Winners, Losers in NCAA Brackets

The brackets are official -- 64 (OK, 65) teams are lined up for a shot at winning the 2006 NCAA men's basketball championship. At one end of the spectrum there are the Duke's, Connecticut's and Villanova's -- teams with legit hopes of winning it all on April 4. Then there are the guys in the middle, such as the BC's and UCLA's of the country -- good clubs that may not have enough for a Final Four run. Then there are the group of teams just happy to be in the tourney. They can be classified as "No Chance University." Now that we know who is in and who is out, let's see who the winners and losers were on Selection Sunday. WINNER: Tennessee. The Volunteers came a long way in their first year under Bruce Pearl but at 21-7 and ranked No. 15 in the country, does Tennessee really deserve a No. 2 seed (in the Washington D.C. bracket)? Probably not but Pearl will not be turning this chance up -- if his team can make it past No. 15 seed Winthrop they should have a good shot at beating the Wichita State/Seton Hall winner for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. LOSER: Boston College. BC has a case to swap places with Tennessee. The Eagles, ranked No. 11 in the nation and coming off of a trip to the ACC Tournament Final (losing to Duke), may have reason to believe they played their way into a No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Instead they are a No. 4 seed in the Minneapolis bracket. Regardless of seed, BC may be lined up to make the first Final Four in school history. WINNER: Air Force. Even at 24-6, Air Force is awfully fortunate to have beaten out the likes of Florida State, Cincinnati and Hofstra for a place in the Tournament. They have no victories that stand out in 2005-'06 and were bounced from their own conference tournament by sub-.500 Wyoming. It might be safe to say that Air Force will see their last game of the year against Illinois but at least they are in the Dance. WINNER: Illinois. The Illini, runner-up in the 2005 Tournament, should have an easy road to at least Round Two. They get Air Force and that should mean a win for Bruce Weber and Illinois. A second round match-up with the Washington/Utah State winner could mean a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. LOSER: Gonzaga. The Zags are 27-3, have the best player in the country in Adam Morrison and haven't lost in what seems like months and they still only drew a No. 3 seed. They have a bigger argument for Tennessee's No. 2 seed than either Boston College or North Carolina. The Madness starts on Thursday ... get ready.