Since it's been at least 48 hours since I've written about sports, so here's my thinking about New England teams in the NCAA men's tournament.

Boston University I still think they're in real trouble, though there is some school of thought out there that this will be the trickiest of the top seed games. Cincy isn't getting a lot of respect, based on a percieved lack of depth and the sort of quiet way they've gotten to top seed status. That they've not been in the spotlight all season makes me worry more, as you don't expect them to do as well as they may. Cincy plays some major league defense, which will be the crucial issue for BU keeping it close. I should feel the love more for the alma mater, but perhaps I've been too close to the vagaries of Terrier hoops to keep hope alive. I just hope they don't get whipped like they did in '97 against Tulsa.

That other school that uses Boston in their name even though they're in Newton They may beat Texas, or not. I don't think many folks outside of either school is going to notice. This is the sort of pairing and seeding that, two years from now, will leave alums wondering if the school even made the tournament in 2002. It's like an opening round NHL playoff matchup between the Carolina Hurricans and the Washington Capitals.

Holy Cross A co-worker (and, oddly enough, not the one that actually went to the Cross) reminded me that they only lost to Kentucky last year by four points. Which leaves the door open that the Crusaders, in their second straight tourney, will have the fortitude to take on the Jayhawks. Nice idea, but I think this year's Kansas team would probably beat last year's Kentucky team by 15 or so. I'm a nominal Kansas fan (more of a Big 12 fan, but I tend to think more highly of Kansas hoops than Oklahoma or Oklahoma State), so I'm ambivalent about an upset here.

Central Connecticut State The forgotten New England team (and really the forgotten Nutmeg State team, too), they face Pitt in the first round. Pitt may have limited help from their top player, who got hurt in the Big East title game. Even so, given that the game is in Pittsburg, I'm not sure this is going to be much of a game. Central Conn. has the nation's longest winning streak, but it's against teams like Robert Morris and Farleigh Dickinson. They had three games against what one would consider upper level division 1 teams - Oklahoma, UMass, and Providence- and lost them all. The closest was a 15 point loss to UMass, a team that's not even NIT-worthy.

UConn I was impressed by them in the Big East tournament. I figure Sweet 16 at least, maybe the Elite 8.

Overall, I'm not sure how much I like having these regional sites that try to have local appeal to bring in more fans. Mostly because they're located in the places where the higher seeds are located. Pitt, Cincy, and Penn all getting to play in Pittsburg? That's the most egregious one, but it seems like there's a clear favorite for each site (Maryland playing in DC, Duke playing in North Carolina, etc).

Wouldn't it be more fun to have this sort of thing closer to lower seeds? How about a regional at the Centrum for the Holy Cross and BU fans? Or sending Duke and NC State on the road and letting UNC-Wilmington and Davidson feel the hometown adoration? Hawaii should get to host the opening round or two just for being Hawaii.

In other news, I would be happy for Siena if, back in the day, they didn't bail on the North Atlantic Conference (now America East, BU's home). I should more accurately blame Delaware, Drexel, and Hofstra for leaving recently and hurting the conference ranking, but at least they had a geographical reason for leaving. Siena is in the MAAC, which is a little more regionally sensical (no trips to Vermont and Maine), but isn't as big a deal. Part of me hopes they lose by 80. As for the trio that left last year, they all went to the Colonial Athletic Association, and none of them went over .500. Ha!