| | It is cold, callous and borderline unfair. But the hard truth is that
Cincinnati must drop from a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament following the
season-ending injury to star Kenyon Martin.
This development may be the most
unprecedented circumstance ever to confront the selection committee, but the
committee's charge is clear: It must be fair to 63 other teams before
allowing emotion to influence the seeding of the Bearcats.
The best guess here is that Cincinnati will fall to a 2-3 seed. We believe
the committee should be sensitive to the travel plans of so many Bearcat
fans, however, and leave UC in the previously slotted Cleveland sub-regional.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati's loss is Arizona's gain. The Wildcats took care of
their own business late Thursday, earning a season sweep of Pac-10 rival
Stanford and making the strongest possible case for the No. 1 seed in the
West. Arizona's victory concluded one of the most dramatic days in
Championship Week history.
These updated NCAA Tournament projections are through games of Thursday,
March 9. The next (and final) update comes on Selection Sunday, March 12.
(Teams listed ALL CAPS have already clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA
field.)
West Region
March 16, 2000/Salt Lake City, Utah
(1) Arizona vs. (16) SWAC/Alcorn State
(8) DePaul vs. (9) Vanderbilt
(5) Tulsa vs. (12) St. Bonaventure
(4) Maryland vs. (13) Notre Dame
March 16, 2000/Tucson, Ariz.
(3) Texas vs. (14) SAMFORD
(6) Indiana vs. (11) CREIGHTON
(7) Dayton vs. (10) BIG WEST/Utah State
(2) Tennessee vs. (15) BIG SKY/Montana
Midwest Region
March 16, 2000/Minneapolis
(1) Michigan State vs. (16) VALPARAISO
(8) UCLA vs. (9) Utah
(5) Syracuse vs. (12) Missouri
(4) Florida vs. (13) SE MISSOURI STATE
March 16, 2000/Cleveland
(3) Cincinnati vs. (14) CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
(6) Miami vs. (11) Pepperdine
(7) Auburn vs. (10) SW Missouri State
(2) Iowa State vs. (15) Winthrop
East Region
March 17, 2000/Winston-Salem, N.C.
(1) Duke vs. (16) MEAC/South Carolina State
(8) Fresno State vs. (9) Wisconsin
(5) Oklahoma State vs. (12) PENNSYLVANIA
(4) St. John's vs. (13) A-EAST/Hofstra
March 17, 2000/Buffalo, N.Y.
(3) Kentucky vs. (14) IONA
(6) Purdue vs. (11) Indiana State
(7) Oregon vs. (10) GONZAGA
(2) Temple vs. (15) PATRIOT/Lafayette
South Region
March 17, 2000/Birmingham, Ala.
(1) Stanford vs. (16) SLC/Northwestern State
(8) Illinois vs. (9) North Carolina
(5) Connecticut vs. (12) BUTLER
(4) Oklahoma vs. (13) LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
March 17, 2000/Nashville, Tenn.
(3) LSU vs. (14) APPALACHIAN STATE
(6) Kansas vs. (11) Seton Hall
(7) Louisville vs. (10) BALL STATE
(2) Ohio State vs. (15) UNC-WILMINGTON
Blue Ribbon bits
The Mountain West and WAC are without automatic bids this season. Thus,
there are only 29 conferences (instead of the maximum 30) which will place an
automatic qualifier into the NCAA field this year.
Please note that Syracuse (East) and Texas (South) cannot be placed in
their respective regions, as each is hosting a regional final this year.
Illinois, Gonzaga, St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame are listed one slot lower
than their true seed in this projection in order to comply with all
bracketing criteria (the selection committee allows teams to be moved in such
instances no more than one line from their true seed). The
beneficiaries -- four teams moved up a seed line -- are Oregon, Vanderbilt, Seton
Hall and Pennsylvania.
Multiple-conference breakdown: Big East (6), Big Ten (6), Big 12 (6), SEC
(6), Pac-10 (4), ACC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Conference USA (3), MVC (3), WAC
(2), West Coast (2).
Last four in: St. Bonaventure, Missouri, Seton Hall, Notre Dame.
Last four out: Kent, Virginia, UNLV, Bowling Green.
Legitimate bubble teams also include SMU, Arizona State, UNC Charlotte, Wake Forest, Saint
Louis.
Joe Lunardi appears Monday nights (10:20 p.m. ET) and Saturday afternoons (2:20 p.m. ET) on ESPN Radio and chats every Friday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.com.
To order the adidas Blue Ribbon Tournament Preview, call 1-800-828-HOOP
(4667). This 80-page volume is prepared on Selection Sunday and rushed to
you in time for first-round games. BLUE RIBBON postseason reports -- including new online editions -- are also available at www.collegebaskets.com.
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ALSO SEE
Who's on the bubble?
The Word on the Bubble
Championship Week
Cinderella Watch
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