BRACKETOLOGY: Return of the Commodores

No I'm not talking about the R&B group headed by Lionel Ritchie. I'm talking about Vanderbilt. I thought they were done after they lost to Appalachian St in Puerto Rico, but Coach Stallings and the boys from Nashville had other ideas. They've beaten Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky in 3 of their last four games and it doesn't get much better than that. You throw in the early-season win over Georgia Tech and You have a team with a damn good tournament resume.

In other news:
Loyola (MD) are leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Can the Greyhounds really win the MAAC. I watched last week as they lost (at home) to my alma mater, Towson University. That shows you the difference between the two leagues. Towson isn't close to being the best team in the Colonial and Loyola is in the first place in the MAAC. Nevertheless...it would be great for a Baltimore school to go dancing.

The Atlantic 10 tournament will be one of best conference tournaments this year. Their are about five or six teams that are at or near the same level. That kind of parity makes for great games and a wide open tournament. Too bad it's a one-bid league this year.

On to the bracket:

Pretty interesting tidbit about the pod system. Usually, the scarcity of good teams out west means a high seed gets sent out of region and ends up playing a lower-seeded team from the west coast on the west coast. This year it's the weakness of Northeast that makes me believe a high seed will be playing out of region in Buffalo.

Last Four In: Missouri St, Maryland, Boston College, Creighton
Last Four Out: Drexel, Providence, West Virginia, California

East vs. West/South vs. Midwest

East
1.North Carolina16.Sacred Heart Winston-Salem, NC
8.UNLV9.USC
5.Tennessee12.Gonzaga Lexington, KY
4.Butler13.Davidson
6.Kentucky11.Boston College Columbus, OH
3.Memphis14.Oral Roberts
7.Texas Tech10.Syracuse Lexington, KY
2.Ohio St15.Toledo
West
1.UCLA16.Idaho St Sacramento, CA
8.Virgnia Tech9.Villanova
5.Indiana12.Missouri St Buffalo, NY
4.Alabama13.UMASS
6.Air Force11.Vanderbilt Winston Salem, NC
3.Duke14.Penn
7.Notre Dame10.Northern Iowa Chicago, IL
2.Kansas15.Vermont
Midwest
1.Wisconsin16.Austin Peay Chicago, IL
8.Texas9.LSU
5.Washington St12.Maryland Sacramento, CA
4.Marquette13.Virginia Commonwealth
6.Nevada11.Creighton Columbus, OH
3.Oklahoma St14.Texas A&M-CC
7.Georgetown10.Georgia Tech Spokane, WA
2.Oregon15.Long Beach St
South
1.Florida16.East Tennessee St/Texas Southern New Orleans, LA
8.Southern Illinois9.Michigan
5.Clemson12.Winthrop Spokane, WA
4.Arizona13.Western Kentucky
6.Michigan St11.Florida St Buffalo, NY
3.Pittsburgh14.Holy Cross
7.Arkansas10.Stanford New Orleans, LA
2.Texas A&M15.Delaware St