Illinois college basketball fans have little else to worry about this March, except maybe their lawns, which figure to be as green as the envy coloring their view of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament unfolding without a single Illinois representative.
For anybody scoring at home, that’s 0-for-11 programs.
Looking for a team to adopt? Here’s at least one reason apiece for Chicago sports fans to start pulling for a surrogate Cinderella that isn’t from the state.
American: Who wants to be un-American? Plus, it’s American’s first NCAA tournament berth since joining Division I in 1967. Chicago connection: They celebrated their Patriot League title to “Don’t Stop Believin.'”
Arkansas: As if double-IHSA champion Marshall needs another reason to be puffy-chested, talented sophomore Patrick Beverley represents the Chicago Public League well in Hog country.
Arizona: Former Northwestern coach Kevin O’Neill, in charge during Lute Olson’s leave, makes every game he coaches in a little more $##!!*$ colorful.
Austin Peay: Because 21 years is too long to hold a grudge.
Baylor: Coach Scott Drew used instruction book from Valparaiso, where dad Homer runs the family basketball business. Matchup against Purdue and Valparaiso High products Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin will be familiar.
Belmont: NAIA Hall of Famer Rick Byrd might be the most accomplished men’s college head coach in basketball-rich Tennessee. Bruins’ unofficial mascot is country-music star Vince Gill.
Boise State: Broncos feature one of the best players you’ve never heard of: 6-foot-6-inch forward Reggie Larry, whose path to Boise started as an escape from the mean streets of Newark, N.J.
Butler: Coach Brad Stevens used to work for a major pharmaceutical company before coaching — where he has followed the midmajor’s prescription for winning.
BYU: They say three-point shooter Jonathan Tavernari is the hottest-shooting Brazilian since Ronaldo, and worth a peek.
Cal State Fullerton: First appearance in 30 years will let people outside California know about Josh Akognon.
Clemson: You have to like the flair for the dramatic when the Tigers break out the purple jerseys — orange is their primary color — and pulls off an ACC tournament victory over Duke.
Connecticut: In one of those stories CBS loves to put to music, A.J. Price endured bleeding in his brain and an off-campus theft incident to become one of the Big East’s steadiest all-around players.
Coppin State: No team has ever made the NCAA tournament with 20 losses. But the 16-20 Eagles believe they can shock the world, just like CSU did the last time it made the tourney in ’97 by beating No. 2 seed South Carolina.
Cornell: Cornell’s Ryan Wittman has good genes (he’s the son of Randy Wittman, who won a national title at Indiana in 1981) and leads the Big Red in scoring at 15.4 points a game
Davidson: Stephen Curry might have the prettiest shot the state has seen since his father, Dell, was becoming the Charlotte Hornets’ all-time leading scorer.
Drake: It’s impossible not to pull for the truest college basketball team in the tournament, especially for former walk-on Adam Emmenecker. He’s all-MVC first team athletically and academically, has a 3.97 GPA and more majors (4) than some college players have classes this semester.
Duke: Besides Coach K, the Dookies winning would give Chris Duhon a reason to enjoy March while he’s stapled to the Bulls bench.
Kansas: Bill Self can flat-out coach even if a roster full of talent such as Chicagoan Sherron Collins can make it easy for him.
Kansas State: If fabulous freshman Michael Beasley isn’t enough reason to want to see the Wildcats keep playing, classmate and Proviso East product Jacob Pullen — the ‘Cats’ third option — is.
Kent State: Its starting lineup includes a tough-minded Singletary (guard Chris) from Chicago (Farragut), so the Golden Flashes bear watching.
Kentucky: Wildcats bucking to become first team to open a season by losing to Gardner-Webb and close it by cutting down the nets.
George Mason: The longer any tournament includes coach/comedian/philosopher Jim Larranaga, the better it is.
Georgetown: For once, folks in Chicago can see what it’s like to cheer for a team with a Patrick Ewing on it — even if it’s Patrick Jr.
Georgia: Won three games in two days in the aftermath of a storm that rocked Atlanta while playing for a coach, Dennis Felton, who probably needed to win the SEC tourney to save his job.
Gonzaga: If you liked former Bulls guard Jannero Pargo, you’ll love his younger brother Jeremy from Robeson High — Gonzaga’s best player and the WCC MVP.
Indiana: An early exit might cause Eric Gordon to return for sophomore season instead of entering NBA Draft lottery where he’d become eligible to save a team like the Bulls.
Louisville: Any coach willing to wear a white Colonel Sanders’ suit — as Rick Pitino did this season — figures to turn heads in March.
Maryland-Baltimore County: Wispy point guard Jay Greene, who finished the regular-season leading the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.37), said of making the NCAA tournament: “My life will be complete.”
Marquette: Local kid Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest has averaged around 20 points in March and Milwaukee is closer to Chicago than Madison. Just saying.
Memphis: Enjoy Derrick Rose of Simeon in the tournament while you can, Chicago.
Miami: Guard Jack McClinton, the Hurricanes’ first All-ACC player, is enrolled in a modern dance course.
Michigan State: Scott Skiles can watch a basketball team he used to represent proudly actually play up to its potential.
Mississippi Valley State: Maybe Jerry Rice will show up at the first-round game and inspire the Delta Devils.
Mississippi State: Ben Hansbrough, a 6-3 sophomore averaging 10 points a game, can prove that his more famous brother, Tyler, didn’t get all the basketball talent.
Mt. Saint Mary’s: Win one and you get — gulp — North Carolina. Win two and you get a day off. And who couldn’t use a day off?
North Carolina: For those people looking for a weepy sports moment of the year to top the one in Green Bay, maybe Roy Williams cries if the Heels win it all.
Notre Dame: Maybe Mike Breywins more games in the tournament than Charlie Weis wins next fall.
Oklahoma: They retired former Bull Stacey King’s jersey this season and don’t like Kelvin Sampson much — two reasons to like the Sooners.
Oral Roberts: Hard not to see a team led by a King (center Shawn), guided by Liberty (point guard Adam) and named after an evangelist as a team of destiny.
Oregon: Ducks starting forward Joevan Catron from Thornton High has a knack for designing tennis shoes — he has at least 50 designs — but can he help on-the-hot-seat coach Ernie Kent come up with a Cinderella slipper?
Pittsburgh: Checking in on the post-Aaron Gray era reveals a promising guy to watch in Sam Young, the Big East’s most improved player whose shot fake deserves an Emmy.
Portland State: It’s the alma mater of former Cubs manager Tom Trebelhorn.
Purdue: Matt Painter has done of the five best coaching jobs in America — and if you don’t believe it, Gene Keady might yell at you.
St. Joseph’s: If anybody at the Calathes family holiday dinner table had said St. Joe star forward Pat would be playing in the NCAAs this March instead of younger brother Nick, a guard for Florida, that person would have been cut off from the eggnog.
St. Mary’s: Entertaining freshman point Patty Mills, an Aborigine, is the sixth man on the Australian national team playing in August’s Olympics.
San Diego: First-year coach Bill Grier’s team knocked out Gonzaga to clinch its NCAA berth at the Jenny Craig Pavilion — they didn’t load up on cupcakes to pad their record.
Siena: Former Notre Dame assistant Fran McCaffery has Saints program on right track.
South Alabama: Only the third coach in NCAA history to return to a job he once held, Ronnie Arrow took his 26-6 team to the tournament in his first season back. Quite a feat for a guy who took four years away to be a recruiter for a national phone company.
Stanford: The Farm is where 7-foot sophomores Brook and Robin Lopez — twin towers in the genetic sense — have grown into big-time low-post threats.
Temple: Christmas in March? It is for the Owls’ leading scorer Dionte Christmas (20.2), who’s mostly responsible for school’s first NCAA berth since 2001.
Texas: Matters of the heart make Longhorns likable. They rely on freshman Gary Johnson who has had to wear heart monitor after a routine physical detected abnormality that prevented him from receiving medical clearance until January.
Texas-Arlington: The first NCAA tournament appearance for Southland Conference champs will be bittersweet for Brandon Long, the Mavericks’ third-leading scorer (12.3) from Thornton High School who’s been out since December with a season-ending thumb injury after 9-0 start.
Texas A&M: During the Big 12 tournament, Aggies guard Donald Sloan lost his mother in a Dallas hospital in the morning and flew to Kansas City to help his team beat Iowa State later that night. Wow.
Tennessee: Try to look at it this way, Illini fans: Bruce Pearl is paying tribute to Bruce Weber by wearing the orange blazer.
UCLA: Everybody is a sucker for a good (Kevin) Love story.
UNLV: Some around here still might be mad at Lon Kruger for leaving Illinois but the reigning Mountain Valley Coach of the Year remains one of best.
USC: Tim Floyd deserves to be known more than just an NBA washout and Hunter Hillenmeyer’s future father-in-law.
Vanderbilt: Coach Kevin Stallings, who would look good working back in the Midwest, still has fans in the land of Lincoln for his fine work in the ’90s at Illinois State.
Villanova: The dream lives for Wildcats’ best player, Scottie Reynolds, who spent his formative years in Hoffman Estates.
Washington State: Coach Tony Bennett may leave his heart in Spokane. A tournament run could have folks at Indiana hoping he brings his head to Bloomington.
West Virginia: Bob Huggins might punch you in the nose if you don’t root for the Mountaineers.
Western Kentucky: Courtney Lee is a 2,000-point scorer playing to honor memory of friend and former teammate Danny Rumph, who collapsed and died of enlarged heart.
Winthrop: First-year coach Randy Peele took over the top job and quickly dealt with tragedy when backup point guard DeAndre Adams was killed in a car accident in May but has navigated 2007 Cinderella back into the tournament.
Wisconsin: Bo, as in Ryan, knows Big Ten titles even though nobody outside the Big Ten champs’ area code seems to know it.
Xavier: Chip is squarely on the shoulder of regular-season A-10 champs after landing zero players on all-league first team.
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dhaugh@tribune.com
