The 'Bag unveils the seventh annual Magic Eight list

	Billy Donovan's sitting pretty -- Florida made the Magic Eight ... and he has a Sidekick II. Bill Frakes/SI
	MAILBAG Grant Wahl will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Before we unveil our seventh-annual "Your Company Name Could Be Here" Magic Eight © -- our list of the eight teams from which we guarantee the national champion will emerge -- I thought I'd share some things I learned from my recent travels for the mag:

• Florida's Billy Donovan is the first head coach I've met who uses a Sidekick II, the flip-screen mobile device that confers instant coolness among players, Snoop Dogg, etc. This alone may get him three blue-chip commitments next year.

• West Virginia actually has plays called "Double Quickie Potato," "Dirty Harry" and (my personal favorite) "Best Play Ever." Imagine the terror a defender must feel when he hears Mountaineers coach John Beilein call out "Best Play Ever."

• There are few nine-word sentences in the English language scarier than this: "We have an extremely full flight to Orlando today." (Someday I may find children to be enchanting; that day has not yet arrived.)

• After I finished interviewing Thad Matta, I think I signed a letter of intent to play at Ohio State next season.

But you're not here to learn that stuff. You're here for the Magic Eight, our ritual attempt to show that only a few teams really have what it takes to win the national title. The 'Bag is five for six over the years (the lone exception being Syracuse in 2003), and we're guaranteeing six for seven.

(Keep in mind, this is no wishy-washy Patrick Ewing guarantee, either. If we whiff, we once again promise to kick off the first 'Bag of 2006-07 wearing a T-shirt that says: HEY, SETH, THE 'BAG PAYS OFF ITS BETS.)

A few final points/caveats: 1) You may notice that this year's Magic Eight contains no teams west of ... Baton Rouge? (Yep, the Pac-10 and Big 12 are that bad.) 2) These are not what I consider to be the best eight teams in the nation. How often does the best team win the tournament anyway? I wouldn't be going out on much of a limb if I just gave you the top eight teams in the AP poll, would I?

Here are your 2006 nominees (in alphabetical order):

CONNECTICUT

You sure can feel the Huskies' engine revving up, can't you? We knew it would take some time for Marcus Williams to shake off the rust, but his double-double in Monday's statement-making win at Syracuse was a thing of beauty. There are so many weapons on this team, but the Huskies' defense may be their most impressive attribute. If Hilton Armstrong can continue being a Shelden Williams-quality eraser in the lane, UConn's Final Four chances look awfully good.

DUKE

Let's say it right now: We don't think the Blue Devils will go undefeated. But if they make a run at it, Sean Dockery's half-court buzzer heave to beat Virginia Tech will gain something close to mythic stature (if it hasn't already). Until we see evidence to the contrary, the 2005-06 season will come down to two teams: Duke and UConn. (Which reminds us, let's get that rumored annual Huskies-Devils game on the schedule, OK, guys?)

FLORIDA

I went to Gainesville last week expecting to find some fatal flaws in the No. 2 Gators. I left thinking Florida wasn't quite on the same level as Duke or UConn, but coach Billy Donovan's boys aren't far from it. The chemistry on this team is remarkable, and while there may be some question marks -- Can the guards be pushed around? Is there a legitimate go-to inside scorer? -- this winning-by-committee thing is working out pretty well.