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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Let March Madness begin


North Carolina's Alex Stepheson, left, fights Clemson's James Mays for a loose ball in the ACC championship Sunday. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Eddie Pells Associated Press

The inexact science of putting together the NCAA tournament bracket turned out to be pretty exact this time around.

No big beefs with the top seeds – North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA.

No snubbed bubble teams with shout-it-to-the-mountaintop complaints – even if Arizona State and Virginia Tech do have somewhat compelling arguments.

And no defending champion, either. But not even that was a surprise.

Florida, completely rebuilt after winning two titles in a row, was written off well before Selection Sunday after losing its last four games, including the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

So, let March Madness begin, and call the Tar Heels (32-2) favorites if you must. Led by Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina earned the overall top seed in the tournament and won’t have to leave its home state on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. Carolina’s first two games are scheduled for Raleigh, its next two would be in Charlotte.

Only four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference made it, something of a surprise considering it was the top-ranked conference in the all-important RPI.

But what does the RPI really mean these days?

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg is certainly no fan. His ACC team got snubbed despite being ranked No. 53.

“We need to get rid of the RPI totally from people’s train of thought,” he said. “Because one second, the head of the committee says the RPI is inconsequential, and the next second, he says they can use the RPI to eliminate a team.”

That might have been the case with Arizona State, which was 83 on that list despite quality victories over third-seeded Stanford and Xavier and two over rival Arizona, which made it off the bubble for its 24th straight NCAA appearance.

But Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek refused to let the snub get the best of him.

“By playing the role of the victim, you let a great opportunity slide by to learn from the experience,” Sendek said.

Arizona State’s spot might have been taken by Georgia, which won four games at the SEC tournament – including two in one day after a tornado ripped past the Georgia Dome – to complete an inspiring run into the dance with a 17-16 record.

Georgia, a 14th seed, opens against third-seeded Xavier in the West region.

The final bubble spots went to Villanova, a 12th seed in the Midwest, and St. Joseph’s, an 11th seed in the East that beat Xavier twice.

Baylor got in as an 11th seed in the West, while Kentucky made it as a No. 11 seed in the South.

Kansas State was an 11th-seeded bubble team, and how could the committee resist bringing freshman-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley into the tournament – then pairing him against another sensational freshman, O.J. Mayo of Southern California? They’ll play Thursday in a first-round Midwest region game.

The top-seeded teams offered no surprises or outrage, the way, say, Washington did three years ago when the Huskies were No. 1 in the West.

UCLA has been a top team all season and won the Pac-10 tournament to get the nod in the West. Kansas beat Texas in the Big 12 final Sunday. Memphis is from the less-prestigious Conference USA and lost to Tennessee in the regular season, but the Tigers (33-1) won their conference and the Vols (29-4) helped smooth things out by losing in the SEC semifinals.

With eight teams, the Big East placed the most schools in the tournament. The Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC followed with six each, while the Big Ten had four.