The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 14, 1995, Page 9, Image 9
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It's that time of year again, sports
fans! Everyone has that wide-eyed look
of anticipation for the greatest three
weeks of college basketball. To put it another
way, March Madness is upon us.
The weekend of April 1 will pit the remaining
four teams in Division I against
each other in the King Dome in Seattle
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go the deepest into the tournament.
Let's take a look at the brackets.
West
Final Four Entry: UCLA
The West is clearly the strongest
bracket, with two former No. l's, UCLA
and Connecticut, holding the 1 and 2
seeds. The Bruins are a strong team led
by Ed CBannon and should make travel
plans for Seattle. UConn has faltered
in the last few weeks and doesn't look
as dominant as it was at the beginning
of the season.
The Top 25 in the Associated Press college
basketball poll. Teams are listed with their
ranking in previous poN.
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3. Wake Forest (?)
4. North Carolina (4)
5. Kansas (2)
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8. Connecticut (6)
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i 0. Maryland (i oj
12. Purdue (14)
1& Virginia (11)
14. Oklahoma State (19)
15. Arizona (12)
16. Arizona State (18) ,
\ 17. Qldabofra(1 ) '
w>18, MississiwiState (15)
12. Utah {22}
20. Alabama (20) . . ..
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22. Georgetown (24)
; 23, Missouri (1?)
24. Iowa State (nr)
25. Syracuse (21)
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As the season began to wind down,
the bubble teams tried to scratch and
claw their way into the field, with some
teams finishing strong to improve their
standing. The conference tournaments
helped some teams ? Florida International
jumps to mind ? while hurting
others: Georgia and Georgia Tech both
failed to make the field.
This year's 64-team field holds some
surprises in the four brackets, while other
teams are conspicuously absent from
the field. I can't concieve of any major
upsets in the opening round, but I don't
consider 8-9,7-10 or 6-11 upset games
because those teams are usually evenly
matched.
Its time to get those office pools going,
and Fm sure everyone knows which
teams they think will lead them to the
promised land. It seems everyone becomes
basketball experts this time of
year, with their own angle on picking
the games.
Well, Fm also going to play that role
of basketball expert and wade my way
through each bracket in an attempt to
find the remaining four teams. I think
the chances of most of the teams in the
field hinge on the play of their big men,
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The real strength of this bracket
comes from the presence of Mississippi |
State and Maryland, my pick for UCLA's I
ana uuonn s regional opponents, mese i
two teams are led, respectively, by strong |
big men Errick Dampier and Joe Smith,
both of whom can dominate games.
The marquee first-round match-up
is definitely Missouri-Indiana. Both
teams are strong, but Bob Knight knows
how to win tournament games, and the
Tigers struggled at the end of the season.
East
Final Four Entry: UMass
The East bracket is the second |
strongest of the field. Wake Forrest used |
a strong ACC Tournament, or should I
say a strong performance from Randolph ;
Childress, to solidify a No. 1 seed UMass 1
is a very good 2 seed that can dominate I
the field if it plays to its potential, which ?
it hasn't shown a penchant for doing con
sistently.
Big Country Bryant Reeves should
carry Oklahoma State to a regional
against Wake, while Villanova takes
huge momentum into a face-off with
UMass.
Look for Stanford to knock off UNCCharlotte
in the only semi-upset in the
bracket:
Midwest
Final Four Entry: Arkansas
Kansas is a shaky No. 1 seed in a
fairly weak bracket that screams
Arkansas. The Razorbacks are still the
team with the best 10-man rotation in
the nation. And they should knock off
Cro-Magnon man Greg Ostertag and
the Jayhawks.
Virginia stands in the way of Kansas'
showdown with the Razorbacks. The
Wahoos could beat the Jayhawks if the
game wasn't in Kansas City. Purdue will
ride the momentum of its second-straight
Big 10 Championship to a regional with
Arkansas.
Louisville has the team to beat Memphis
in the opening round for a small
upset, but will face the Boilermakers in
the second round.
Southeast
Final Four Entry: Kentucky
Even thought this bracket has two
of the best teams in the nation, ifs still
the weakest bracket overall. The regional
final has an incredible Kentucky-North
Carolina written all over it.
Michigan State should ride the shoulders
of Shawn Respert into a regional
with the Tar Heels, while Oklahoma will
be the Wildcats' regional victim.
The only interesting first-round game
is Iowa State against a highly overrated
Florida team.
Final Four Seattle
NCAA Champion: UCLA
The Final Four will be highlighted
by the third meeting of the season o"
Kentucky and Arkansas. Kentucky ha3
the Razorbacks' number this year and
snouia aemoiisn ArKansas irom outsiae,
but the game will be physical and take
its toll on the Wildcats.
UCLA should win a yawner with
UMass. The Bruins are just too athletic
for the Minutemen as Ed O'Bannon
makes his bid for NCAA Tournament
MVP.
The final will pit a beat-up Kentucky
team aganst the destiny-minded Bruins.
UCLA will win a highly competitive
final and take the title out west for the
first time in the '90s.
rts: A step ahead.
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4 Oklahoma State
13 Drexel
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3 Villanova
14 Old Dominion
7 UNC-fiharloltfl
10 Stanford
2 Massachusetts
15 St. Peters
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16 Fla. International
8 Missouri
9 Indiana
5 Mississippi State
12 Santa Clara
4 Utah
13 Long Beach St.
6 Oregon
II Texas
3 Maryland
14 Gonzaga
7 Cincinatti
10 Temple
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Kansas 1
I Colgate 16
W Kentucky 8
Michigan Q
Arizona 5
1 Miami (Ohio) 12
i Virginia 4
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Memphis 6
Louisville 11
Purdue 3
Wis-Green Bay 14
" Syracuse 7
S. Illinois 10
Texas Southern 15
Kentucky 1
Ttj/ ( Ml St Mary's 16
I I I BYU 8
I Tulane 9
Arizona State 5
Ball State 12
Oklahoma 4
Manhattan 13
Georgetown 6
Xavier(Ohio) 11
Michigan State 3
1 Wehfir State 14
^ Iowa State 7
Florida 10
UNC 2
Murray State 15
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