NCAA Bracket 2011 Preview: Duke Seeded First In West Region

The Wildcats need no introduction to NCAA basketball fans; their success in recent history speaks for itself. After longtime coach Lute Olson took a leave of absence in 2007 and subsequently retired in 2008, the program appeared to be heading downhill. The low point was in 2009-10, when Arizona failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 25 years.

The Wildcats, in search of a new coach to restore Tucson to its former glory, hired then-Xavier head coach Sean Miller to take the reins of the program after the 2008-09 season. After a rough year of transition, Miller has largely delivered on the promise in his second campaign and was reward with Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors.

Record: 25-8, 11-7 in the Big East

RPI: 36

Getting on to the NCAA Tournament bracket hasn’t been a problem for Temple but winning sure has as they have been bounced out of the first round the past three seasons (2008: Michigan State, 2009: Arizona State, 2010: Cornell) and have not won a tournament game since 2001 when they made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to, you guessed it, Michigan State.

Coach Fran Dunphy, thought of by many as one of the country’s most underrated coaches, is 1-12 in NCAA Tournament games. Dunphy’s first tournament appearance came with the University of Pennsylvania way back in 1993 and resulted in a four point loss to the University of Massachusetts. The Quakers won their first round game in 1994, beating Nebraska by 10 points. Since then, Dunphy led teams have gone 0-11 in tournament play.

The Michigan Wolverines are the No. 8 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, where they’ll face Tennessee in the first round. Michigan made a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament, losing to eventual champion Ohio State in the semifinal on Saturday, 68-61.

Going into the 2010-11 season, Michigan had a team with zero seniors and very few players with any in-game experience. The Wolverines’ ceiling appeared to be the NIT, especially after they started 1-6 in the Big Ten. The season was headed down the wrong path, and some people were even calling for head coach John Beilein’s head.

On the court, it initially appeared that Tennessee was going to brush aside the off-the-court troubles. The Volunteers stormed out of the gate, beating Villanova to win the Preseason NIT and knocking off Pittsburgh at the CONSOL Energy Center to reach No. 7 in the polls. Then Tennessee inexplicably lost three in a row to “powerhouses” Oakland, Charlotte, and USC. The two steps forward, two steps back mentality would go on to define their season. They finished a perfectly average 8-8 in SEC play.

Key wins: Villanova (neutral court), at Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt (twice)

Key losses: at Charlotte, College of Charleston, Florida (twice), Kentucky (twice)

Player(s) to watch: Scotty Hopson (17.3 PPG), Tobias Harris (7.3 RPG), Melvin Goins (X-factor)

Northern Colorado is an outstanding shooting team, both at the charity stripe and from beyond the arc. The Bears shoot just under 39 percent from three-point range as a team and have five players at 38 percent or better. Northern Colorado shoots 77 percent from the free-throw line as a team. The Bears were 4-24 and ranked last in RPI just five years ago in 2006-07.

Record: 21-10, 13-3 Big Sky Conference

Duke was awarded the No. 1 seed in the West Region for the NCAA Tournament during the Selection Sunday show. The Blue Devils are coming off another ACC Championship but were slotted as the fourth-rated No. 1 seed in the tournament; should they advance to the Final Four, they’ll play Ohio State, which locked up the No. 1 seed in the East Region and the top overall spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke will face Hampton, the No. 16 seed, in the first round of the tournament in Charlotte, N.C. The No. 2 seed in the region is a team that got strong No. 1 seed consideration: San Diego State, which will play Northern Colorado in the first round in Tuscon.