page 8
March
Madness
from page 7
didn’t lose their way to a top-25
ranking. Marquette has beaten
several impressive teams, most
notably Texas Tech, Duke, UConn,
West Virginia, Louisville,
Pittsburgh, and Villanova. Not bad,
huh? I’m not saying Marquette is
a shoe-in. The Golden Eagles are
going to have to man up and
punch a few teams in the mouth
early on, but, barring a total
breakdown in the Big East
tournament, it looks like Marquette
has the chops to push to the big
dance. If nothing else, the Golden
Eagles have one thing that
ostensible contenders like the
Buckeyes and the Kansas
Jayhawks do not: a purely brutal
schedule in what amounts to be
the toughest division in the
country.
So there you have it. The Florida
Gators, the UCLA Bruins, the Texas
A&M Aggies, and the Marquette
Golden Eagles. Like I said, two or
three of these teams could end up
in the same bracket but, in my
opinion, I believe these are four of
the most deserving and eligible
teams to make the final four. I might
be wrong—hell, I probably will
be—but that’s what the NCAA
tournament is all about isn’t it?
Unpredictability. It’s madness,
baby, March Madness.
2007 NCAA Division | Men's Basketball Championship
First Round* Second Round* Regionais National Semifinals National Championship National Semifinais Regionals - Second Round*
Atlanta
March 31
Atlanta
April 2
NATIONAL CHAMPION
First Round®
Atlanta
March 31
***ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL"
be a 16th seed in the first round.
NCAA Division | Men's Basketball Committee March 11.
March 15 and 17 first-/second-round sites: Buffalo, Lexington, Winston-Salem, Sacramento
March 16 and 18 first-/second-round sites: Chicago, Columbus, New Orleans, Spokane
March 22 and 24 regional sites: San Antonio, San Jose
March 23 and 25 regional sites: East Rutherford, St. Louis
© 2006 Nationa Collegiate Athletic Association. Na commercial use without the NCAA's writen permission.
The NCAA opposes aff sports wagering. This bracket should not be used for sweepstakes, contests, office pools or other gambling activities.