10A SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
》 FINAL FOUR
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2007
With no Cinderella, power conferences take control
BY NANCY ARMOUR ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — There won't be any warm and fuzzy scenes like when Jim
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Morgan Petroski/Associated Press
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David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights
Florida guard Lee Humphrey takes a quick seat in the pilot's seat of the plane at Gainesville Regional Airport on Thursday in Gainesville, Fla., before the team's flight to Atlanta for the NCAA men's basketball final Four.
Valvano sprinted across the court looking for somebody to hug. You won't see any blubbering meltdowns a la Rolle Massimo, either.
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And the next George Mason? That dream got squashed two weeks ago.
Nope, this year's Final Four is all about the power conferences. There may as well be a sign: "No Underdogs Allowed."
"What we did last year as a group was pretty amazing." George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. "This year it's what the high-major teams have been able to do, which is survive some incredible scares and advance.
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"I just think what makes March Madness so special is its unpredictability"
Not this season. A year after George Mason delighted the country with its improbable run to the Final Four and the mid-majors elevated themselves with eight of the 34 at large bids, the power has shifted back to well, the powers.
and only the second time since the NCAA began seeding the field in 1979 — a 2 is the “highest” seed in the Final Four. Each game Saturday night features a No. 1 vs. a No. 2 — Florida vs. UCLA and Ohio State vs. Georgetown.
Some underdogs, those Bruins and Hoyas. UCLA returns almost the entire team that lost to Florida in the title game last year and was ranked No. 1 for six weeks this season. Georgetown has one of the biggest guys in college basketball and has won 19 of its last 20.
For the first time since 1993
"Last year, everyone was talking about the mid-majors. This year, everyone's excited about four of the top teams in the country — who were in probably everybody's mind at the beginning of the year." Larranaga said.
"It's a battle of Goliaths. There is no David."
we can be beaten by anybody on a given day"
That takes some of the fun out of it. Part of the tournament's charm is that there always seems to be some high seed that knocks off a team
it should have no business beating
Valparaiso stunning Mississippi
on Bryce Drew's shot from just
across the half-court line in 1998.
Princeton beating defending champ
UCLA in 1996.
point — the big schools have dominated the NCAA tournament.
Valvano's N.C. State was hardly a mid-major, being from the ACC. But the Wolfpack were a sixth-seed in 1983, and they beat two No. 2 seeds and two No. 1s, including Houston and the Phi Slam Jama boys in the championship game.
Villanova wasn't an unknown, either, in 1985, coming out of the Big East. But the Wildcats were a lowly eighth seed when they upset Patrick Ewing and mighty Georgetown.
It started with the selection committee, which gave the mid-majors two fewer at-large bids than they had last year.
Last year, the mid-majors ran amok. Besides George Mason, Bradley, Gonzaga and Wichita State all made the round of 16.
That the Final Four wound up this way isn't really a surprise, though. While the regular season was a model of equality — a record-tying 48 schools were ranked at some
"The parity in college basketball is just so close now," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "Anybody can beat anybody on a given day, I mean, I really believe that we can beat anybody on a given day. I still believe
athletics calendar
- **Rowing** vs. Tulsa/Drake, 2 p.m. Kansas River
TODAY
Tennis vs. Baylor, 6 p.m.
Baseball vs. Missouri, 6:30 p.m. Columbia Mo
SUNDAY
SATURDAY
Tennis vs. Texas Tech, 10
Ludbock, Texas
Baseball vs. Missouri, 2
p. m., Columbia, Mo.
Softball vs. Baylor, noon,
Softball vs. Baylor, 2 p.m.
Baseball vs. Missouri
Columbia Mo
Arrocha Ballpark
o. m., Columbia, Mo.
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BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY
Baseball team returns to field after crash
BY JAMES HANNAH ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAYTON, Ohio — Bluffton University baseball players will return to the field Friday wearing black jerseys instead of purple and white to honor teammates killed when their bus plunged off a highway overpass.
"For the players, it will be a marker that allows them to move on in some ways, but never forget that part of their team isn't with them anymore." Bluffton President James Harder said in a telephone interview. "I think it's the right thing to do."
for spring training when its bus plunged off an overpass March 2 in Atlanta. Investigators say the driver apparently mistook an exit ramp for a highway lane.
The team is to begin its season in Bluffton, about 80 miles northeast of Dayton, with a crowd that is sure to swell beyond the 100-seat bleachers.
The crash killed the driver, his wife and four players that day, and a fifth player died the following week. One player remains hospitalized.
The Beavers will be without coach James Grandey, who is still recovering from breaking bones in his face and injuring his right leg. Up to six players could miss all or part of the season because of injuries.
The team was headed to Florida
"I've enjoyed — when I'm sitting in my office — hearing the ping of that bat again," he said of practice, which has been held indoors sometimes because of rain.
The team resumed practices March 19 and hopes to make up the four games it has missed in the Heartland Collegiate Conference. Bluffton coaches and players have not been available to speak to reporters.
Athletic Director Phill Talavinia said the players seem excited about the game.
The coach of the teams first opponent said going on with the season will help Blufton's players begin to heal.
"I'm really happy that despite this tragedy that they are able to get back on the field," said Chuck Murray of the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. "It's heartbreaking, I pray for them every night."
Students and teachers at Bluffton were encouraged to wear the school colors during the day Friday, and then black at the game.
ROWING
Kansas squad continues to build momentum
The Kansas rowing team will look to build on its sixth second-place finishes last weekend against Tulaa and Drake on Saturday.
The regatta begins at 2 p.m. with the first novice eight, followed by the first varsity eight, open eight, second varsity eight and two novice four races. It is the second of three straight home regattas.
Coach Rob Catloth said the team would look to consistently attack the course this week and avoid in-race laps.
The Jayhawks took second in all six races against Texas and Southern Methodist last week
Tulsa defeated Creighton in seven of eight races last weekend, while Drake defeated Purdue and Marietta in three of five races. Kansas won four of the six races against the two teams last year.
Home regattas are held on the Kansas River near Burcham Park, Second and Indiana streets.
TRACK AND FIELD Junior hurdler earns CoFemale Athlete of Week
Kansas junior Emily Brown was named the Big 12's Co-Female Athlete of the Week. Last weekend
at the Tulsa Duals, Brown earned a regional qualifying mark in the 400-meter hurdles. She also won the 100 and 400-meter hurdles.
I am very honored to receive the distinction. I am very happy with how I did in both races, but was especially shocked by my performance in the 100-meter hurdles, having missed some of the past two years due to injury", Brown said in a press release. "The recognition just shows that all the hard work I have been putting in with my teammates and Coach Elisha Brewer is paying off"
In the 400-meter hurdles, Brown ran a personal best 59.03 seconds.
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