NCAA Tournament Crystal Ball
by Dan Hauptman and Michael Protos
Jan. 12, 2007
It is never too early to start predicting the NCAA Tournament field of 65, that is our Hoopville mantra and we are sticking to it. Beginning with this column, Hoopville senior writer Dan Hauptman and news editor Michael Protos will project ahead to March and count down until the 2007 Selection Show on March 11. The Crystal Basketball has officially been tossed in the air, the fight for possession begins now.
After two months of play, Dan and Michael like what they see from the top teams. Florida, North Carolina, UCLA and Wisconsin all earn No. 1 seeds in their brackets, with Arizona, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh filling the No. 2 line. So far, the top teams have earned the right to hold down those spots. Wisconsin earns the nod over Kansas and Ohio State by virtue of the Badgers’ home victory vs. the Buckeyes. Dan and Michael might have a different vision after the Feb. 25 rematch in Columbus.
The most shocking difference in the two prognostications is Michael’s glaring omission of Connecticut. Is he insane to leave out the Huskies, a perennial player in March Madness? Michael points to the numbers in his defense. If you strip away the name, you’re left with a team with an RPI near 100, an 0-2 record away from home, an 0-3 record against the RPI Top 100 and a non-conference strength of schedule ranked No. 304, according to Ken Pomeroy’s RPI rankings. That’s not an NCAA-caliber résumé.
Dan and Michael are both watching the recent activity of a pair of ACC squads and a pair of Pac-10 teams. Oregon and USC are shooting stars right now, but Maryland is heading in the opposite direction. The Terrapins have a decent record without a marquis victory, and a recent home loss to Miami hurts. On the other hand, Clemson is the epitome of a shooting star as the last remaining undefeated team.
Without any further ado, let’s check out what Dan and Michael saw in the Crystal Basketball.
| Hauptman’s Hoops Horoscope | Protos’ Prognostications |
|---|---|
 North Carolina Florida UCLA Wisconsin |
North Carolina UCLA Florida Wisconsin |
 Kansas Arizona Ohio State Pittsburgh |
Kansas Ohio State Arizona Pittsburgh |
 Clemson Texas A&M Nevada Air Force |
Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Nevada |
 Memphis Oregon Texas Butler |
Memphis Duke Air Force Arkansas |
 Oklahoma State Tennessee Missouri State Duke |
Butler Tennessee Alabama Notre Dame |
 Notre Dame Kentucky West Virginia Alabama |
Washington State Indiana LSU Missouri State |
 Washington State Georgetown LSU Connecticut |
Oklahoma State Texas Tech Florida State Kentucky |
 Gonzaga Southern Illinois Maryland UNLV |
Virginia Tech Gonzaga Texas Xavier |
 Arkansas Drexel Texas Tech Xavier |
USC UNLV Georgia Tech Marquette |
 Marquette USC Villanova Creighton |
Purdue Boston College Southern Illinois Michigan State |
 Northern Iowa Appalachian State Boston College Ohio |
West Virginia Georgetown Davidson Hofstra |
 Washington BYU Syracuse Indiana |
Maryland Villanova Providence Creightone |
 Hofstra Florida State Oral Roberts Long Beach State |
Washington Western Kentucky Winthrop Oral Roberts |
 Winthrop Western Kentucky Vermont Samford |
Ohio Vermont Long Beach State Marist |
 Holy Cross Fairleigh Dickinson Penn Idaho State |
Holy Cross Penn Sam Houston St. Samford |
 Siena Stephen F. Austin Belmont Delaware State Texas Southern |
Belmont Delaware State Idaho State Fair. Dickinson Texas Southern |
 Last Four In:Syracuse Indiana Hofstra Florida State |
Last Four In: Villanova Providence Creighton Washington |
| Last Four Out: Michigan Stanford Virginia Tech Saint Joseph’s |
Last Four Out: Northern Iowa Wichita State Virginia Syracuse |
| Conference Breakdown: Big East: 8 ACC: 6 Pac-10: 6 SEC: 6 Big 12: 5 Missouri Valley: 4 Big Ten: 3 Mountain West: 3 Colonial: 2 22 conferences with 1 bid |
Conference Breakdown: ACC: 8 Big East: 7 Pac-10: 6 SEC: 6 Big Ten: 5 Big 12: 5 Missouri Valley: 3 Mountain West: 2 23 conferences with 1 bid |
Whose field looks more accurate to you? Or are both Hauptman and Protos off target? E-mail us your comments on the Crystal Basketball or give us your own NCAA Tournament prognostications. Then check back throughout the next two months, as Hauptman’s and Protos’ visions for the Big Dance become clearer as the days until Selection Sunday count down. The calendar reads January. This journey just began.
