C.M. Newton, chairman of the NCAA Basketball Committee, held a
teleconference last week and reminded the media that the
committee esteems teams that are hot down the stretch. To which
our pollsters responded, What teams can be considered hot these
days? Just about everyone is losing, including North Carolina,
which was spanked on its home court by N.C. State last Saturday.
That setback caused the Tar Heels to be moved out of the East
region by our merciless voters.
Purdue is suddenly stone-cold, having lost twice last week, to
Iowa and Penn State. The Boilermakers nearly dropped out of our
seedings from their lofty No. 2 perch, just holding on as a No.
4. Also feeling a chill was UCLA, bounced from our poll for the
first time this year, after a lackluster overtime win over USC
and a drubbing by Duke. New Mexico also fell a notch after
falling to TCU, and with guard Royce Olney out for the season
the Lobos may drop even further.
The hottest team in the game (aside from seasonlong powerhouses
Kansas and Arizona) is TCU. The Horned Frogs leaped into our
seeding for the first time by virtue of their butt-kicking of
New Mexico. It was TCU's 13th straight win. Also recovering its
stride was Stanford, which moved up to the No. 2 spot in the
Midwest vacated by Purdue.
And for those looking to follow Newton's advice, keep an eye on
Cincinnati. The Bearcats, winners of seven of their last nine
games through Sunday, just missed getting a fourth seed, though
tough games against UNC Charlotte and St. Louis are up next.
EAST
1. Duke (25-2)
2. Kentucky (24-4)
3. Michigan State (20-5)
4. Princeton (23-1)
MIDWEST
1. Kansas (29-3)
2. Stanford (23-3)
3. Arkansas (22-5)
4. TCU (24-4)
SOUTH
1. North Carolina (26-2)
2. Connecticut (24-4)
3. South Carolina (20-5)
4. New Mexico (21-4)
WEST
1. Arizona (24-3)
2. Utah (22-2)
3. Mississippi (19-5)
4. Purdue (22-6)
Issue date: March 2, 1998
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