This is where dreams can come true.
Duke, for all of its NCAA Tournament success and legendary coach, clearly is the weakest of the No. 1 seeds. Villanova, for all its recent tournament success and the emergence of Jay Wright as one of the game’s best young coaches, is an unsteady No. 2 seed.
Baylor, the No. 3 seed, won neither the Big 12 regular season nor tournament titles. And No. 4 Purdue lost its best player, Robbie Hummel, to a season-ending right knee injury.
Come all ye dreamers. The South Regional welcomes you with a wide-open bracket.
CHECK OUT THE FULL NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET (PDF)
If Baylor can win two games, it will have the huge advantage of playing in Houston. But the Bears might not be the only team to emerge. No. 7 Richmond and No. 13 Siena have hardcore backcourts.
Duke is the team to beat, but don’t be shocked if Cal, with coach Mike Montgomery, pulls off a second-round shocker. This is the place to dream.
BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP
No. 7 Richmond vs. No. 10 St. Mary’s. The Spiders have a great backcourt in Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. But the Gaels have Omar Samhan, a legitimate big man to keep their shooters free.
BRACKET SLEEPER
Cal. The Pac-10 got less respect than Gov. Paterson’s announcement he was running for re-election. But the Bears have good guard play, a great coach and they played some tough non-conference games.
BRACKET BUSTER
Purdue. We picked the Boilermakers, seeded fourth in this region, to make it to the Final Four. That was in the preseason. Then Hummel blew out his knee and Purdue was ousted from the Big Ten tournament after scoring just 46 points.
TOP PLAYER
LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor — No, this is not an attempt to look smart. The 6-foot-4 scoring machine averages 19 points on 42.6 shooting on 3-pointers and 85.6 shooting from the arc.
UNSUNG PLAYER
Siena point guard Ronald Moore was overlooked by everyone except coach Fran McCaffery. Moore leads the nation in assists (7.8).
SHARPSHOOTERS
St. Mary’s knocked down 41.2 percent of its 3-pointers and 76.4 percent of its free throws.
JACKSONVILLE
1. Duke 29-5
Location: Durham, N.C.
Nickname: Blue Devils
Points For: 78.0 Points Against: 61.7
POST-ing Up: The Blue Devils need someone besides Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler need to step up and give them some scoring.
8. California 23-10
Location: Berkeley, Calif.
Nickname: Golden Bears
Points For: 78.0 Points Against: 68.4
POST-ing Up: Senior guards Jerome Randle (18.7 ppg) and Patrick Christopher (16.0 ppg) know how to put the ball in the basket.
9. Louisville 20-12
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Nickname: Cardinals
Points For: 76.3 Points Against: 69.6
POST-ing Up: Rick Pitino will need big efforts from local products Edgar Sosa (Rice) and Samardo Samuels (St. Benedict’s) to make some noise in March.
PLAY-IN GAME
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 17-15
Location: Pine Bluff, Ark.
Nickname: Golden Lions
Points For: 64.4
Points Against: 64.7
Winthrop 19-13
Location: Rock Hill, S.C.
Nickname: Eagles
Points For: 62.4
Points Against: 61.4
SPOKANE
5. Texas A&M 23-9
Location: College Station, Texas
Nickname: Aggies
Points For: 71.8 Points Against: 64.8
POST-ing Up: The Aggies will go as far in the tournament as their senior leader, guard Donald Sloan (18.2 ppg), is able to carry them.
4. Purdue 27-5
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Nickname: Boilermakers
Points For: 71.1 Points Against: 60.9
POST-ing Up: Purdue’s Final Four hopes were lost with star forward Robbie Hummel’s season-ending knee injury.
12. Utah State 27-7
Location: Logan, Utah
Nickname: Aggies
Points For: 73.7 Points Against: 59.6
POST-ing Up: Stew Morrill’s Aggies will hope to get at least one victory in this year’s tournament after last year’s heart-breaking 58-57 first round loss to Marquette.
13. Siena 27-6
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Nickname: Saints
Points For: 75.5 Points Against: 65.3
POST-ing Up: They may be a popular upset pick, but the Saints played four tournament teams this season — and lost to all of them.
NEW ORLEANS
6. Notre Dame (23-11)
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Nickname: Fighting Irish
Points For: 76.0 Points Against: 68.9
POST-ing Up: With Luke Harangody (22.4 ppg) coming off the bench, coach Mike Brey has the nation’s best sixth man.
3. Baylor 25-7
Location: Waco, Texas
Nickname: Bears
Points For: 77.6 Points Against: 65.9
POST-ing Up: The Bears are led by a pair of experienced guards in LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter.
11. Old Dominion 26-8
Location: Norfolk, Va.
Nickname: Monarchs
Points For: 67.5 Points Against: 57.1
POST-ing Up: A potential upset pick, the Monarchs proved they are a dangerous team with a 61-57 win at Georgetown this season.
14. Sam Houston State 25-7
Location: Huntsville, Texas
Nickname: Bearkats
Points For: 79.9 Points Against: 69.2
POST-ing Up: The Bearkats will hope to prove on only tournament experience to date, an 85-55 loss to Florida in the first round in 2003.
PROVIDENCE
7. Richmond 26-8
Location: Richmond, Va.
Nickname: Spiders
Points For: 69.8 Points Against: 62.4
POST-ing Up: Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson (17.9 ppg) is the Spiders’ leader.
2. Villanova 24-7
Location: Villanova, Pa.
Nickname: Wildcats
Points For: 82.5 Points Against: 72.9
POST-ing Up: After last year’s Final Four appearance, can Scottie Reynolds lead the Wildcats to a national championship?
10. St. Mary’s 26-5
Location: Moraga, Calif.
Nickname: Gaels
Points For: 79.5 Points Against: 66.0
POST-ing Up: Omar Samhan will be a handful for the Gaels’ opponents. The senior is averaging 20.9 points and 11 rebounds.
15. Robert Morris 23-11
Location: Moon Township, Pa.
Nickname: Colonials
Points For: 68.5 Points Against: 65.7
POST-ing Up: Colonials coach Mike Rice, a Fordham alum, could be in play for several local jobs after making a second straight NCAA Tournament.