The Final Four 2006

There is perhaps no feature of the NCAA Tournament with its ultimate selection of the Final Four that fans savor more than the emergence of a Cinderella team. As in the Disney tale, a Cinderella team is one that appears at the tournament without much documentation , outstanding players or a big name coach. This unheralded team, totally against the odds somehow makes a viable run for the Final Four. Throughout NCAA history there have been lots of would be Cinderellas who knock off a favorite in the first round and in a rush of fan excitement are mentally projected all the way to the Final Four. A few of of these teams even pass through two rounds of competition. But the true Cinderella team needs to come to the tournament as a real nobody, dramatically win a regional championship and then move on glass slippers in hand to the Final Four.

An arbitrary designation of candidates for a Cinderella ride are those who occupy the bottom 32 positions in the 64 team tournament field. This means teams that are worse than half of the competition or those who have a seeding between 9 and 16 are eligible to jump out of the pumpkin at any time and take center stage as the Cinderella team for 2006 . Of course as the tournament progresses and more and more of the lower seeded teams are eliminated the rules change and fans, desperate to have an underdog to cheer for, will accept teams above the 9 mark as long as they are seeded lower than the other teams that remain. This years initial Cinderella pool has some interesting qualifiers and possibly one or two that may make it all the way to the ball at the Final Four.

Coming in as an 11 seed in the South Region Southern Illinois qualifies as a Cinderella prospect. In the opening match up Southern Illinois meets a very competent West Virgina team. Starting 4 seniors and a junior West Virginia is a team with maturity, chemistry and some excellent three point shooting. And West Virginia has experience with success along the road to the final four. Last year this same talented team and their equally talented coach found themselves as invitees to the Elite Eight. Despite their impressive numbers for the season, West Virginia may experience the serious inconvenience of having peaked too soon. Going home early from the Big East Tournament was not exactly the NCAA tournament warm up that West Virgina had hoped for. If West Virginia blinks they will discover that the lads from Southern Illinois have some experience too. In 2002 the S. Illinois team also came into the tournament seeded at 11 and while not making it to the Final Four did appear to every ones surprise and delight in the Sweet Sixteen. This year Southern Illinois will make its 5th straight tournament appearance and will be trying to uphold the standing of the Missouri Valley Conference from whence it comes. In addition to their basketball skills Southern Illinois may have the best team name at the dance. Can you say Salukis? There is a Cinderella here just longing to go to the Final Four.

In the West Region, everyone who loves the classic underdog will be pulling for 16th seeded Belmont to score a big time upset over UCLA. A more likely upset may be administered by Bucknell whose 9 seed puts it in the bottom half of the 64 teams card and qualifies the team as a potential Cinderella. Curiously enough in last season’s tournament the #9 seed won 3 out of 4 games and moved on a slot closer to the Final Four. How will Bucknell fare? This season the Bucknell Bison have piled up a school record 26 wins and topped off this positive season by winning the Patriot League Championship. This year’s appearance against Arkansas out of the Southeastern Conference will bring the Bison back into postseason play for the second year in a row. Perhaps most notable, Bucknell has previous Cinderella experience having put away a tough Kansas team last year and taking a furtive peak at the Final Four down the road. Of course this year getting by Arkansas would most likely put Bucknell up against #1 seeded Memphis. But first things first. Can the 9 seed get by the 8? It happened three out of four times last year. Don’t push Bucknell ahead to the Final Four just yet, but Bucknell bears watching.

In the East, Cinderella may come to the ball disguised as a Pirate – a Seton Hall Pirate that is. Seton Hall comes to the 2006 tournament as the lowest seeded entry from th Big East. The Hall makes its second appearance in the last three years on the road to the Final Four after a season when it posted only an 18-11 record and left early from the Big East Tournament . As Cinderella hopefuls Seton Hall will have to do battle with number 7 seed in the region, Wichita State. State won the regular season title in the Missouri Valley Conference and then lost in the semis of the League Championship. Perhaps the biggest plus the Pirates have going into NCAA tournament play is that they are being skippered by Louis Orr of Syracuse fame. Orr ‘s experience with big game action could give the Pirates that little something extra to help them scoot by Wichita State. And then possibly on to everyone’s fantasy the Final Four.

But maybe Cinderella is lurking in the Midwest. There we find 15 seed Davidson waiting to take on 2 seed Ohio State. Davidson comes to the dance as the winner of the Southern Conference receiving the automatic bid reserved for that conference. They will surely have their hands more than full trying to subdue Ohio State. But history may play a role here. The last time Davidson made an appearance and hoped in vain to reach the Fina Four was in 2002 and their opponent then as now was Ohio State. State won that game by the slim margin of only 5 points. Davidson discovered at that meeting that they could play against a higher seeded team and play them evenly. Ohio State found out how easy it was to have a real scare put into you by a lower seed. Don’t dust off the slippers quite yet but believe that Davidson will come to play and yes they dream of the Final Four with as much intensity as the boys from Ohio.

The odds do not favor a true Cinderella advancing to the Final Four. But the fans will be cheering on every hard playing underdog they can find. And it is still true that on any given day any team can beat any other team. Good luck Cinderella wherever you are.