Ncaa Brackets

No mid-major has won the Big Dance in two decades, while no one has been to the title game two years running in 13 years, and no No. 8 seed has won it all in over 25 years. Butler shattered one of these droughts, and can break the other two tomorrow.

Nothing about March Madness has been unpredictable. However, the Final Four is usually the place where conventional wisdom wins out, as Cinderellas and mid-majors haven't won it all for about two decades.

VCU isn't the first mid-major to reach the Final Four, or even the first No. 11 seed. But no team has won five games to reach the Final Four, and no No. 11 has had a better chance to do actual damage there.

Connecticut and Kentucky are used to being powerhouses, but they didn't feel like overwhelming favorites for much of the year. Yet they have now fallen back into that role, as one of them will have to play the villain for the championship game.

The likes of this year's NCAA bracket have never been seen before. It was one thing for a No. 8 seed to get there, and even for a No. 11 to do it as well. Yet there are no No. 1s or No. 2s to join them, as even UConn and Kentucky qualify as surprises.

Few people saw the NCAA tournament results coming this year. Yet Butler making the Final Four, UConn winning the West region, a CAA team facing the biggest favorite left in the Elite Eight, and a North Carolina-Kentucky regional final, is hardly rare.

The big story yesterday was how Butler stunned everyone by reaching another Final Four. However, the run by Connecticut also defied all expectations, as they caught surprising fire in the beginning and end of the season.

The last portion of the Sweet 16 started conventionally, as North Carolina and Kansas secured blowout. But all the drama happened later, as VCU continued their run in the last seconds of overtime, and Ohio State became the latest No. 1 victim.

Despite the upset losses from Pittsburgh and Duke, Ohio State still looked safe in the NCAA tournament. However, Kentucky sent them packing too, as the bracket now has only one No. 1 seed left in increasingly lucky Kansas.

The Arizona Wildcats used to be staples of the second and third week in the NCAA tournament. But they haven't been national powers in a while, although they brought back memories of the old days with their Sweet 16 dominance of Duke.

The NCAA bracket has filled half of the Elite Eight, which consists of two favorites and two underdogs. San Diego State and BYU couldn't pull any more surprises, yet Butler did - and so did Arizona against Duke.

Cinderellas usually steal the show to start the NCAA tournament, yet usually fall off in the second week. Butler didn't do that last year, and looks to do it again, while BYU and San Diego State could also keep going tonight.

San Diego State and BYU have been near the top of the rankings all season, yet there were doubts on whether they could keep it up. But despite recent difficulties, they are both into the Sweet 16, and in uncharted territory for their programs.

A few years ago, Florida was college basketball's newest dynasty, although they dropped back off after winning two straight championships. But now the Gators are back, and the highest seed left in the Southeast, despite being far from the biggest story.

A few of the NCAA tournament regions are still consumed with Cinderellas. However, the East may have the most A-list schools left in their region, as Ohio State, North Carolina and Kentucky are all heading to Newark, along with Marquette.

Virtually everyone bashed VCU for getting in the NCAA field, and bashed the First Four format in general. But the Rams shut everyone up last week, and now they can further validate the First Four in general by going deeper.

While the Big East got a record number of teams in the NCAAs, only two of their 11 are left now. In fact, the ACC is setting the pace so far, as Duke and North Carolina were joined into the Sweet 16 by Florida State.

The Kansas Jayhawks didn't look flawless in their two opening tournament wins. But because every other top seed in the Southwest got knocked out, and because Pitt was taken out too, the Jayhawks are even heavier favorites to reach the title game.

The Southeast region has technically lacked surprises, with only two lower seeds winning through two rounds. Yet since Pittsburgh was one of the higher seeds to lose, it leaves Florida, BYU, Wisconsin and Butler to be a surprise Final Four team.

The Big East made up a huge part of the NCAA tournament when it was formed last Sunday. But this Sunday, there could be as little as two Big East teams left for the Sweet 16- who would have only gotten in by beating other Big East schools.

Friday's NCAA tournament action kept most of the favorites going, although they have tougher opponents ahead. The road to the Sweet 16 now includes Big East showdowns, some rematches from March Madness past, and a select few Cinderellas.

After the first two full days, convention has held at the NCAA tournament. In fact, other than Morehead State, Richmond, and three No. 11 seeds, almost every underdog has gone down so far.

A few brackets were likely threatened yesterday afternoon, especially when Louisville lost. However, conventional wisdom prevailed by the end of the night, and it may do the same today, especially with Kansas, Ohio State and Duke on tap.

The first full day of the NCAA tournament had some early upsets and scares. But the higher seeds returned to form at night, as they kept the bracket largely intact - with one big exception in the Southwest.

At last, there are 64 teams left on the NCAA bracket this morning. Now the process can go on as normal, with 16 second round slots at stake today, and the likes of Pitt, Connecticut, San Diego State, Kentucky and BYU looking to fill them.

Today is the true first day of the NCAA tournament, and the first true chance to put brackets on the line. Office pool players all over the world, like this one, hope to start perfectly - or that any losses won't be too damaging.

Predicting the NCAA tournament is among the hardest things to do all season. But in a year where little has held to form, where there is a widely panned field, and where even top seeds are fairly vulnerable, the process is even more difficult.

The NCAA tournament started off with the initial 'First Four' winners advancing in different ways. UNC Asheville needed overtime to officially become a No. 16 seed, while Clemson had an easy time validating critics of UAB.

Most eyes are on Thursday and Friday for the start of the NCAA tournament. Yet the "First Four" warm up round has to be held first in Dayton, as USC Asheville, Arkansas Little Rock, Clemson and UAB fight for the first tournament wins.

This hasn't been a conventional year, so picking the favorites for the NCAA tournament might not be the wisest move. However, Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh and Duke have still set out to defend the bullseye on their backs, as No. 1 seeds.

Very soon, the major bubble teams will decide their fate, while the smaller conferences continue to send out automatic bids. Butler, Oakland and Arkansas Little Rock took their spots last night, while Princeton stayed alive for one of their own.

Four automatic NCAA bids were handed out over the weekend, but the total doubled last night. Old Dominion and Gonzaga made sure their bids would be automatic, while St Peter's and Wofford wound up joining them.

The busiest week of the college basketball season has begun, as championship week is fully under way. NCAA bracket projections stand to change at least 100 times in the next six days, although more automatic bids are now on their way.

Strategies and advice for filling in your 2011 March Madness brackets, including a preview of the NCAA tournament, the likely top seeds, and analysis of the favorites and a few live dark horses.

The 2010 Final Four match-ups in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament have got the oddsmakers busy, with all the game experts attempting to find out every little detail about each team to factor into their odds calculators and come up with...

The first half of the Final Four was filled in similar fashions in two games. Butler and West Virginia didn't look pretty, but they shut down the explosive offense of heavy favorites, held off late runs, and ended a long Final Four drought.

Unlike Butler, Northern Iowa and St. Mary's couldn't represent the mid majors in the Elite Eight- although St. Mary's went down a lot quicker. But the favorites didn't all prevail, as Tennessee made history by knocking off Ohio State.