Indiana has a pretty good college basketball tradition. You got Hoosiers. You got Bob Knight. This year, you had Eric Gordon and a team that was really, really good when they had their sneaky, cheating coach. Without that coach, Indiana is now looking for a new man to run their team: And Isiah Thomas insists they haven’t contacted him.

“No, I have a job,” Thomas said before the Knicks played the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

“Of all the former players, he’d definitely have the support of mine and others. I hope he’s someone they do name as the coach of Indiana.”

It’s hard for me to imagine Indiana reaching out to Isiah Thomas. For those that haven’t noticed, he’s kind of wrecked the Knicks, has been involved in lawsuits, and is the laughingstock of the NBA. And watching to see if Isiah’s recruiting is as bad as his management, well, it’d be fun for everyone, unless, of course, you’re a Hoosier.

When you’re making jokes, you may want to make certain your audience isn’t Bobby Knight, because, well, he isn’t very good at taking jokes. Bobby couldn’t look more unentertained by the idea, and he was doing everything in his power not to cuss the dumb loudmouth.

As everyone suspected the moment UNC beat Clemson, the Tar Heels took over the No. 1 overall seed for this year’s tourney. The other three No. 1 seeds were Memphis, Kansas, and UCLA. To see the entire bracket, go here.

Thoughts on each bracket:

-East

• Carolina’s No. 1, which was the obvious pick. That said, does UT, who was thought to possibly be a No. 1 seed earlier in the day, really deserve to be thrown in the same bracket as UNC and Louisville? It makes for a tough region, and if the Sweet 16 pans out as anticipated, Louisville vs. UT could be a game that reaches 200 combined points.
• It may be a long shot, but don’t be surprised if Winthrop sneaks past Washington State.
• Indiana and Arkansas may be one of the best first round games, and Indiana/UNC could quite possibly be the best second round game.

-Midwest

• After beating Texas, Kansas seemed like the obvious pick. Even as a UT fan, I won’t argue that.
• Siena will upset Vanderbilt.
• Georgetown will make the Final Four.
• It’s crazy, but I think Kansas could lose to Kent State in the second round, doing what Kansas does best, exiting the tournament early.

-South

• Memphis won’t make the Final Four again. While everyone is bent on them playing the best out of conference schedule, their in conference schedule was terrible; and beyond that, their two best out of conference opponents, Tennessee and Georgetown, were both home games, and they only came away with a W in one of them.
• Michigan State will make a nice run, but Texas will win a close one in the Elite 8 to represent the region.
• People love the run Kentucky’s made to close the season, but I don’t see them getting past Marquette in Round 1.

-West

• To me, this is the easiest region. UCLA should be able to run through it. Duke is overrated, Xavier’s an untested, weak No. 3, and Uconn isn’t quick enough to hang with the Bruins.
• Don’t be surprised if West Virginia pulls one out against Duke in Round 2. The Blue Devils are fundamentally sound, but they’re not super athletic.

Here’s ESPN’s Top 10 Bob Knight soundbites. This was done a while ago, so we don’t get the pleasure of seeing his most recent interview with Jeremy Schapp in there, but there are some gems worth listening to. I’m a big fan of No. 10 and No. 8, and feel they didn’t quite get the credit they derserved in these rankings.

Maybe They Needed a Pep-Talk From Saban: Losing to Auburn in football has become annualy accepted, but losing in basketball isn’t supposed to happen. The Tigers put it all over their state rival, beating the Crimson Tide, 81-57. They ended a 7 game losing streak to the Tide, and have now beaten two top 25 teams in a row, after going 0-for-their-last-15 against their previous top 25 opponents.

Finally, A Win: Nice to see Illinois win a game. Every time I watch this team, it’s an ESPN weeknight game, and it’s the same result: They lose. Illinois got their first win against a top 25 opponent last night, beating the Hoosiers, 51-43. I know it’s college basketball, and every year is completely different, but it’s hard to imagine that this team was in the finals two years ago.

Luck of the Irish? Nah: Notre Dame dropped one to St. John’s, probably dropping them out of the top 25. Larry Wright hit a three-pointer with time winding down, and the Johnny’s beat Notre Dame for their second big win in a row. If Notre Dame wants to continue to win basketball games, it shouldn’t resemble the football team’s secondary, giving up 49 points in the first half.