After one weekend of pretty good basketball, there are a few interesting stories to mull over while we wait for the games to begin again on Thursday in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

I felt that Southern Illinois could win a few games this year in the tournament. And they certainly took advantage of playing in Illinois before a fairly supportive crowd. But Georgia coach Jim Harrick was a bit disrespectful to the Salukis by implying that the semi-home-court advantage was a factor in his team's exit. When a No. 3 seed has a No. 11 seed down by 19, as Georgia had Southern Illinois down, the No. 3 seed has to close the deal.

Both UCLA and Kentucky can play loose. But the favored teams have to meet expectations.

An experienced coach like Harrick knows that. Harrick also should know better than to complain about the officiating at the end of the game, which he termed "inconsistent."

Harrick was complaining about a fairly obvious intentional foul call against his Bulldogs when they were trying to foul late in the game, hoping for some missed free throws and the chance to get the ball back quickly. But Georgia blew a huge lead and in the last 15 seconds or so was never in a position to tie the game. The key was that Southern Illinois did not give up when they were 19 down. The locale of the game and the officiating were secondary stories and certainly not worthy of mention by Harrick.

Not to say that the home-court advantage thing can't be mentioned by me. If you want to ensure that the top seeds are going to advance, then fine. Illinois, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Texas and Maryland all had home-court or close-to-home-court advantages. They all advanced to the Sweet 16. Court stories continue this week. UCLA and Arizona play this weekend in California, which is squarely in Pac-10 territory. Duke has to play in Lexington, Ky.; Illinois will be in Madison, Wisc.; and Connecticut will play in Syracuse, N.Y.

Cincinnati turned out to be the first No. 1 seed to go home early. First- or second-round losses are unfortunately common in Bearcats land. But it wasn't like they played poorly; losing in double overtime to a very good UCLA team is not an embarrassment. All-American Steve Logan didn't play that well, shooting 6-for-18. And there isn't a lot left on the Bearcats after Logan. Still, we expected more from a team that had already achieved so much.

Cincinnati was the only 30-win team in the tournament and one of only two teams to win its regular-season championship outright plus its conference tournament (Kent State was the other and is in the Sweet 16). The Bearcats led by 11 points with nine minutes to play. They should have won the game. But coach Bob Huggins was not sour-graping it afterward. He pointed no fingers and took the loss. That's one of the things I like about Huggins. He doesn't make excuses. And he could certainly use some excuses, because his team has not made it past the second round in five of the past six years despite never being seeded lower than third. And going out this year as a top seed just has to hurt a bit more.

Still, we didn't expect a lot from Cincinnati back in September. Then they put together a good season only to lose in the second round, and we see the year as a disappointment. That pressure is tough. Look at some of the low seeds and how well they do each year. The coach really can take the perceived lack of respect and run with it.

Don't tell me that if Southern Illinois loses its next game, the Salukis' season will be judged critically. They will be deemed to have "had a good run." They "finished strong" and "got it done in March." I happen to agree with all of that, too. They weren't just happy to be there. They showed a lot of pride and deserve this recognition.

All sorts of positives will be found for Southern Illinois. Just like the negatives will be found for Cincinnati.

Don't tell me that if Southern Illinois loses its next game, the Salukis' season will be judged critically.

Looking ahead, Maryland-Kentucky intrigues me. If this were a regular-season game, there wouldn't be a lot of concern on the Terps' side. But Kentucky and UCLA are having similar seasons. High hopes in November, disappointing seasons, but now they're in the Sweet 16. The opposite of Cincinnati, really. Cincinnati gave us several months of consistently good basketball but couldn't put together a few weeks in March. Conversely, the Wildcats and Bruins are avenging their inconsistent regular seasons with their tournament play.

Both UCLA and Kentucky can play loose. "Nobody expects much from us," they can tell themselves. UCLA won 19 games, Cincinnati won 31. Kentucky finished poorly and was picked by many to lose to Valparaiso in the first round. That loose mentality is great for a team. The coach can tell them to go for it and just have fun. Ask Southern Illinois. Ask Missouri. Ask Kent State.

But the favored teams have to meet expectations. They have to win -- and win by a good margin. It makes things tougher. Ask Cincinnati. Ask Gonzaga. Ask Georgia.

In other words, Maryland coach Gary Williams has his work cut out for him. And Tubby Smith can tell his guys to have fun. No knock on Smith there, either. Both guys will have to coach like hell to advance, and any team left right now is a good and formidable opponent. But Williams has to contend with that other foe: expectations. Smith can just coach.