2006 was the year of the Locals, with Georgetown, George Mason and George Washington all winning at least one NCAA tournament game and Mason making its run to the Final Four.
2007 was the year of the Pseudo-Locals, schools that reside in the territory of today's Chesapeake Primary. So in addition to true locals Georgetown, George Washington and Maryland, there was coverage to be had of Old Dominion, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech.
So is this year a toned down version of 2007? Quite possibly.
Georgetown and Maryland are in this field, as is American. So are Morgan State, UMBC and Virginia Commonwealth, and George Mason isn't too far out of contention.
In this bracket, South meets West, leaving East to meet Midwest. There are bracketing slip-ups on my end, notably a couple second-round matchups that could be regular-season rematches (Memphis-Southern Cal is an obvious one; Maryland-Morgan State is a subtle one). Those shouldn't happen, but sometimes it's hard to unstring a full bracket. So those are miscues that will be avoided in future weeks.
EAST REGION
Raleigh, N.C.
(1) ACC/Duke vs. (16) NEC/Wagner
(8) Arizona vs. (9) Gonzaga
Denver
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) SUMMIT/Oral Roberts
(5) Louisville vs. (12) CAA/Virginia Commonwealth
Little Rock, Ark.
(3) Texas vs. (14) MAAC/Siena
(6) Notre Dame vs. (11) Saint Joseph’s
Anaheim, Calif.
(2) UCLA vs. (15) ATLANTIC SUN/Belmont
(7) Florida vs. (10) MOUNTAIN WEST/Brigham Young
SOUTH REGION
Little Rock, Ark.
(1) CONFERENCE USA/Memphis vs. (16) SWAC/Alabama State-SOUTHLAND/Lamar
(8) Marquette vs. (9) Southern California
Denver
(4) MVC/Drake vs. (13) WAC/Utah State
(5) BIG 12/Kansas State vs. (12) Mississippi
Tampa, Fla.
(3) Michigan State vs. (14) AMERICA EAST/UMBC
(6) Arkansas vs. (11) Dayton
Birmingham, Ala.
(2) BIG EAST/Georgetown vs. (15) OVC/Austin Peay
(7) Clemson vs. (10) Ohio State
MIDWEST REGION
Omaha, Neb.
(1) Kansas vs. (16) MEAC/Morgan State
(8) Rhode Island vs. (9) Maryland
Washington, D.C.
(4) Connecticut vs. (13) SOUTHERN/Davidson
(5) HORIZON/Butler vs. (12) Arizona State
Tampa, Fla.
(3) BIG TEN/Indiana vs. (14) BIG SOUTH/UNC Asheville
(6) Vanderbilt vs. (11) Syracuse
Anaheim, Calif.
(2) Stanford vs. (15) BIG WEST/Cal State Northridge
(7) WCC/Saint Mary’s vs. (10) UNLV
WEST REGION
Raleigh, N.C.
(1) North Carolina vs. (16) BIG SKY/Portland State
(8) Baylor vs. (9) Mississippi
Omaha, Neb.
(4) Purdue vs. (13) MAC/Kent State
(5) Washington State vs. (12) West Virginia
Washington, D.C.
(3) ATLANTIC 10/Xavier vs. (14) IVY/Cornell
(6) Texas A&M vs. (11) SUN BELT/South Alabama
Birmingham, Ala.
(2) SEC/Tennessee vs. (15) PATRIOT/American
(7) Pittsburgh vs. (10) N.C. State
Last four in: Arizona State, Saint Joseph’s, N.C. State, West Virginia
Last four out: Oklahoma, Illinois State, Seton Hall, Massachusetts
Next four out: Creighton, Houston, Oregon, George Mason
Moving in: American, Arizona State, Belmont, Maryland, Morgan State, Siena
Moving out: Hampton, Jacksonville, Lafayette, Oklahoma, Rider, Seton Hall
--- Patrick Stevens
