- Boston College had better enjoy what’s left of their 24 win season and their number four seed in the Dance; it will be a long time before they see either one again. Starting next season they move to the ACC where, excluding the Big Three (Duke, UNC, Wake), even the good teams lose six or seven conference games. But don’t cry for the Big East, they pick up Cincinnati and Louisville from Conference USA.
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></o>- There are four first-timers Dancing this year, Alabama A&M, Delaware State, Oakland-MI, and SE Louisiana. Congrats to them and a word of advice; when you get to the hotel, leave your clothes in the suitcase.
></o>- Southern Illinois’ campus is 84 miles from St. Louis, site of the Final Four. What? You don’t think the No. 7 seed Salukis have what it takes? Well how about No. 1 Illinois whose campus is just 150 miles from the Arch?
></o>- Indiana fans must be suffering terribly this March; this is the first time since 1972 that no representative from the Hoosier state made the NCAA field.
></o>- North Carolina leads all states with five teams in the field: Charlotte, Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, and Wake Forest. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia are represented. Indiana is the most populous state left out.
></o>- Mid-Continent Conference champion Oakland-MI has a 13-18 record this season. It is the fourth consecutive season a team with a losing record has made it into the Dance, with all four winning play-in games.
></o>- Wana talk Odds? OK, oddly enough No. 6 seeds have a higher winning percentage than No. 5 seeds (.557 to .531), and No. 10s have a high winning percentage than No. 9s (.402 to .364).
></o>- Northern Iowa athletics director Rick Hartzell has refereed in 17 NCAA tournaments. But he won’t be refereeing when his Panthers play Wisconsin Friday at Oklahoma City.
></o>- The smallest players in the Dance are Drew Lavender of Oklahoma and Charles Small (yup, that’s his name) of Pittsburgh, at 5 feet 7. The tallest are Kentucky’s Shagari Alleyne and Old Dominion’s Sam Harris (The Shrink is proud,) both 7 feet 3.
></o>- Wasn’t the NCAA tournament more fun when Gonzaga was an underdog? The team that made its name with NCAA upsets got upset itself last year when it was a No. 2 seed and fell to No. 10 seed Nevada. The Zags are a No. 3 seed this time.
></o>- UCLA, which holds the NCAA record for most championships at 11, is back in the Dance after its first two-year absence since the mid-1980s.
></o>- Even though I have North Carolina losing in the Championship game there is some water-cooler talk going around my office about who will be the first to choke, Kansas or UNC. I vote for the Jayhawks.
></o>- And finally, Illinois (32-1) can set a new NCAA record for victories if it wins the national championship.
></o>Have a great Wednesday, Glaken
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