THE FIELD: HUSKIES A SURPRISE NO. 1 WASHINGTON BENEFITS WHEN KENTUCKY IS BEATEN.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Top-ranked Illinois didn't get its undefeated season, but it was plenty deserving of the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament's top seed. Joining Illinois (32-1) as No. 1 seeds are North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. (27-4), Duke (25-5) and - a surprising choice - Washington (27-5). The Huskies, who upset Arizona on Saturday to win their first Pacific-10 Tournament title, weren't expected to be in this position - even coach Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958 in South Gate, California, United States) is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Washington. Romar also played basketball for the University of Washington from 1978 to 1980. wasn't lobbying for the top seed, although he said he could make a case for it. Washington benefited when Kentucky (25-5) was pounded 70-53 by Florida in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final Sunday afternoon, a result that didn't sit well with the NCAA selection committee. Bob Bowlsby Bob Bowlsby (born January 10, 1952) is the Director of Athletics at Stanford University. Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Bowlsby served as athletic director at the University of Iowa from 1991 to 2005 prior to becoming Stanford's sixth athletic director in 2006. , the committee's director, said Kentucky would have received a No. 1 seed had it won the SEC Tournament. He defended the decision to give a top seed to Washington, which beat NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. poll. ``We looked at different institutions, and it was an ever-evolving process,'' Bowlsby said. ``We were able to put together some contingency plans that involved five or six different institutions. Washington had a tremendous year and a lot of good wins. They are a postseason tournament-winning team. We felt they deserved to be on line one. ``There were several (teams) we felt were good enough, but, ultimately, those four won out.'' Illinois, the Big Ten champion, lost only to Ohio State. North Carolina claimed the top seed for the 10th time in school history and Duke for the ninth. The Tar Heels were placed in the Chicago Regional and Duke in the Austin Regional, but both teams will play their first- and second-round games in Charlotte, N.C. Wake Forest (26-5), Kentucky (25-5), Connecticut (22-7) and Oklahoma State (24-6) received No. 2 seeds. The Big East and Big 12 conferences placed the most teams in the tournament, six apiece, and the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast sent five. Four teams from the Pac-10, which has the second-highest RPI RPI - Rockwell Protocol Interface , made the tournament, with Arizona (27-6), UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX (18-10) and Stanford (18-12) joining Washington. For the first time since 1993, two Big West teams reached the tournament. Utah State (24-7) upset Pacific (26-3) in the tournament final Saturday to claim the automatic berth, and the Tigers received an at-large bid An at-large bid is a bid or berth in a sporting tournament granted by invitation, not right. This term is most commonly used in the United States to refer to berths that the NCAA grants in its annual Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, although at-large berths are . The Aggies were seeded 14th and play No. 3 Arizona in the first round. Eighth-seeded Pacific, which had won 22 consecutive games before Saturday's loss, plays Pittsburgh (20-8), and the winner likely faces Washington in the second round. Last year, Utah State was snubbed after it was upset in the Big West semifinals. The Aggies were ranked 21st but didn't receive an at-large bid. Gonzaga (25-4) always seems to represent the West Coast Conference in the tournament, and St. Mary's (25-8) also received an invitation. The WCC WCC n abbr (= World Council of Churches) → COE m (Conseil œcuménique des Églises) WCC n abbr (= World Council of Churches) → Weltkirchenrat m had the seventh-highest RPI of all the conferences, its best ranking in history. The Gaels split their series with Gonzaga. Some of the bubble teams that didn't get in were Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame, Indiana is an unincorporated community northeast of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. and Maryland, which swept Duke. Maryland had been to the NCAA Tournament the previous 11 years. -- Eagles' player hurt: Boston College guard Jermaine Watson jumped from a second-story window to escape gun-toting masked men who burst into his off-campus apartment, police said. Watson cut his ear and left hand early Saturday. He did not practice Saturday or Sunday but coach Al Skinner expected the senior to be ready for the No. 7 Eagles' first-round NCAA tournament game against Pennsylvania on Thursday in Cleveland. There were no arrests in connection with the raid, which appeared to stem from a dispute during a party at Watson's apartment. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report Jill Painter, (818)713-3615 jill.painter(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 5 photo, 5 boxes Photo: (1) Illinois, with Roger Powell, right, and Luther Head, is the No. 1 team in the country - and No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images (2) PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF Darren Brooks, G, So. Illinois The only player ever to be selected Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I and is generally considered one of the best mid-major MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. and Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, the senior guard leads the Salukis in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists. (3) PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF Ronald Ross, G, Texas Tech The former walk-on guard developed into a first-team All-Big 12 guard this season. The senior is averaging 16.6 points and 5.1 rebounds and turned in perhaps his best performance of the season last weekend with 28 points in a victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 semifinals. (4) PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD Of Julius Hodge, G, N.C. State For the 10th-seeded Wolf Pack to advance past Charlotte, the senior will need to have a better performance than his 10-point effort against Duke in the ACC See adaptive cruise control. Tournament. The 2003 conference Player of the Year is averaging 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. (5) PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF Andrew Bogut, F, Utah This Australian sophomore is a Wooden and Naismith award finalist and averages 20.6 points and 12.2 rebounds. His 19 double-doubles are tied for most in the nation, and he is a five-time Mountain West Player of the Week. His size and strength will be too much for most teams to handle. Getty Images Box: (1) 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship SOURCE: NCAA AP (2) REGION'S BEST...CHICAGO (3) REGION'S BEST...ALBUQUERQUE (4) REGION'S BEST...SYRACUSE (5) REGION'S BEST...AUSTIN |
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