In honor of the expanded NCAA tournament field, here is one thought for each of the 37 at-large spots in 2011 (respectfully deferring to Pat "Forde" Minutes):
1. With Kyrie Irving, Duke remains a prohibitive favorite to defend its national title. Without him, I think Kansas and Ohio State are just as good.
2. The Jayhawks may be even better than the Blue Devils once whole and fully integrated.
3. Our preseason bracket gave No. 1 seeds to Duke, Michigan State, Kansas (not Kansas State) and Pitt, with Ohio State leading the pack of No. 2 seeds. Not bad.
4. Those choices look even better after Pitt's dismantling of UConn in Monday night's Big East opener.
5. The Big East will break its record of eight teams in an NCAA tournament. Pitt, Syracuse, Georgetown and UConn are locks. Notre Dame, Villanova, West Virginia and Louisville should be in about a month. And at least one team among Cincinnati, Marquette, St. John's and Providence should grab one of the three new at-large berths.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
College Basketball Experts
Fran Fraschilla is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at New Mexico, St. John's and Manhattan.
Joe Lunardi is the resident bracketologist for ESPN.
Seth Greenberg is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at Virginia Tech, South Florida and Long Beach State.
