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SPORTS
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NCAA TOURNAMENT
Illinois' Deron Williams directs his teammates in the second half against Wisconsin during the championship game of the Big Ten tournament yesterday. Illinois was given the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will begin play Thursday against Fairleigh Dickinson in Indianapolis
Chicago bracket dangerous
Editor's note: Kansan sportswriter Kellis Robinett will examine the four regions in the NCAA Tournament before play starts Thursday. The following is a breakdown of the Chicago regional. Tomorrow, Robinett will dissect the first round games in the Albiquerque region.
No. 1 Illinois (32-1) vs.
No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson (20-12)
A No. 1 seed has never lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and Illinois should have no problem keeping that streak alive, Fairleigh Dickinson won the Northeast Conference Tournament to get into the field, but its best nonconference victory was against New Orleans. No.8 Texas (20-10) vs.
No. 9 Nevada (24-6)
Both of these teams are capable of knocking off Illinois in the second round. Nevada has been the class of the Western Athletic Conference all season and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Texas has made tournament runs for the past three years and has the talent of a top seed. Sure, Texas
KANSAN
BRACKET BREAKDOWN
underachieved all year, but any team that can sweep Oklahoma State is dangerous.
No. 5 Alabama (24-7) vs.
Junior forward Kennedy Winston, who scores 18 points a game, will lead the Crimson Tide against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who stormed through the Horizon League with a 14-2 record. The Panthers have two solid scorers — senior guard Ed McCants and junior forward Joah Tucker — who both average more than 15 points a game. No. 4 Boston College (24-4) vs. No. 13 Pennsylvania (20-8).
No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5)
Alabama will try to dupli
the success it had in last year's
tournament when it upset
Stanford in the second round.
It's hard to believe those four losses only earned Boston College a four seed, but that's what the committee decided. The Eagles will try to prove they are underrated against the most rested team in the tournament.
Pennsylvania didn't have to
play in a postseason conference tournament because the Ivy League gives its automatic bid to its regular season champion.
No. 2 Oklahoma State (24-6) vs.
No. 15 Southeast Louisiana (24-8)
Southeastern Louisiana will be the first test for senior forward Joey Graham and senior guard Joey Lucas as they try to lead Oklahoma State to a second straight Final Four. The Cowboys seem to be peaking at the right time after winning the Big 12 Tournament, but the Lions will not be a pushover. Finishing with 24 wins, Southeast Louisiana had its best season in school history.
Neither of these teams can be called sleepers. Southern Illinois is known for its runs in the tournament and has been ranked for parts of the season. St. Mary's pushed Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference Title.
No. 3 Arizona (27-6) vs.
No. 14 Wash State (24-2)
No. 7 Southern Illinois (26-7) vs.
No. 10 St. Mary's (25-8)
Salim Stoudamire and senior center Channing Frye. The biggest challenge for the Wildcats, which have made 21 straight tournament appearances, will be to break their reputation for losing in the first round. Utah State will try to keep that trend going after sneaking into the field by defeating Pacific in the Big West Tournament. No.6 LSU (20-9) vs.
No.14 Utah State (24-7)
Arizona flaunts one of the best inside-outside combinations in the country with senior guard
No.11 Alabama-Birmingham (21-10)
UAB received the worst seed of any at-large team in the tournament and was possibly the last team to get in. The Blazers stunned Kentucky on the way to last year's Sweet Sixteen and play a full court press that is difficult to adjust to for a single game. LSU should be up for the challenge though. The Tigers are one of the most underrated teams in the country, and were projected as a bubble team just a week ago. They defeated three ranked teams this year and finished second to Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference.
Syracuse wins title for fourth time
Edited by Laura Francoviglia
BIG EAST CONFERENCE
NEW YORK — Hakim Warrick had 20 points and 13 rebounds and No. 16 Syracuse won the Big East Tournament for the first time since 1992 with a 68-59 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night.
The loss at Madison Square Garden ended a run for West Virginia (21-10), the first No. 8 seed to ever reach the championship game. No team had ever won four games to take the title and the Mountaineers fell one game short in winning their first conference championship since winning the Atlantic 10 in 1984.
The third-seeded Orange (27-6) won their fourth Big East tournament title in their 12th championship game appearance.
Gerry McNamara added 16 points for the Orange-Tyron Sally had 13 points for the Mountaineers.
CHICAGO — Deron Williams said it all as he dribbled out the clock, holding his finger high in the air to signify what the polls have said most of the season — Illinois is indeed No. 1.
The Associated Presi
BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Illinois lives up to hype, No.1 ranking
The top-ranked Illini dominated defensively to beat No. 23 Wisconsin 54-43 in the Big Ten Tournament finals for their school-record 32nd win.
Illinois (32-1) passed its final test before the NCAA Tournament, after an emotional weekend, two days after head coach Bruce Weber's mother died. In front of a loud orange-clad following on its favorite home-away-from-home court at the United Center, the Illini got 15 points and 12 rebounds from Roger Powell and 12 points each from Luther Head and James Augustine, who was voted tournament MVP.
Baylor defeats KSU to win Big 12 title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baylor fans used to get more fired up about free pizza than about anything happening on the court.
Then again, the Bears were the worst team in the Big 12 just five years ago. Now, they're ranked No. 6 and headed into the NCAA Tournament as the conference regular-season and tournament champions after beating No. 17 Kansas State 68-55 Saturday night.
"I used to say — this is the God's truth — I'm going to live to see the day that the crowd is into the game as much as when they try to win pizza," Kim Mukley-Robertson said. "And we have lived to see that day."
Kansas State closed the gap to 57-53 with 3:53 to go. But the Wildcats scored only once after that, and Baylor closed out the game with an 11-2 run.
The Associated Press
ACC
Blue Devils win behind Redick's 26
WASHINGTON — J.J. Redick scored 26 points, Shelden Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Duke held off a late charge to squeeze past fifth-seeded Georgia Tech 69-64 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Duke has won 15 ACC tournaments, tying archival North Carolina for most in league history. But while the Tar Heels haven't added to their ledger since 1998, the Blue Devils have won six of seven — the lone exception being last year, when they fell in overtime to Maryland in the title game.
Duke (25-5) led by four early in the second half before Redick hit a jumper. It became 52-39 on a layup by Shavik Randolph with 11:15 to go, but the Blue Devils didn't make another basket until Williams tipped in a missed foul shot just before the buzzer.
The Associated Press
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