Kentucky against Washington, the only team that has defeated Stanford.
Kansas against Providence, a team fully capable of getting on a roll. Gonzaga against Michigan State, underachievers who are still deeply talented and tournament-tested.
Boston College against Georgia Tech, which won at Duke and is one of those classic teams that no one wants to face.
Those are possible second-round matchups in the St. Louis regional, and they tell you all you need to know about this quarter of the NCAA tournament.
It’s loaded, more loaded than George Bush’s campaign war chest.
Gonzaga, St. Louis’ second seed, has lost to only Stanford and St. Joseph’s this season, running the table in the West Coast Conference.
Unheralded UIC comes in with a 12-game winning streak, but all that got the Flames was a No. 13 seed and a first-round meeting with Kansas.
Michigan State played the country’s toughest schedule, but the Spartans have had nearly as many bad moments as good this season.
Ninth-seeded UAB shared the Conference USA regular-season title and can be considered dangerous. But the Blazers ran out of gas against DePaul in the conference tournament semifinals and seem incapable of delivering the “40 Minutes of Hell” style coach Mike Anderson learned from Nolan Richardson while he was Richardson’s assistant at Arkansas.
Who’s hot: Kentucky, which rolled through the Southeastern Conference tournament, is the No. 1 seed in the entire tournament. The Wildcats have little size and no stars, but they are aggressive, experienced, unselfish and tough.
Who’s not: Kansas is lucky to be playing its first two games in Kansas City; the Jayhawks have struggled on the road all season, largely because of inconsistent outside shooting.
Long shot: Georgia Tech. The third-seeded Yellow Jackets have size in 7-foot-1-inch center Luke Schenscher and a talented lineup of guards such as senior Marvin Lewis, juniors B.J. Elder and Will Bynum and sophomore Jarrett Jack. That is a luxury in the NCAA tournament, which is usually dominated by guards.
Prediction: Georgia Tech over Kentucky.
