The NCAA tournament from A to Z

The three weeks of the NCAA tournament can be a crazy time of year. It is called March Madness, after all.

Before the chaos starts, we’re here to help you make sense of it all. In a nice, clean, orderly package, here are the ABCs of this season’s NCAA tournament.

“A” is for Arizona
Maybe the selection committee is just used to putting Arizona in the field. Making their 25th consecutive tournament appearance, the Wildcats were a dubious selection with an RPI of 63rd, the lowest for any at-large team. Arizona’s only two true road wins came against Oregon and Oregon State, which won a combined 21 games. Arizona is two tournament appearances away from matching North Carolina’s record of 27 consecutive bids in a row from 1975-2001.

“B” is for Bob (Knight) and Billy (Packer)
Just the people you’d like to see if you’re down on your luck at a sports book. This cantankerous duo will host a series of TV programs for Fox Sports Net from the race and sports book at the Wynn Las Vegas casino. Knight has won more games than anyone in Division I men’s basketball. Packer spent 27 years as CBS’ lead college basketball analyst before his contract was not renewed after last season. The NCAA will cringe as it watches two of its icons talk about the tournament from a gambling establishment – never mind that the popularity of the tournament is due in part to the ubiquitous office pool.

“C” is for CBS
Speaking of TV, basketball fans will be glued for the next three weekends to the network that is the exclusive rights-holder to the NCAA tournament. The network again will stream the broadcasts for free on March Madness On Demand on the NCAA’s Web site. Replacing Packer alongside Jim Nantz behind the microphone will be Clark Kellogg.

“D” is for Droughts
Morehead State ended the longest tournament drought in the field for teams that had been at least once. The Eagles last went to the tournament in 1984, when they lost to Louisville 72-59 in the first round. If Morehead State beats Alabama State in the play-in game, the Eagles will face Louisville again. Other decade-long droughts ending this season are Akron and Cleveland State (both danced last in 1986), Robert Morris (1992) and Michigan and Radford (1998).

“E” is for Eric Bell
Syracuse was the darling of the conference tournaments with its six-overtime epic against Connecticut in the Big East quarterfinals and another OT win over West Virginia in the semis. But can they handle 5-foot-3 Eric Bell? Stephen F. Austin’s starting point guard is a robust 5-3. He averages only 3.6 points per game, but he’s quick and a defensive pest.

“F” is for Free Throws
Poor free-throw shooting doomed Memphis’ bid for the championship last season. Whose tournament hopes will live and die at the free-throw line this season? We’ll get you started: The best free-throw shooting team in the field is Utah at 78.2 percent. Among the notable teams that struggle from the line: Louisville (64.3 percent) and Syracuse (63.9 percent), though the Orange couldn’t miss in overtime against Connecticut.

“G” is for Griffin
Enjoy watching Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin while you can. The next three weeks likely will be his last ones in college. For those who only watch college basketball in March, take a good look at the likely No. 1 pick the NBA draft. He does need to atone for a miserable tournament a year ago, when he scored only 12 points in the first-round against St. Joseph’s before fouling out with eight points and seven rebounds in a 30-point loss to Louisville in the second round. Look for Griffin to flash his 20-20 potential in this tourney.

“H” is for Hansbrough
North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough has accomplished just about everything in college – except for winning a national championship. Each season, “Psycho T” has gotten a little closer to a title, reaching the second round as a freshman, the regional final as a sophomore and the Final Four as a junior. Standing in Hansbrough’s path could be Blake Griffin. If both teams advance, the two could meet in what would be a highly hyped matchup in the South Regional final.

“I” is for Ivy League
The Ivy League has not won a tournament game since 1998. In that tournament, fifth-seeded Princeton beat 12th-seeded UNLV before losing to Michigan State in the second round. Only the Ohio Valley (1989) and SWAC (1993) have longer winless streaks in the NCAA tournament, including play-in games. No. 14 seed Cornell is the first Ivy League team other than Princeton or Penn to reach consecutive tournaments since Dartmouth did it in 1958 and ’59.

“J” is for Jayhawks
Remember when Bill Self was criticized for early exits in the NCAA tournament? He won a national championship ring last season, then won the Big 12 regular-season title with five new starters this season. The Jayhawks have been No. 1 seeds the last two seasons, winning the national title last year and reaching the regional final in 2007. It’s playing as a third or fourth seed that has given Kansas trouble, losing as a third seed to 14th-seeded Bucknell in 2005 and as a fourth seed to No. 13 Bradley in ’06. This season, Kansas opens as a No. 3 seed against senior-laden North Dakota State.

“K” is for Kickingstallionsims
The best name in the field belongs to Alabama State center Chief Kickingstallionsims, a transfer from Stetson who grew up in south Florida. As if being 7-1 isn’t enough to make him stand out in a crowd, his full name is Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims Jr. His father is Navajo, and his mother is part Norwegian and English.

“L” is for last team in
The bubble shrank and shrank over the course of the last week, thanks to Cleveland State, Temple, USC and Mississippi State stealing bids by winning their conference tournaments. Those upsets in the conference tournaments likely cost Saint Mary’s, Creighton, San Diego State and Penn State NCAA bids. Arizona was the last team in, but it looks as Wisconsin wasn’t far behind. Like Arizona, the Badgers also were seeded 12th.

“M” is for Motor City
The Final Four will be in Detroit for the first time. Detroit/Auburn Hills/Pontiac has seen its share of national champions come through, though. Kansas won its regional in the Motor City on the way to its titles in 2008 and 1988. National champions Michigan State (2000) and Duke (1991) also punched their tickets to the Final Four in regional finals in the Detroit area.

“N” is for No. 1 seeds
No conference had claimed three No. 1 seeds until Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh did it for the Big East this season. (Before this season, the Big East had had two No. 1 seeds this decade.) That’s the second time in the past two seasons No. 1 seeds have made history. Last season, all four top seeds advanced to the Final Four for the first time in tournament history. But before you pencil in the Cardinals, Huskies, Panthers and North Carolina into the Final Four on your brackets, don’t forget we’re only three years removed from no No. 1 seed advancing past the regional finals. No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 LSU and No. 11 George Mason reached the Final Four in 2006.

“O” is for Ohio
The Buckeye State received five bids, more than any other state; that’s tied for seventh-most all-time from one state. The quintet: Akron, Cleveland State, Dayton, Ohio State and Xavier. California, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee had four bids each. Kentucky, North Carolina and Utah each have three. In all, 32 states and the District of Columbia are represented. North Dakota is represented for the first time.

“P” is for Portland
Tampa became Upset City, USA, last year with two No. 13 seeds and two No. 12 seeds winning their first-round games on one day. The best candidate for Upset City in this field is Portland, Ore. The city will host No. 5 Illinois against No. 12 Western Kentucky (who won two games in Tampa to reach the Sweet 16 in 2008), No. 4 Gonzaga against No. 13 Akron, No. 5 Purdue against No. 12 Northern Iowa and No. 4 Washington against No. 13 Mississippi State.

“Q” is for Quincy Pondexter
Pondexter, a junior, is only Washington’s fourth-leading scorer, but his defense and toughness helped the Huskies get back into the tournament for the first time since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2006. Other “Welcome Back” candidates – teams with good basketball tradition, but recent absences from the field – include Wake Forest (2001), Missouri (2003), Utah and Oklahoma State (2005), LSU (2006), and Illinois, Ohio State and Maryland (2007).

“R” is for rookies
Four teams are making their first NCAA appearances: Morgan State, Binghamton, North Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin. Morgan State, who plays second-seeded Oklahoma, is the only one that won’t face a team that won a national title this decade.

“S” is for sophomores
This season was a down year for freshmen, especially when you consider the impact first-year players such as Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo had in the past couple of seasons. But it was a huge season for sophomores, starting with Oklahoma’s Griffin, Arizona State’s James Harden, Duke’s Kyle Singler, Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn, Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas and Kansas’ Cole Aldrich.

“T” is for Towey
CBS executive Doug Towey originally paired the song “One Shining Moment” with tournament highlights in 1987, and the montage has been a tournament staple ever since. Towey, 61, died March 11 after a battle with cancer.

“U” is for UCLA
The Bruins are seeking to become the first team to make four consecutive Final Fours since Duke went to five in a row from 1988-92. The Bruins start the tournament as a No. 6 seed, their lowest seeded since 2005. If the Bruins beat Virginia Commonwealth in the first round in Philadelphia, they likely would face Villanova in its home city in the second round.

“V” is for veterans
Senior leadership is a key to winning in the tournament. American and Chattanooga are the only teams in the field that start five seniors. There are a few veteran teams who have a shot of advancing. None of the following start a freshman or sophomore: North Carolina, Connecticut, Missouri, Marquette, California and Texas A&M.

“W” is for winning streaks
Only 30 teams are starting the NCAA tournament on a winning streak. Memphis is storming into the tournament on a 25-game run, followed by American (13), Binghamton (10) and Louisville (10).

“X is for x-factor
You can find 65 of them, one for each team, starting here.

“Y” is for yuletide, as in Dionte Christmas
The puns won’t stop for Christmas, Temple’s star guard, but he’s the gift that keeps on giving. Christmas has averaged 19.6 points in three seasons as a starter and scorched Tennessee for 35 points earlier this season. He and Arizona State guard James Harden should provide one of the more interesting individual matchups of the first round.

“Z” is for Zips.
Thanks, Akron, for ending your 23-year tournament drought. Otherwise, this spot would have gone to Missouri’s Zaire Taylor, Duke’s Brian Zoubek or North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller – or maybe yet another nod to the Zags of Gonzaga.