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 Monday, March 12, 2001
Cardinal could rule this tournament
By Brent Musburger
Special to ABC Sports Online
Like everybody else, I'll take out my March Madness bracket and see what we can figure out. It's funny, but I always end up starting with the Final Four and working backwards.
East Region
In the East, where top-ranked Duke is seeded No. 1, I'll move the Blue Devils through to the Final Four, provided that Jason Williams' ankle injury doesn't flare up in the next few weeks. Williams is the best point guard in college basketball. I also believe he's the most valuable player. Yes, Shane Battier is an All-American forward and a great leader, but the engine that drives Duke is Williams. He will play in a NBA All-Star Game sometime within the next decade.
|  | | Jason Williams missed the final 13 minutes of Sunday's ACC Tournament final with a sprained ankle. |
Interestingly enough, the absence of injured center Carlos Boozer actually helped improve Duke's depth for the Tournament. Casey Sanders' development during the ACC Tournament was something we didn't expect, and it gives Coach K another big man in the low post.
Duke should have a fairly easy march to the regional final, but the bottom half of the Eastern bracket looks like a dogfight. Kentucky will receive major challenges from Boston College, and perhaps Iowa. The Blue Devils will beat the survivor in Philadelphia.
West Region
I'm projecting Stanford, but not without a couple of major battles along the way. The NCAA committee loves to challenge the Cardinal in the second round, and this year will be no different than the last two. Either Georgia Tech or St. Joseph's (Pa.) will give Stanford a tough game before they move on to the Sweet 16.
In the bottom half of the bracket, I'm looking for second-seeded Iowa State to be an early knockout victim. Either Arkansas or Georgetown could do it. Watch for Maryland to reach the Elite Eight with a solid chance to upset Stanford. The Terrapins have never reached the Final Four, so history weighs against this school.
The two top seeds make it with Stanford and Duke headed for one of the National Semifinals in Minneapolis. On the other side of the bracket ...
Midwest Region
This is where the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee made its only seeding mistake. Arizona should have been seeded No. 1 and Illinois No. 2, but that's nitpicking. The Illini should move to the Sweet 16 where they'll face a major test in Kansas.
Bill Self is an excellent coach, and the Illini will find a way, but in the regional final, Arizona will prove too much to handle.
|  | | Jason Capel and North Carolina squandered a No. 1 seed by losing losing four of their last eight games. |
South Region
In the South, Michigan State faces a roadblock in the Sweet 16 against either Virginia or Oklahoma. The survivor of that second round match could easily reach the regional final. In the bottom half of the draw, second-seeded North Carolina is in deep trouble. This team is stumbling into the tournament, having lost games on four consecutive Sundays.
Watch for the Gators of Florida, if they can solve Temple's zone defense in the second round, to streak into the regional and then shock the world by advancing out of the South Region to the Final Four.
Remember, the South Region final is being played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Gator faithful always travel well, and they'll jam the building.
So that leaves us with Arizona beating Florida in one national semifinal, setting up an all Pac-10 national championship on the night of April 2 in Minneapolis. Expect Stanford to cut down the nets after defeating Lute Olson's Wildcats.
Of course, this is all subject to change, about midnight Thursday. But, like everybody else, it's fun to fill out the bracket. It should be a great tournament.
Brent Musburger is a play-by-play commentator for ABC's coverage of college football and college basketball. He is a regular contributor to ABC Sports Online.
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