Who is next bracket buster?

By Associated Press     Mar 13, 2007

? Butler did it.

So did Santa Clara, Vermont, Bucknell and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. George Mason redefined the art of the NCAA Tournament upset last season with its improbable Final Four run.

For those schools lacking exposure, the NCAA Tournament is a chance to show a national audience they can break up tournament brackets from coast to coast.

One win creates a lifetime memory. Two wins makes them a national darling. Four wins puts them in the rarest of classes, mentioned with the likes of North Carolina, Duke, UCLA or Kansas – for one year anyway.

To those who live and breathe mid-major basketball, it takes more than luck.

“I call it the four Cs,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said Monday. “First, you have to have great cohesiveness and chemistry. Then you have to have a team that’s totally committed to making the sacrifices necessary to win.”

“Third,” he continued, “you have to be able to communicate on the floor because if you don’t, with the crowds, it’s easy to get off on a different page. And, most important, is confidence. You have to believe in yourself and your teammates.”

What the George Masons of college basketball have demonstrated recently is they will be more than a speed bump to the second round for those so-called power schools.

Remember Vermont and Bucknell? Or perhaps Hampton and Wisconsin-Milwaukee? Fans at Syracuse, Kansas, Iowa State and Alabama may never forget them.

This year’s burning question: Who’s next?

Start with experienced teams, winnow the field by finding those that have had success or near success on big stages, look for teams with balanced scoring. Then find teams that have solid guards and backcourt depth.

Larranaga believes guard play and balanced scoring are critical to short-term success in the tournament. To continue takes solid post players, too.

Teams with postseason experience and dominated by juniors and seniors tend to play better.

This year’s field offers a handful of possibilities that fit the model.

¢ This is the sixth straight NCAA bid for fourth-seeded Southern Illinois, which reached the regional semifinals in 2002. The Salukis lost to West Virginia in the first round last year but have one of the nation’s top defenses and good guards.

¢ Butler earned its highest seed ever, a No. 5 in the Midwest Regional. The Bulldogs, a regional semifinalist in 2003, are one of those experienced, guard-dominated teams that has already proved it can win in tourney play.

¢ Nevada, the No. 7 seed in the South, has one of the nation’s top inside players in forward Nick Fazekas and is making its fourth straight NCAA trip.

¢ Creighton, which faces Nevada on Friday, also could be dangerous. The Bluejays finished strong, beating Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game.

¢ Winthrop, the Big South champion, moved up to No. 24 in last week’s Top 25 and could follow the lead of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

¢ And Larranaga thinks Old Dominion, which plays Butler on Thursday, looks a lot like his 2006 George Mason squad, including a loss in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

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