Charles Henderlite

The South region was also disappointing for fans eager to see a major upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Fans were left without a Cinderella team to pull for this year after all the top seeded teams took care of business and moved into the second round of the tournament.

The results of the South region’s first round action saw No. 1 Ohio St. beat No. 16 Central Connecticut St. 78-57; No. 8 BYU lost to a tough No. 9 Xavier team 77-79; No. 5 Tennessee demolished No. 12 Long Beach St. 121-86; No. 4 Virginia was victorious over No. 13 Albany 84-57; No. 6 Louisville over No. 11 Stanford 78-58; No. 3 Texas A&M eliminated No. 14 Pennsylvania 68-52; No. 7 Nevada outlasted No. 10 Creighton 77-71 and No. 2 Memphis capped off the first round with a win over No. 15 North Texas 73-58.

Only a mild upset took place in the first round of the East region which involved No. 9 Michigan St. beating No. 8 Marquette 61-49. Other than that, the rest of the region was true to form.

The rest of the results in the East region saw No. 1 North Carolina dispatch No. 16 Eastern Kentucky 86-65; No. 5 USC eliminated No. 12 Arkansas 77-60; No. 4 Texas beat No. 13 New Mexico St. 79-67; No. 6 Vanderbilt cruised past No. 11 George Washington 77-44; No. 3 Washington St. was victorious over No. 14 Oral Roberts 70-54; No. 7 Boston College took out No. 10 Texas Tech 84-75 and No. 2 Georgetown upended No. 15 Belmont 80-55.

The only upset in the first round of the West region involved No. 6 Duke against No. 11 VCU . Duke suffered an uncharacteristic first round exit by losing to VCU 77-79.

In the West region’s other first round action it was No. 1 Kansas having no problem with No. 16 Niagara 107-67; No. 8 Kentucky over No. 9 Villanova 67-58; No. 5 Virginia Tech slipped past No. 12 Illinois 54-52; No. 4 Southern Illinois beat No. 13 Holy Cross 61-51; No. 3 Pittsburgh cruised to victory over No. 14 Wright St. 79-58; No. 7 Indiana sent No. 10 Gonzaga home with a 70-57 victory and No. 2 UCLA had no trouble with No. 15 Weber St. easily winning 70-42.

Only one notable upset took place in the first round of the NCAA tournament’s Midwest region. This took place between No. 11 Winthrop vs. No. 6 Notre Dame . Winthrop beat Notre Dame 74-64 to advance to the second round of the tournament.

In other first round action it was No. 1 Florida over No. 16 Jackson St. 112-69; No. 8 Arizona lost to No. 9 Purdue 72-63; No. 5 Butler beat No. 12 Old Dominion 57-46; No. 4 Maryland took care of No. 13 Davidson 82-70; No. 3 Oregon squeaked by No. 14 Miami of Ohio 58-56; No. 7 UNLV eliminated No. 10 Georgia Tech 67-63 and No. 2 Wisconsin sent No. 15 Texas A&M C.C. home with a final of 76-63.

After a couple of weeks of failure, I have given up on trying to make my own tournament bracket. To see the bracket I have included a direct link to one hosted by Yahoo! This link is located under the Links tab in the sidebar. I have also included a link to a bracket in which I chose the possible winners. Just so everyone knows who I picked to win.

Out of the 15 teams that were on the bubble, only six made the tournament. And those teams are listed below.

Who’s in:

1. Illinois (23-10) Big Ten
2. Georgia Tech (20-11) ACC
3. Purdue (21-10) Big Ten
4. Arkansas (20-12) SEC
5. Nevada (28-4) WAC
6. Xavier (24-8) Atlantic 10

Who’s out:

1. Kansas St. (22-10) Big 12
2. Air Force (23-8) Mountain West
3. Drexel (23-8) Colonial
4. West Virginia (22-9) Big East
5. Florida St. (20-12) ACC
6. Michigan (21-12) Big Ten
7. Mississippi (20-11) SEC
8. Mississippi St. (18-12) SEC
9. Oklahoma St. (22-11) Big 12

Some really good teams have been left out of the tournament. The biggest surprise of all was the exclusion of Syracuse. Syracuse was not considered a bubble team because it was believed by many that they would easily make the tournament. Apparently the selection committee thought otherwise. Other news: Old Dominion was chosen over Drexel, West Virginia was overlooked and Kansas St. was snubbed. Looks like they will all have to prove the selection committee wrong by having good showing’s in the NIT.

In the West, Kansas (30-4) opens against the play-in winner Friday in Chicago. UCLA, settles for the No. 2 seed and will play No. 15 Weber State. Also in the West bracket, it will be: No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 14 Wright State, No. 4 Southern Illinois vs. No. 13 Holy Cross and No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. No. 12 Illinois. No. 6 Duke will play No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth. No. 7 Indiana plays No. 10 Gonzaga, and No. 8 Kentucky faces No. 9 Villanova.

North Carolina (28-6) drew the top seed in the East and will play Eastern Kentucky on Thursday. Georgetown is the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 15 Belmont. Also in the East, it’s No. 3 Washington State vs. No. 14 Oral Roberts; No. 4 Texas and star Kevin Durant against No. 12 New Mexico State; No. 5 USC vs. No. 12 Arkansas; No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 George Washington, No. 7 Boston College vs. No. 10 Texas Tech and No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 Michigan State.

Ohio State (30-3) is the No. 1 seed in the South will take on No. 16 Central Connecticut St. on Thursday. Other games in the South include No. 2 Memphis against No. 15 North Texas; No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania; No. 4 Virginia vs. No. 13 Albany; No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Long Beach State; No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 Stanford; No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Creighton and No. 8 BYU vs. No. 9 Xavier.

The Florida Gators (29-5) enter the tournament as defending champions and hope to become the first repeat champions since Duke in 1992. Florida will begin its quest with the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region against No. 16 Jackson State. Wisconsin got the No. 2 seed in the Midwest and will play No. 15 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Other games in the region are: No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Miami of Ohio, No. 4 Maryland vs. Davidson, No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 Old Dominion and No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Winthrop; No. 7 UNLV vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 9 Purdue.

These are the top four seeds in this year’s NCAA tournament:

• Florida
• North Carolina
• Kansas
• Ohio St.

Florida is recognized as the top overall seed in the tournament.

Here are the bubble teams heading into selection Sunday. The teams are listed in the order in which they will likely be selected. The middle to bottom team’s will likely be headed to the NIT, or start their off-seasons.

Should make the tournament:

1. Illinois (23-10) Big Ten
2. Kansas St. (22-10) Big 12
3. Nevada (28-4) WAC
4. Purdue (21-10) Big Ten
5. Xavier (24-8) Atlantic 10

Middle of the pack:

1. Air Force (23-8) Mountain West
2. Arkansas (20-12) SEC
3. Drexel (23-8) Colonial
4. Georgia Tech (20-11) ACC
5. West Virginia (22-9) Big East

NIT bound:

1. Florida St. (20-12) ACC
2. Michigan (21-12) Big Ten
3. Mississippi (20-11) SEC
4. Mississippi St. (18-12) SEC
5. Oklahoma St. (22-11) Big 12

After a strong showing the in Big 12 tournament, Oklahoma St. moved up the list to be included as a possible bubble team. The only thing the Cowboys can do now is watch and wait, just like the rest of us.

The final five automatic bids for the NCAA tournament were set today, and here they are:

• Florida (29-5) SEC
• North Carolina (28-6) ACC
• Texas A&M CC (26-6) Southland
• Kansas (30-4) Big 12
• Ohio St. (30-3) Big Ten

All that remains to fill out the tournament’s field of 65 is tonight’s selection show.