Only 334 days till Selection Sunday!
Joe Lunardi has published his initial, ridiculously early, meaningless yet fun, pre-pre-season 2009 Bracketology projections. (Hat tip: BK.) His #1 seeds are North Carolina, Duke, Texas and Pittsburgh. 2007 finalists Kansas and Memphis drop to #2 and #3, respectively, and UCLA plummets to a #7. w00t! :)
More importantly, Notre Dame is a #2 seed (without Gene Cross? Hmm...), Gonzaga is a #5, and USC is a #9. Frankly, those all seem high to me, but maybe I'm just a pessimist about my own teams. (Although, if so, it didn't prevent my irrational Zag-xuberance last year.)
Tennessee falls all the way to #9... where they're matched up in a brutal first-round game against #8 Davidson. (Stephen Curry FTW!) This year's mid-major superpower that almost beat UT, Butler, is on the bubble but out, as are the Washington Huskies. The UConn Huskies, though, are sitting pretty as a #2 seed. Oh, and the University of Hartford Hawks, after falling one game short in 2008, make their NCAA Tournament debut in 2009 as a #16 seed. Hurrah!
Yeah, so, we have a college football season to start -- and finish -- before I'll get really excited about any of this, but it's fun to look ahead. :)
Hey last out is better than first in to the CBI like we were this year ;-)
Posted by: David K. | Apr 15, 2008 2:25:38 PM
I think everyone will agree that ASU was the overall 1-seed in the CBI this year. :) Wait. :(
Posted by: BK | Apr 15, 2008 2:52:13 PM
Did that come out before or after the news that Drake's Keno Davis is leaving for Providence?
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/SPORTS020403/80415020
Posted by: JD | Apr 15, 2008 2:53:39 PM
9 from the Big East, 4 from Big Ten?
Posted by: Gardner | Apr 15, 2008 2:59:54 PM
Look ahead? This isn't looking ahead, its . . . squinting in an attempt to see California from New York. Wow.
Posted by: B. Minich | Apr 15, 2008 3:01:08 PM
In other news, the Pope's plane is called "Shepherd One"... Seriously?
Posted by: dcl | Apr 15, 2008 3:57:43 PM
A five seed is more than feasable with the talent the Zags have coming back. Then again, if Josh Heytvelt doesn't stop sucking, and a back-to-the-basket big men can't be found hiding in a basement somewhere...
Posted by: La Rev | Apr 15, 2008 4:01:24 PM
Trust me, "Shepherd One" was a good pick. It's better than his limo's name:
"Grey Pope One"
Posted by: Condor | Apr 15, 2008 4:03:26 PM
I can't believe that he has Missouri in the field. I did a double take when I saw that. I'll be really surprised if Missouri is an NCAA tournament team next year and I'm a huge Missouri fan. It does give me a glimmer of hope. : )
Posted by: Andrew H | Apr 15, 2008 7:32:10 PM
So next year two 1 seeds have the opportunity to play the 1st and second rounds in Greensboro...surprise, surprise. For once, can there please be a year with NO host sites in North Carolina for any of the rounds so that Duke/UNC might actually have to play on a true neutral court?
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 16, 2008 7:44:43 AM
Heh. Yeah, that'd be nice. Also, it would be nice if UCLA had to earn its way to a Final Four without playing all of its games in either California or Arizona... basically, if they had to go somewhere that isn't a day's drive away from Westwood.
Posted by: Brendan Loy | Apr 16, 2008 9:08:05 AM