The NCAA Tournament, From A to Z

March 12, 2001

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A look at this year's version of March Madness, from A to Z:

A - At-Large Bids. Schools from small conferences were againpracticallyshut out if they didn't win their respective conference tournament. The BigEast, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, Pac 10 and SEC accounted for 29 of the 34at-largeteams.

B - Back-to-Back. It's tough to win consecutive NCAA championships, asevidenced by the fact that only six schools have done it. UCLA made it lookeasy with seven in a row from 1967-1973, but Michigan State, the top seed inthe South, will try to become just the seventh to repeat. Duke was the lasttodo it, in 1992.

C - Coaches. The tournament is always a chance for small-conferencecoachesto make a big name for themselves. Keep your eye on first-year coaches ThadMatta of Butler and John Thompson III of Princeton.

D - Denny. With just a 12-18 record, Louisville had a disappointingseason.As a result, Denny Crum, who coached his final game for the Cardinals lastweek, will be noticeably absent from this year's field. Still, with twonational championships and 23 appearances, his contribution to collegebasketball will not soon be forgotten.

E - East. Of the four No. 1 seeds, Duke looks to have the easiest roadtothe Final Four thanks to a relatively weak field in the East. The BlueDevilscould be hampered by the injured ankle of Jason Williams and the right footofCarlos Boozer, but should have enough weapons to advance to Minneapolis.

F - Final Four. Minneapolis will play host to the Final Four for thethirdtime. The last time the championship was held there, Duke beat Michigan81-61.

G - Georgia. The Bulldogs tied the record for most losses (14) andlowestwinning percentage (.533) by an at-large team. Only Villanova (16-14, 1991)hadas poor a record.

H - Hawaii. The Warriors, playing in the tournament for only the thirdtimein school history, will have the longest commute as they head to Dayton,Ohio,where they will play Syracuse. Hawaii faced the Orangemen the last time theywere in the tournament - in 1994 - and lost 92-78.

I - Indiana. Mike Davis had a tough start to his year, taking over theHoosier coaching reins from Bob Knight. But he overcame the controversy ofthesituation and guided Indiana to the Big Ten final and its 16th straighttournament appearance.

J - Jubilation. The feeling Oklahoma State must have had afterreceiving oneof the tournament's final at-large bids. The Cowboys, who had to deal with aJanuary plane crash that killed 10 members - including two players - oftheirtraveling party, were made the 11th seed in the East and will play SouthernCalifornia in the first round.

K - Knight. Even though he isn't currently coaching, Bob Knight is inthespotlight again as he will meet with Texas Tech this week to discuss itsvacantcoaching position. It will be strange watching an NCAA tournament withouthim,but it will surely make the life of NCAA press stewards a whole lot easier.

L - Lefty. Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell became just the secondcoachto lead four different teams to the NCAA tournament. Driesell also tookDavidson, James Madison and Maryland, which could wind up being hissecond-round foe in Boise, Idaho this weekend. Eddie Sutton was the firstcoachto accomplish the feat, and Georgia coach Jim Harrick became the third whenhisBulldogs received an at-large bid Sunday.

M - Mascots. They have a simple job: Rouse the fans and incite theopponent.Everyone knows the Duke Blue Devil, Boston College Eagle, even the StanfordCardinal. But what exactly is a Western Kentucky Hilltopper, Hofstra PrideorSouthern Utah Thunderbird?

N - NIT. Only 65 could make the NCAA tournament this year, so the questtobe the 66th best team in the nation will be headed by UConn, Villanova andSeton Hall.

O - Office pools. The only three-week period of the year where theentireoffice comes together to test their college basketball knowledge and win afewbucks. Inevitably, most of the time the one who knows the least ends upwinningthe most.

P - Play-in. With the addition of a 65th team into the field,NorthwesternState and Winthrop will meet in the first play-in game since 1983-84. Backthen, the tournament had 52 teams. The winner earns the privilege of losingtoNo. 1 Illinois in the first round. No 16 seed has ever defeated a No. 1.

Q - Question marks. Duke's title run hinges on the health of JasonWilliamsand Carlos Boozer. Iowa could make some noise in the tournament if LukeReckercan play. Florida will have to overcome the loss of Brent Wright.

R - RPI. The Ratings Percentage Index is to a college coach what theDowJones is to a stockbroker. It's one of the most important factors indetermining who gets in to the tournament and who doesn't. Just ask CalIrvine,which failed to make the tournament despite a 22-4 record because its RPIwasjust 71. Conversely, Georgia, with 14 losses, can thank its RPI rating of27.

S - Spotlight. The tournament is the chance for the stars to show theirstuff. Player of the year candidates Jason Williams of Duke, Joseph Forte ofNorth Carolina and Troy Murphy of Notre Dame have carried their teams allseason long. Watch out for some lesser known stars like Marvin O'Conner ofSt.Joseph's, Shernard Long of Georgia State or Dan Dickeau of Gonzaga.

T - Top seeds. Duke, Michigan State, Stanford and Illinois earned thefourtop seeds. Last year, being a No. 1 seed was not a blessing. Two were upsetinthe second round, and only eventual champion Michigan State made it past theregional finals.

U - Upsets. Some favorites are going down and going down early. Theonlyquestion is, who will it be? Look for Southern Utah, BYU, Temple andProvidenceto have the best shots of pulling off early round upsets this year.

V - Vitale. Love him or hate him, nobody gets more excited aroundtournamenttime than ESPN commentator Dickie V. He's picked the NCAA tournamentchampionthe last two seasons, and if he's correct for a third straight year, expectDuke to be cutting down the nets in Minneapolis.

W - Wildcats. With the starting five returning from a team that went27-7and won a Pac 10 championship, Arizona was the consensus pick in thepreseasonto win it all. But the season got off to a rough start with center LorenWoodsbeing suspended for six games and the death of coach Lute Olson's wife,Bobbi.Arizona has finally looked like the team that was expected to make it toMinneapolis for the Final Four.

X - "X" factor. So much can happen to make or break a team's tournamentrun. But keep in mind when filling out your brackets that either Duke orNorthCarolina has made 12 of the last 13 Final Fours. Also remember that only oneNo. 3 seed has won the national championship - Michigan in '89 - since thefield expanded in 1985.

Y - Young guns. While most teams are led by their seniors, thesefreshmanwill be called upon to take their team past the first round: Center RodneyWhite carried Charlotte to the Conference USA tournament crown, Mississippifreshman Aaron Harper and Justin Reed took the Rebels to the SEC tournamentchampionship game.

Z - Zags. The tournament darlings of the last two seasons, Gonzagareturnsfor a third straight year, facing Virginia in the first round. The Spokane,Wash., school put itself on the basketball map in 1999, coming a win shortofthe Final Four. Last season, the Zags made it to the regional finals beforebowing out.