1 seed over Ohio State and West Virginia, but what we can’t understand is how the Devils drew #2 Villanova in their region, while overall #1 Kansas drew Big Ten regular season and tournament champion #2 Ohio State in theirs.  With Evan Turner out of the lineup, OSU lost three games; so what we’re looking at is a Buckeye team that would have likely been a #1 themselves without his injury.  Meanwhile, Villanova limps into the Tournament having lost five of their last seven games.
• To that end, the Midwest Region is by far the toughest draw for a #1 seed.  KU will have to face last year’s national runner-up #5 Michigan State or surging #4 Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen, and #2 Ohio State or #3 Georgetown in the Elite Eight.  It wouldn’t shock us in any way if any of those other four teams made it to the Final Four.  No other region is as loaded.
• The next toughest region is the East Region.  It doesn’t have the quality of depth that the Midwest has, but it has several dangerous teams that could give #1 Kentucky a lot of problems at each step of the way.  #8 Texas in the second round has the talent; can they play together?  #4 Wisconsin and #5 Temple are teams that play a style that doesn’t lend itself well to freshman mistakes.  And certainly #2 West Virginia is capable of a run, although we have issues with Bob Huggins’ history as a successful tournament coach (as in, he isn’t).
• The most wide-open region is the South Region.  Does anyone believe in #1 Duke for the Final Four?  #2 Villanova, #3 Baylor and #5 Texas A&M are all interesting in this region.  It seems like any of those four teams could put together a run here.  We omit #4 Purdue because we just can’t get behind this team without Robbie Hummel.

• We always like to see which teams might have a home crowd along the way and a few jumped right out at us.  In the first two rounds, #1 Syracuse plays in Buffalo (2.5 hours away) and both #1 Kansas and #2 Kansas State play in Oklahoma City (5-6 hours), while #11 Minnesota gets a bit of home-region advantage over #6 Xavier by virtue of playing in Milwaukee (5-6 hours).  The biggest possible advantages, though, come in the regionals.  Look at #7 BYU — if the Cougars can get past #10 Florida and #2 Kansas State in OKC (no small feat), then they will get to play in Salt Lake City, a mere 45 miles from their campus.  How do you think #3 Pittsburgh and #1 Syracuse would feel about that setup?  The other potential big regional advantages belong to #3 Baylor and #5 Texas A&M in the South Region.  If either or both can make it to Reliant Stadium for the regional, they’ll be within a 2-4-hour driving distance from their campuses.  #1 Duke and #2 Villanova should be on guard — those are road games.
• The #4 seeds this year are surprisingly weak at first blush.  Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Maryland aren’t a strong group.  Maryland is the strongest of the four, but the other three really bring this seed line down quite a bit.  There are three good options for a #5/#12 upset this year — Cornell over Temple, anyone, in a battle of Ivy League coaches (Dunphy vs. Donahue)?   UTEP over Butler in a contest of regular season champs who combined to go 37-2 in their respective leagues?  Utah State over Texas A&M?
• We know that western basketball is lacking in quality this year, but keep a particular eye on situations where left coast teams have to fly cross-country to play, especially if it’s an early game on Thursday/Friday.  #10 St. Mary’s going to Providence to face #7 Richmond is one such example, as the Gaels will tip it off before noon pacific time.  #11 San Diego State and #8 California must also fly all the way across the nation, but at least they both have late tip times.  We would include #8 Gonzaga’s trip to Buffalo, but the Zags are much more accustomed to traveling all over the place than the others are.
• Here’s the four first round games we’re most excited about:
  • #5 Butler vs. #12 UTEP
    
  • #7 Richmond vs. #10 St. Mary’s
  • #6 Marquette vs. #11 Washington
  • #4 Maryland vs. #13 Houston
• And the best potential second round matchups:
  • #4 Maryland vs. #5 Michigan State
    
  • #1 Duke vs. #9 Louisville
  • #1 Kentucky vs. #8 Texas
  • #3 Georgetown vs. #6 Tennessee
• Sweet Sixteen:
  • #1 Kansas vs. #5 Michigan State
  • #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Georgetown
• Elite Eight:
  • #1 Kansas vs. #3 Georgetown
  • #1 Duke vs. #3 Baylor
• Games where we don’t have a clue what’s going to happen, so if you do, let us know:
  • #8 UNLV vs. #9 Northern Iowa
  • #7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Georgia Tech
  • #6 Xavier vs. #11 Minnesota
  • #6 Notre Dame vs. #11 Old Dominion
  • #7 Clemson vs. #10 Missouri
• We’ll have more soon with our region-by-region analysis in the next few hours.  Check back soon…

Thursday, March 18

• 12:20 pm – #7 BYU vs. #10 Florida
• 12:25 pm – #6 Notre Dame vs. #11 Old Dominion
• 12:30 pm – #2 Villanova vs. #15 Robert Morris
• 2:30 pm – #4 Vanderbilt vs. #13 Murray State
• 2:40 pm – #2 Kansas State vs. #15 North Texas
• 2:45 pm – #3 Baylor vs. #14 Sam Houston State
• 2:50 pm – #7 Richmond vs. #10 St. Mary’s
• 4:45 pm – #5 Butler vs. #12 UTEP
• 7:10 pm – #8 Northern Iowa vs. #9 UNLV
• 7:15 pm – #1 Kentucky vs. #16 ETSU
• 7:20 pm – #6 Marquette vs. #11 Washington
• 7:25 pm – #3 Georgetown vs. #14 Ohio
• 9:30 pm – #1 Kansas vs. #16 Lehigh
• 9:35 pm – #8 Texas vs. #9 Wake Forest
• 9:40 pm – #3 New Mexico vs. #14 Montana
• 9:45 pm – #6 Tennessee vs. #11 San Diego State

Friday, March 19

• 12:15 pm – #2 West Virginia vs. #15 Morgan State
• 12:25 pm – #6 Xavier vs. #11 Minnesota
• 12:30 pm – #5 Temple vs. #12 Cornell
• 2:30 pm – #4 Purdue vs. #13 Siena
• 2:35 pm – #7 Clemson vs. #10 Missouri
• 2:45 pm – # 3 Pittsburgh vs. #14 Oakland
• 2:50 pm – #4 Wisconsin vs. #13 Wofford
• 4:45 pm – #5 Texas A&M vs. #12 Utah State
• 7:10 pm – #8 Gonzaga vs. #9 Florida State
• 7:15 pm – #7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Georgia Tech
• 7:25 pm – #1 Duke vs. #16 Arkansas Pine Bluff/Winthrop
• 7:30 pm – #5 Michigan State vs. #12 New Mexico State
• 9:30 pm – #1 Syracuse vs. #16 Vermont
• 9:35 pm – #2 Ohio State vs. #15 UC Santa Barbara
• 9:40 pm – #4 Maryland vs. #13 Houston
• 9:45 pm – #8 California vs. #9 Louisville

* as soon as we can find the regional viewing maps later this week, we’ll put those up somewhere too.

We’re back for the last RTC Live before the NCAA Tournament begins. And when I say we’re back I mean it. For this special RTC Live we will be reuniting the original members of RTC (rtmsf and nvr1983) for the first time all-season on a RTC Live to analyze the bracket and what the analysts are saying about it. We will be starting at 5:45 to get a head start on the Selection Show although the way that Ohio State is working Minnesota CBS might just start the Selection Show early. So join us while we analyze the bracket in real-time, take your questions, and help your with your bracket.

Zach Hayes is RTC’s resident bracketologist.

Last Four In: California, Utah State, Minnesota, Illinois

Last Four Out: Mississippi State, Florida, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall

Bids per conference: Big East (8), Big 12 (7), Big Ten (6), ACC (6), Mountain West (4), SEC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Pac-10 (2), West Coast (2), WAC (2), C-USA (2).

UPDATES ALL DAY TODAY. FINAL BRACKET REVEALED JUST BEFORE 6 PM ET.

(Note: each of the four teams in one seed grouping is listed in pecking order in terms of who is closer to moving up a seed line. This is used to determine game location and matchups similar to Joe Lunardi’s S-Curve listing).

Also: play the NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday challenge at NCAA.com to be your own Bracketologist.

Italics indicates conference leaders/champions.

Last update: 03/14, 3:50 PM ET.

#1 Seeds: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, West Virginia

#2 Seeds: Duke, Ohio State, Kansas State, Georgetown

#3 Seeds: New Mexico, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Purdue

#4 Seeds: Baylor, Wisconsin, Temple, Tennessee

#5 Seeds: Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Michigan State, BYU

#6 Seeds: Maryland, Butler, Richmond, Xavier

#7 Seeds: Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, Texas, UNLV

#8 Seeds: Notre Dame, Marquette, Clemson, Oklahoma State

#9 Seeds: Florida State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Missouri

#10 Seeds: UTEP, Old Dominion, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State

#11 Seeds: Wake Forest, Washington, California, Siena

#12 Seeds: Utah State, Minnesota, Cornell, Illinois

#13 Seeds: Murray State, New Mexico State, Oakland, Houston

#14 Seeds: Wofford, Sam Houston State, Ohio, Montana

#15 Seeds: Morgan State, UC-Santa Barbara, North Texas, Vermont

#16 Seeds: Robert Morris, East Tennessee State, Lehigh, Winthrop, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Last Four In: California, Utah State, Minnesota, Illinois

Last Four Out: Mississippi State, Florida, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall

Bids per conference: Big East (8), Big 12 (7), Big Ten (6), ACC (5), Mountain West (4), SEC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Pac-10 (2), West Coast (2), WAC (2), C-USA (2).

One last game to play in the A10 Conference. On Sunday at 1 p.m. the Temple Owls and Richmond Spiders will decide who takes the conference crown and the conference’s automatic bid. This is Temple’s third consecutive A10 Title Game. Only Massachusetts, in their magic run of five consecutive championships (1992-1996) ,has a conference record not held by the Owls. Can Temple “threepeat” and keep their winning streak? No team has been to the title game more often than the Owls’ 15 games. Nor has any team matched Temple’s eight tournament championships. Juan Fernandez, Ryan Brooks, Lavoy Allen and Luis Guzman have been here before; they know what it takes to win. Temple may know the territory, but Richmond has only been to the championship game once. And they lost. This time they are bringing two All-A10 First Team players, A10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson and sharpshooter David Gonzalvez, with them. Richmond is the only A10 team to own a win over every other A10 team this season. They beat Temple before, will they use the energy and confidence gained from their thrilling 89-85 overtime win over Xavier to power them over the Temple Owls? Join us at RTC Live for one last game. The Temple Owls and the Richmond Spiders, live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

The 2010 ACC Tournament has been, well, odd. Who would have believed that 7^th seeded Georgia Tech, 11^th seeded NC State, and 12^th seeded Miami would have joined top seeded Duke in the semifinals? Guess what? It happened. All that aside, things may balance out in the end as Duke will be a heavy favorite over a fatigued Georgia Tech team in today’s championship game. Becoming only the third ACC team to play four games in four days (see NC State in 1997 and 2007, both losses to Duke), Georgia Tech will attempt to become the first to bring home a championship. Also, Paul Hewitt is attempting to become the first African-American coach to win the ACC Tournament. No easy task against a Duke team that has become accustomed to playing on championship Sunday, as they have won eight of the last eleven titles. Join us here at Rush the Court to see if they can it make nine of twelve, or if Georgia Tech can add their fourth ACC crown at Duke’s expense.

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the next thirty days for the last eleven months.  You have too.  In fact, if this isn’t your favorite time of year by a healthy margin then you should probably click away from this site for a while.   Because we plan on waterboarding you with March Madness coverage.  Seriously, you’re going to feel like Dick Cheney himself is holding a Spalding-logoed towel over your face.  Your intake will be so voluminous that you’ll be drooling Gus Johnson and bracket residue in your sleep.  Or Seth Davis, if that’s more your style.  The point is that we’re all locked in and ready to go.  Are you?  To help us all get into the mood, we like to click around a fancy little website called YouTube for a daily dose of notable events, happenings, finishes, ups and downs relating to the next month.  We’re going to try to make this video compilation a little smarter, a little edgier, a little historical-er.  Or whatever.  Sure, you’ll see some old favorites that never lose their luster, but you’ll also see some that maybe you’ve forgotten or never knew to begin with.  That’s the hope, at least.  We’ll be matching the videos by the appropriate week, so all of this week we re-visited some of the timeless moments from Championship Week.  Enjoy.

Championship Week

Dateline:  1974 ACC Tournament – Maryland vs. NC State

Context: If you’re old enough to remember this game, you’re probably not reading this site, so this is for you youngins out there.  When this game was played in the mid-70s, the NCAA Tournament only selected one team from each conference to go to the 25-team event.  It truly was a tournament of champions, but the problem was obvious, in that some leagues such as the ACC, were far better than others.  1974 was also the season where UCLA, who had won the last seven national titles, finally saw its own blood (yes, you read seven correctly).  Their 88-game winning streak came to an end against Notre Dame in January, and the Bruins even lost a couple of games that year in Pac-8 conference play.  Even though John Wooden’s team was still loaded with talent, there were two teams back east that seemed just as good, if not better.  #1 NC State came into the ACC championship game at 25-1, while #4 Maryland was 23-4 and both teams enjoyed serious future NBA talent — NCSU with the spectacular David Thompson along with big man Tom Burleson, and the Terps with an all-star cast including Len Elmore, John Lucas and Tom McMillen.  In a game that many who witnessed still today claim was the greatest game ever played (even over 1992 Duke-Kentucky), NC State prevailed 103-100 in overtime.  The Wolfpack went on to vanquish the mighty Bruins in the Final Four and cut down the nets for their first national championship two nights later.  The Terps, well… they went back home and wondered what could have been, labeled as one of the best teams to never play in the NCAA Tournament.  In large part due to the outcry after this game featuring two of the nation’s very best teams, the NCAA expanded to 32 teams in 1975, opening the door for the at-large bids that have been a key component of the Dance ever since.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2012
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

SEC Championship Game – #2 Kentucky vs. Mississippi St – 1:00 pm on ABC (****)

Although college basketball coverage has been rare on ABC this season, they will be broadcasting a fantastic game today.  This will be a chance for Mississippi State to avenge their heartbreaking loss to Kentucky earlier in the season.  In the only matchup between these teams, MSU had a 67-60 lead with under three minutes left before imploding.  The Bulldogs failed to capitalize on Kentucky’s 4-24 shooting from beyond the arc and ended up losing 81-75 in overtime.  Although Mississippi State is usually a solid team in the paint, they were outrebounded 49-29 in that game, and Jarvis Varnado will need to top the five rebounds he recorded if they are going to have a chance in this contest.  The Bulldogs, who rank just #60 in offensive efficiency, will likely struggle against a solid Wildcat defense, but guard Dee Bost scored 22 points in the last game and he will provide a change of pace from MSU’s lineup that is stacked with big men.  At the end of the day, Kentucky is still the better team, and will look to win their 26^th SEC Tournament today.

ACC Championship Game – #4 Duke vs. Georgia Tech – 1:00 pm on ESPN (****)

The Yellow Jackets may have saved their season with this late run, but a win against Duke is the only way to ensure their name will be called on the selection show later today.  In order to beat a Blue Devils team that has won 11 of their last 12 games, they are going to have to limit their mistakes.  They average more turnovers than assists, and shoot only 65% from the free throw line.  The key for Georgia Tech will be to establish a presence in the paint, as Duke’s best athletes play on the perimeter, while the Yellow Jackets have three solid forwards.  Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors, and Zachary Peacock all average over 10 points per game and shoot over 50% from the floor, and if they can get production from all three forwards, they certainly have a chance to win this game.  GT suffered a 19-point defeat to the Blue Devils in the first game, but in Atlanta earlier this season the Yellow Jackets converted 22 of 28 free throws in a 71-67 victory.  Duke, who ranks among the top three teams in both offensive and defensive efficiency, should be able to contain a GT offense that ranks just #50 in Ken Pomeroy’s offense rankings.

Atlantic 10 Championship Game – #17 Temple vs. Richmond – 1:00 on CBS (****)

Temple has been the class of the A10 all season, but Richmond is making their case as the best team in the conference with their recent performances.  They have won 12 of their last 13 games and were the last team to beat Temple.  In that game, the Spiders held Ryan Brooks to 1-8 shooting, and the Owls shot 1-10 from the three-point line in a 71-54 loss.  Temple is 9-0 since that game, and still boasts one of the best defenses in the country.  They rank #5 in defensive efficiency, and despite their poor offensive efficiency ranking at #81, they have a 1.4:1 assist to turnover ratio.  Richmond has an equally poor offense at #80, but don’t have the firepower of the Owls. If the Spiders are going to pull another upset, they will need a similar effort from Kevin Anderson, who was 11-17 with 29 points in the first matchup.

Big Ten Championship Game – #7 Ohio State vs. Minnesota – 3:30 pm on CBS (****)

The last game before the NCAA Tournament starts on Tuesday night will feature one team who is trying to become a #1 seed and another team who is fighting for its life.  Minnesota was just 17-12 a couple of weeks ago, but thanks to some huge upsets over Michigan State and Purdue, they might take the last bubble spot from conference foe Illinois.  The Buckeyes are also coming into the game with some momentum, as they have won 12 of their last 13 games on Evan Turner’s back.  The Big Ten player of the year had a buzzer beater against Michigan and took over at the end of OSU’s victory over Illinois, and if he continues the hot hand into this game, it will be nearly impossible for the Gophers to win the title.  In their most recent matchup, Ohio State won 85-63 in Columbus via 63% shooting from the field and 8-11 shooting from the free throw line.  However, in the first game, OSU shot just 53% from the charity stripe and UM’s Blake Hoffarber made 7-9 three point attempts en route to a 73-62 victory.  If the Gophers can make all of their open three point attempts, and OSU misses their free throws, Minnesota will have a great chance to finish a miraculous run through the Big Ten.