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Madness musings
Updated: Monday March 12, 2001 6:29 PM
With the field of 64, actually 65, being announced Sunday, CNNSI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis about the usual tournament topics -- from sleepers to upsets and much more. CNNSI.com: What are some of the intriguing early matchups, as well as some storylines to follow? Seth Davis: Well, potentially in the second round is the one game that everyone wants to see in this tournament -- Georgia State against Maryland, and Lefty Driesell going against his old employer. Anybody who thinks it was a coincidence that the schools were slotted against each other is totally mistaken. You've got another interesting second-round matchup in Duke against Missouri. Coach K against his pupil, Quin Snyder . And then Arizona-Wake Forest, which I don't think a lot of people are talking about. Loren Woods could be going against his old school. There aren't a lot of good memories associated with Wake Forest for Woods. It'll be interesting to see if that affects his play in that game. CNNSI.com: Out of the four No. 1 seeds, Duke, Stanford, Illinois, and Michigan State, which has the easiest road? What about the toughest? Davis: I don't think there's any question that Michigan State has the easiest road coming out of the South region. Look at a slumping North Carolina team, the No. 2 seed in that region -- that's a very good matchup for the Spartans. Also, No. 4 seed Oklahoma got there on the merit of what they did in the Big 12 tournament. However, the Sooners really struggled down the stretch, particularly with J.R. Raymond being kicked off the team late in the season. I think that Michigan State has the easiest.
CNNSI.com: Some teams obviously feel they got left out of the tournament. Others are not happy with where they are seeded. Who should be barking loudest right now? Davis: In terms of not getting into the tournament, I think Richmond and Alabama probably have the best cases to make, although the Crimson Tide really hurt themselves by playing so poorly away from home. In terms of seeding, the Big East really took a hit. Going into the weekend the conference must have thought, "Our commissioner is the chairman of the selection committee -- that's really got to help us out." Obviously it didn't. Boston College, which I thought had a chance to be a No. 1 seed, is now a No. 3. Syracuse is a No. 5, Providence and Georgetown are both No. 10 seeds. And Connecticut and Villanova didn't even get in. I think the Big East coaches are really going to have to look at their non-conference scheduling. They're going to have to change the way they do business if they want better treatment from the selection committee. CNNSI.com: The six big conferences got 29 of the 34 at-large bids. Do you agree with that? Davis: Personally I think it's a bad trend for college basketball. The previous high was 25 a few years back. To go from 25 to 29 is a significant increase. I don't know that there's much the committee could have done this time around, but with addition of the opening-round play-in game, there's a concentration toward the major conferences and it's not good for the game. I wish the committee and the powers-that-be would find a way to spread the wealth, but they don't seem to have the intent to do that. CNNSI.com: Who are some of the sleeper teams that could make some noise down the road? Davis: I think it will be some familiar names. I like Providence to not only win its opening round game, but also to beat North Carolina in the second round. I like Butler over Wake Forest. Butler played Arizona tough earlier in the year in Tucson before losing. And then Gonzaga, a perennial Cinderella -- which is probably an oxymoron -- is also a sleeper. I like the Zags to beat Virginia and there's a good chance Gonzaga will knock off Oklahoma in the second round as well. CNNSI.com: Who are you picking for the Final Four? Davis: I'll probably change them three times this week, but for now I'm going to go with Duke coming out of the East, and Maryland in the West. How about those two teams locking horns again in Minneapolis? And then Arizona and Michigan State on the other side of the bracket. And I like Duke over Arizona in the final game. CNNSI.com: What is that you like about Duke and Arizona? Davis: I think Duke has the best "A" game in the field. Stanford and Michigan State might have the better "B" game, but Duke has the two best players in the tournament and that's a great place to start. I really like what Arizona has done late in the tournament. I think Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner have really found their rhythm in the backcourt. I'm a big believer that in the tournament, guard play, speed and athleticism matter most. And then there is momentum going into the tournament. I don't think any team, other than maybe Maryland, have more momentum than Duke and Arizona. CNNSI.com: How about the defending champions, Michigan State? How come you're not giving the Spartans much of a chance? Davis: I love Michigan State. I think Tom Izzo has done a tremendous job with this group, but look at the history. In the last 25 years, only one team has repeated as national champion. That was Duke in 1992 and the Blue Devils brought back their core players from the previous year. Michigan State lost its three most important players in its run to the championship game. I love what the Spartans have done, but history is really working against them. Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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