Thursday, March 11, 2004
Answering Questions About My NCAA Field

Why wait till Selection Sunday to pick the NCAA Tournament field? Based on the Vitale Bald Dome Index (VBDI), here's my early version of who should dance plus their seeds.

Xavier's big win over St. Joseph's on Thursday caused me to make some adjustments to my NCAA field. First, now Xavier is in my field (replacing LSU in the St. Louis region). In the East Rutherford region, St. Joe's has dropped from the No. 1 seed to the No. 2 (with Pitt the new No. 1).

Remember, I selected this field during Championship Week. For the mid-major tournaments that aren't finished as of this date, I've listed the school that I'm predicting will win the automatic NCAA bid (with the conference in parentheses).

A final note on regions: the NCAA is no longer identifying regions by East, South, Midwest and West. Given the relatively new pod system that keeps teams closer to home, it made sense to identify regions by the sites for the regional semifinals/finals (the four locations listed below).

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.
1. PITTSBURGH
2. ST. JOE'S
3. WAKE FOREST
4. CINCINNATI
5. SYRACUSE
6. MICHIGAN ST
7. TEXAS TECH
8. BOSTON COLLEGE
9. ALABAMA
10. MANHATTAN
11. WESTERN MICHIGAN (or MAC WINNER)
12. MISSOURI
13. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
14. PRINCETON
15. LEHIGH (or PATRIOT WINNER)
16. MONMOUTH

ATLANTA
1. DUKE
2. MISSISSIPPI STATE
3. CONNECTICUT
4. TEXAS
5. MEMPHIS
6. NC STATE
7. CHARLOTTE
8. FLORIDA
9. UAB
10. FLORIDA STATE
11. SOUTH CAROLINA
12. EAST TENNESSEE STATE
13. NORTHERN IOWA
14. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
15. CENTRAL FLORIDA
16. SC STATE (or MEAC WINNER)

ST. LOUIS
1. KENTUCKY
2. OKLAHOMA STATE
3. ILLINOIS
4. NORTH CAROLINA
5. WISCONSIN
6. SETON HALL
7. MARYLAND
8. DEPAUL
9. DAYTON
10. XAVIER
11. WASHINGTON
12. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
13. ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
14. MURRAY STATE
15. VALPARAISO
16. SOUTHLAND WINNER (Stephen F. Austin/Texas-San Antonio winner)

PHOENIX
1. STANFORD
2. GONZAGA
3. KANSAS
4. GEORGIA TECH
5. PROVIDENCE
6. ARIZONA
7. LOUISVILLE
8. VANDERBILT
9. UTAH STATE (or BIG WEST WINNER)
10. AIR FORCE (or MOUNTAIN WEST WINNER)
11. NEVADA
12. BYU
13. COLORADO
14. EASTERN WASHINGTON
15. LIBERTY
16. VERMONT (or AMERICA EAST WINNER)

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he's been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.