Anyone For A Game Of 64-Team Pickup?

Binoculars in hand, Kentucky coach Rick Pitino says he has peered into the NCAA Tournament future and determined that the Wildcats can win it all this season.

Now the bad news: So can Massachusetts, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA and anybody else with an invitation to March Madness. Blame the P-word - parity.

“As I look around the country I can honestly say there is not a dominant team in college basketball,’ Pitino says. “I think if anybody makes a certain (NCAA Tournament) pick, they’re guessing according to the way they think the brackets are going to be. And no matter how much you know about this game, you can’t possibly look at the Top 25 right now and pick a Final Four.”

Pick a Final Four? We’re not sure we can pick a Final 64, which is what the Men’s Basketball Committee has to do when it convenes in Kansas City in less than four weeks.

The selection committee must choose 35 at-large teams to go along with the 29 automatic conference qualifiers. So just in case, we offer a complimentary selection cheat sheet for Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick, first-year chairman of the committee.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Who’s In: North Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia, Georgia Tech.

NBA scouts are saying Tar Heels sophomore center Rasheed Wallace is turning pro and teammate Jerry Stackhouse might join him. Until then, Carolina deserves serious consideration as a No. 1 seed.

Who’s Waiting: Florida State.

The Seminoles are slipping off the bubble.

Who’s Doomed: Duke, North Carolina State, Clemson.

Stick these teams in the Patriot, Big Sky and Metro Atlantic conferences and they would win automatic bids. In the ACC, zilch.

Big East

Who’s In: Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown.

The Huskies and Orangemen probably made their tournament reservations during the summer, but Villanova and Georgetown weren’t so sure. Now they are. How much difference has Hoyas freshman point guard Allen Iverson made? Enough that he has been voted Big East rookie of the week five times. The record, held by Syracuse’s Lawrence Moten, is six.

Who’s Waiting: Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s.

Who’s Doomed: Miami, Boston College, Pittsburgh.

Injuries, injuries, injuries.

Big Eight

Who’s In: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Iowa State.

We expected Kansas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. But Missouri? Tigers fans should send thank-you notes to guards Paul O’Liney and Jason Sutherland. Save a stamp for coach Norm Stewart, too.

Who’s Waiting: Oklahoma, Nebraska.

Who’s Doomed: Colorado, Kansas State.

Big Ten

Who’s In: Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota.

If anybody deserves a proper going-away present, it is Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote. As for Purdue, we figured the Boilermakers would earn an invitation, but we didn’t expect them to make a run at the conference title. Minnesota still has a little work to do but should receive an at-large bid.

Who’s Waiting: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa.

This is a down year for the Big Ten, so don’t expect more than five of the conference’s teams to make the tournament. If the committee sticks with five, expect Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois to battle for the two openings. Our guess: Indiana and Michigan.

Who’s Doomed: Ohio State, Northwestern.

Southeastern Conference

Who’s In: Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi State

Pitino is one of the best at preparing his team for the tournament. Mississippi State plays a crummy non-conference schedule, but still has enough quality victories to receive a bid.

Who’s Waiting: Auburn, Georgia, Florida.

If the Tigers can reach the conference tournament with 16 victories (and it’s possible with their schedule) and then pull off an upset or two, they could sneak in. Georgia, which recorded a big victory against Alabama last weekend, is in a similar situation, as is Florida.

Who’s Doomed: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana State.

LSU was downgraded to doomed status after redshirt freshman guard Randy Livingston broke his right kneecap last week.

Pacific 10

Who’s In: Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State, Stanford.

The Wildcats’ motto: “In Damon Stoudamire, we trust.” Except for the recent blip against California, the Bruins have silenced most of their critics. Arizona State entered the week with a 6-1 record against ranked opponents. The committee notices those sorts of things. Stanford has big victories against Virginia, Arizona State and Wisconsin.

Who’s Waiting: Cal, Oregon, Washington State.

One of these three should make it. Probably Oregon or Washington State.

Who’s Doomed: Oregon State, Washington, Southern California.

Southwest Conference

Who’s In: Nobody.

Who’s Waiting: Texas Christian, Texas, Texas Tech.

TCU coach Billy Tubbs says he thinks two SWC teams will be in the NCAA Tournament field. We’re not so sure. If Tubbs is right, TCU and Texas would be the likely choices.

Who’s Doomed: SMU, Baylor, Houston, Texas A&M, Rice.

Great Midwest

Who’s In: Cincinnati, Memphis, Saint Louis.

Unpredictable Memphis is good enough to beat Cincinnati and bad enough to lose to AlabamaBirmingham. Still, the Tigers are an NCAA lock.

Who’s Waiting: DePaul, Marquette.

Doomed: Alabama-Birmingham, Dayton.

Atlantic-10

Who’s In: Massachusetts.

Center Marcus Camby is out for several weeks because of a strained left hamstring suffered in last week’s game against St. Joseph’s. It showed in last Saturday’s upset loss to George Washington.

Who’s Waiting: George Washington, St. Joseph’s, Temple.

Who’s Doomed: St. Bonaventure, Rutgers, Rhode Island, Duquesne, West Virginia.

Western Athletic Conference

Who’s In: Brigham Young, Utah.

Who’s Waiting: Texas-El Paso, Wyoming, Colorado State, Hawaii.

All long shots, with the possible exception of UTEP.

Who’s Doomed: Fresno State, San Diego State, Air Force, New Mexico.

Independents

Who’s In: Nobody.

Who’s Waiting: Nobody.

Who’s Doomed: Notre Dame, Oral Roberts.