You can view it here. And though I haven’t looked into next year’s rosters, and really have no clue who’s going to be good and who isn’t, I find it odd that they put UNC as the No. 3 team under the assumption that Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson return. If that’s the case, Danny Green and Tyler Hansboro will be the only players gone, Marcus Ginyard will be back, and Ed Davis will take over for Tyler Hansboro, and he showed in this tournament that he can definitely handle the load.

Anyway, enjoy the preseason, way too early top 25. It is what I thought it was.

[Rivals]

If you went through the bracket when they were first given, and you said, “You know what, I think I’m going to have the top 16 teams in the Sweet 16,” then you’re probably doing pretty well right now, given that Arizona and Wisconsin (both 12 seeds) are the only two “surprise” teams in there, if you can call them that.

The best game waiting in the flats? Mizzou and Memphis sure looks tasty, and I think watching guards play guards in Duke and Villanova will be fun. My original Final Four was Villanova, Mizzou, Louisville and UNC. If I had to go back and change it, I’d swap Mizzou out and insert Uconn, who’s been beating teams like they’re a high school Texas all girls team (it’s a hundred point reference, people).

The rest should be entertaining. The tournament resumes this Thursday.

…. everyone called in sick to work, even a mouse (yeah, couldn’t think of anything better than rhymed with house).

Tomorrow marks the madness, and it begins at 12:20, sharp, with Butler and LSU, then five minutes later kicks off the beating that will be Memphis and CS Northridge, and then five minutes after that we’ve got BYU and Texas A&M.

At 2:30 Purdue and Northern Iowa tip off, which should prove to be a very good game; UCLA and Virginia Commonwealth, thought to be another good one in the hopper, isn’t until after 9:00 p.m., same with Illinois and Western Kentucky, which might very well finish with an upset (if you can call W. Kentucky winning an upset).

All in all, it’ll be a good day. Call in sick to work, sit back, drink some beers (the doctor’s told me it’s a good way to cure the flu), and enjoy the first couple days of March Madness, which are surely two of the best days of sports. My Final Four: Missouri, Villanova, Louisville, UNC, with UNC beating Louisville in the title game. Enjoy the madness, everybody.

Syracuse hasn’t been Syracuse since the days of ‘Melo, but that still doesn’t give reason to lose to Cleveland State at home. Even if it does take a beyond-halfcourt-heave.

Conference Tournaments have been kicked off, and some bubble teams are doing their best to punch their way into the tournament, while others have done their best to punch their way out. Here’s what’s going on.

-Villanova: They lost bad to Georgetown, but still have 20 wins, and if you gave them a win in that very controversial game against Georgetown a few weeks back, they’d have 21. They’re on the outside looking in, but depending on how the rest of the tournaments finish up, they may make it.

-Syracuse: Say hello to the NIT for the second consecutive year.

-West Virginia: They were a bubble team, per se, but they were probably more in than out. After beating UCONN today, you can probably stamp them in, barring a miraculous screw up by the selection committee.

Games to watch:

-Pitt vs. Louisville: If Pitt can win this game, they’re in. If Louisville can win the Big East, they’re a two seed. Both have something at stake.

Georgetown 58, Syracuse 72: Is Georgetown a fraud? Is Syracuse better than we all thought they were? Whatever the case, Syracuse probably went ahead and clinched themselves an invitation to The Dance. It was their second big win in four days, and they’ve gone from a team who was on the outside looking in, to a team that really controls their own destiny. Barring a total collapse, Syracuse is in.

Kansas 67, Oklahoma 65: They blew a 17 point lead, but something tells me this is just the kind of game the Jayhawks needed. They’ve been killing their opponents, so having a scare at the end of the regular season is probably a good thing. Julian Wright and Mario Chalmers both scored 18 points, helping the Jayhawks win their eighth straight. Not many people have talked about them, but I think they at least deserve some consideration for a one seed.