March 24, 2003

Net Results

SI's Complete Bracket Picks for 2003

Alexander Wolff , Grant Wahl

MOST POPULAR

MIDWEST	1 KENTUCKY	KENTUCKY IU might. PU might. But Jags? No way	KENTUCKY Ducks can bang with big Cats, but UK's smothers Brothers backcourt lock up Jackson and Ridnour	KENTUCKY Somebody's streak ends in the Twin Cities, and isn't Big Blue's Weber's bid to repeat its' 99 Carolina upset doesn't happen	PITT Panthers grab and protect early lead with guard play to match UK's as Howland-to- UCLA talk clogs SoCal agaves on eve of Final Four	ARIZONA As savvy as Panthers are with the pass, ballhawks Gardner and Walton are even better at shutting down passing lanes, a skill Lute Olson obsesses over at practice
	16 IUPUI
	8 OREGON	OREGON Two Lukes plus frontline depth beat Utes
	9 UTAH
	5 WISCONSIN	WEBER STATE Boyette leads nation's other hot Wildcats	WEBER STATE In battle of the balanced, Big Sky champs spread scoring around a smidgen better and run streak to 19
	12 WEBER STATE
	4 DAYTON	DAYTON Flyers get nod for balance and chemistry
	13 TULSA
	6 MISSOURI	MISSOURI Tigers depend less on three than last year	MISSOURI Best second-round show: Paulding plays Wade even, and Johnson gets better of Jackson around basket	PITT Compared with mercurial Mizzou, Panthers are so disciplined that they rarely launch anything as reckless as a turnaround J
	11 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
	3 MARQUETTE	MARQUETTE Crusaders slow but can't stop Wade & Co.
	14 HOLY CROSS
	7 INDIANA	ALABAMA Ebbing Tide wins game of undeservings	PITT Academics finally come to SEC: Nation's most willing passers give 'Bama grad-level chemistry lesson
	10 ALABAMA
	2 PITT	PITT Panthers have more brawn, more savvy
	15 WAGNER
WEST	1 ARIZONA	ARIZONA UVM coach-radio host runs into static	ARIZONA Brick-throwing Bearcats go cold against deep Arizona D, lose in Round 2 for fifth time in six years	ARIZONA It's win-win: Panthers earn tournament darling label Cats enjoy harmless dry run before Elite Eight showdown with KU	ARIZONA Just as they did in January, nine-deep Wildcats use second-half surge to sink paper-thin KU in showdown of top two preseason teams
	16 VERMONT
	8 CINCINNATI	CINCINNATI Bearcats defense locks down Bulldogs
	9 GONZAGA
	5 NOTRE DAME	WIS.- MILWAUKEE Slumping Irish exposed on D, boards	WIS.- MILWAUKEE Panthers' frenetic ball-hawking defense causes nightmare for careless Hilltoppers backcourt
	12 WIS.- MILWAUKEE
	4 ILLINOIS	WESTERN KENTUCKY Hot 'Toppers sink green Illini with threes
	13 WESTERN KENTUCKY
	6 CREIGHTON	CREIGHTON Korver vs. Kaman? Pivots shrink in NCAAs	CREIGHTON Notre Dame's Brey calls Bluejays, "this year's Kent State." Turnover prone Duke learns the hard way	KANSAS Creighton loses when Korver struggles. Jayhawks defenders are tougher than anything he saw in the Missouri Valley
	11 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
	3 DUKE	DUKE How did Rams win Mountain West bid?
	14 COLORADO STATE
	7 MEMPHIS	MEMPHIS Massie lights up porous Sun Devils	KANSAS Tigers boss Calipari trademarked REFUSE TO LOSE. Collison, Hinrich give KU right of first refusal
	10 ARIZONA STATE
	2 KANSAS	KANSAS Prolific KU blitzes slow-moving Aggies
	15 UTAH STATE

Now that we know that seniors are the key to tournament success, let's forget it, along with every other easy assumption about what to expect over the next three weeks. After a season of unpredictable tumult on and off the court, the postseason, too, resists doping out. The NCAA field welcomed more first-timers, seven, than in any year since 1986. An in-season No. 1, Alabama, just squeaked in. And seven of the Top 10 teams lost in their conference tournaments. Small wonder that NCAA committee members threw up their hands last Saturday, adjourning till some of the uncertainty sorted itself out. Against the backdrop of war, there'll be tight security at every site, including a rule that fans can't return to a session once they've left. But who'll want to leave? The first two rounds alone will deliver something unforgettable. They always do. And so the SI college hoops staff has looked through the haze to see who will have earned the right to party the hardest on Bourbon Street. Our picks are bared for all to see on the following pages.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

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