Team with biggest gripe

Drexel. Playing in the highly underrated Colonial Athletic Association — George Mason showed the league's strength at the top last year with its remarkable run to the Final Four — the Dragons did everything the selection committee wants from a midmajor candidate except grab an automatic berth. Drexel wasn't selected despite nonconference road wins at Syracuse, Villanova and Creighton. Then again, Syracuse didn't get in, either, despite a nice late-season run. And the committee did anoint two teams from the Colonial, the automatic berth going to conference tourney winner Virginia Commonwealth, and Old Dominion getting an at-large bid. So the CAA as a whole can't complain too much, but coach Bruiser Flint's Dragons have a gripe.

Team thanking its lucky stars

Xavier. Many thought the Musketeers dropped off the bubble and out with their loss in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament. But there they are, fixing to face Brigham Young in a first-round game in Lexington, Ky. Xavier could help make the committee look good with a win against the Cougars, but that's no guarantee. BYU, despite its loss to UNLV in the Mountain West championship game, has been playing lights out lately.

Biggest conference tourney bummers for the bubbles

Two more bubble teams would have squeezed into the field had Xavier and Nevada taken care of business in their conference tournaments. Teams like Air Force, Drexel, Florida State and Syracuse have every right to send the Musketeers and Wolf Pack nasty e-mails. Other teams falling off the bubble and into the second-sister NIT included West Virginia, Missouri State, Appalachian State and Kansas State. That last omission isn't all that upsetting for anyone who ever has had to deal with curmudgeonly K-State coach Bob Huggins.

Most punctuated NCAA team

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has not only a hyphen but also an ampersand in its name. And, for those of you scoring at home, that's nine syllables, 14 if you count the word university, which goes just before the hyphen.

Fastest rise to the big dance

Again, it's those Islanders from TA&MU-CC. The school didn't own a basketball until beginning play in 1999 and didn't join a conference until this season. But after consecutive 20-win seasons as an independent, they dominated the Southland Conference, and Ronnie Arrow figures to be a hot commodity for better-known programs with coaching openings.

Conference headed for another NCAA comedown

The Big Ten placed six teams in the field, but only two, Ohio State and Wisconsin, look to have the ability to make significant NCAA runs. There also were six Big Ten teams in the field last year. Only three won first-round games, and all were gone by the Sweet 16. The Buckeyes and Badgers probably won't let a first-weekend sweep of the Big Ten happen this time around, but be surprised if any of the other four make a big run.

Craziest shot to give a team a berth

When the ball left Doug Penno's fingers, it looked like Miami of Ohio was finished in its Mid-American Conference title-game matchup with favored Akron. But Penno's corner three-pointer at the buzzer grazed off the top half of the backboard and went through, sending the RedHawks to the tournament while the favored, bummed-out Zips failed to even land an NIT bid.

Toughest path to the Final Four for a top seed

Assuming North Carolina clobbers Eastern Kentucky in the opening round — and expect Roy Williams to be resting his starters by halftime of that one — the Tar Heels' path to Atlanta could include Marquette, Texas and Georgetown. All three are playing terrific basketball of late, and there is no player in the nation with the consummate skill package of Longhorns freshman prodigy Kevin Durant.

Most likely No. 12 seed to keep up the tradition

At least one No. 12 seed has beaten a No. 5 seed in the first round each of the past six years. This year's best candidate to be the golden No. 12? We'll go with Arkansas. One, because the Razorbacks are at the top of their game at precisely the right time. Two, because we don't think Southern California, Arkansas' first-round opponent, is a legitimate No. 5 seed.

Biggest seeding gripes

Not to sound provincial, but Nevada-Las Vegas and Brigham Young getting a No. 7 and No. 8 seed, respectively, is curious. Both Mountain West teams have proved in recent weeks to be legitimate top-25 teams, and both are on considerable rolls. We're not saying Air Force deserved a berth — it didn't — but UNLV and BYU deserved better treatment from the selection committee. One UNLV official at the MWC tournament in Las Vegas said he expected the Rebels to be a No. 4 seed if it won the conference tournament, which it did in impressive fashion against BYU.

Most intriguing potential second-round matchups

• Ohio State vs. BYU: Greg Oden against BYU's vastly improved big man, Trent Plaisted.

• Louisville vs. Texas A&M: Rick Pitino, who won a national title at Kentucky, against one of the top emerging young coaches in the nation, Billy Gillispie.

• Kansas vs. Kentucky: Blue-clad bluebloods of college hoops.

• Indiana vs. UCLA: 16 NCAA titles between them.

• Florida vs. Arizona: Serious athleticism on the floor if this one happens.

• UNLV vs. Wisconsin: Those complaining about UNLV's seed will beat their chests and crow if the Rebels first beat Georgia Tech and then surprise the Badgers.

Randy Holtz

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