Out of the Soup, Into My Bracket
Amid all the excited talk about George Washington, George Mason and Georgetown marching towards the NCAAs, the underlying assumption was that Maryland was dead. Wouldn't win enough games. Couldn't win on the road.
Well, despite bracketology boy Joe Lunardi's gloomy assessment that Maryland will be left out of the 65-team draw, the Terrapins aren't dead. Victories last week over Miami at home and Virginia on the road have revived Maryland's chances, even as Florida State seemed to have sprinted past Maryland for the fifth spot from the ACC by beating Duke.
Making the Grade Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and Memphis are the four No. 1 seeds in the men's NCAA tournament.
Michael Wilbon: It looks like the person who wins the office pool this year is going to have to go out on a limb.
After boasting that theirs was the best conference, the Big East is validated with eight tournament spots.
After finishing the regular season with the nation's best record, George Washington is disappointed with receiving an eighth seed.
Georgetown is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001 and the 23rd time overall.
George Mason and suspended guard Tony Skinn are relieved to be included in the NCAA event.
Amid unusual circumstances, Maryland opts to play in the NIT.
Billy Packer criticizes the committee for not taking more teams from the power conferences.
 Tony Kornheiser's bracket was so poor a year ago, why have him back? It's gotta be the new hat.
Odds and Ends: Inside the NCAA tournament
JOHN FEINSTEIN'S ANALYSESCAPSULESON OUR SITETOURNEY TRACKER Share and compare your NCAA brackets until right before Thursday's tip-offs. Then keep track of your teams and see how well you are doing.
Tip-Off Challenge: Which team is the best to come out of the Washington area?
MULTIMEDIAAudio: NCAA's Craig Littlepage explains how the field was chosen.
CONFERENCE FINALSACC: J.J. Redick hits consecutive three-pointers down the stretch as Duke beats Boston College, 78-76.
Big Ten: Jeff Horner scores 14 of his 16 points in the second half and adds 10 assists as Iowa beats Ohio State, 67-60.
SEC: Joakim Noah scores with 11 seconds left, then blocks a shot and Florida holds off South Carolina, 49-47.
Big 12: Julian Wright makes the game-turning steal and dunk in the final minutes as Kansas upsets Texas, 80-68.
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But now everybody's beating Duke, so it's not that big a deal. On my grid, Maryland is already in, because the Terps have won 18 games (and went 8-8 in the ACC) while playing a schedule that according to ESPN is rated as the eighth-hardest in all of D-I. Right, the eighth-hardest schedule among 334 teams.
With all this foam about the Missouri Valley Conference getting as many as six teams in, how many of those six MVC schools play as hard a schedule as Maryland? None. The toughest schedule among those six ranks 34th, and then incrementally rises all the way down to 64. And you have to ask yourself how those MVC schools would fare playing in the ACC, which is now ranked by one RPI service as the second-toughest conference.
The 65 teams chosen for the NCAA are supposed to be the best 65. Please don't tell me Maryland is not one of those teams and George Mason is. Realistically, to make the NCAAs, Maryland has to win its next game, a first-round game in the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech, a team Maryland has beaten twice this season. That should be plenty to get the Terps in. You may not have to fear the turtle this season. But now you have to reconsider them.
