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March Madness (2009)


The 2009 Men's NCAA Division I basketball championship, commonly referred to as “March Madness,” runs from March 19th – April 6th. The opening round of play known as "play-in" will take place in Dayton, OH, where the game has traditionally been held since 2001. This year's play-in faced Morehead against Alabama State. The winner of the play-in game is added to the other 63 teams that had already gained entry to the tournament. Teams play in cities of their respective bracket regions until the "Sweet 16" round. Sweet 16 games will take place in Indianapolis (Midwest), Boston (East), Glendale (West) and Memphis (South). The final four and subsequent championship will be held in Detroit, MI at Ford Field This years tournament is being sponsored by CBS Sports and being offered on demand for free.

Favorites
This years preseason favorites to win are University of North Carolina and University of Connecticut – both #1 ranked teams. Fellow #1 ranked teams, Louisville and Pittsburgh are also obvious contenders for the title. Louisville and North Carolina had the strongest seasons in Division I basketball clinching the top two seats. Led by Tyler Hansborough, who broke both UNC's and the NCAA's tournament all-time points record this year, UNC finished their season with a 29-4 record. However, Louisville, with a 28-5 record, are the tournaments overall #1 seed. Many expect a showdown between the Cardinals and the Tarheels in championship final. Another team to watch is #3 ranked Memphis who lost in last years final to Kansas. Though Kansas has traditionally been a powerhouse with thirteen final four appearances, the team lost a majority of their team. The young Kansas team was defeated in the first round of its conference tournament. Pittsburg and Connecticut also lost their first round games. Teams that suffered round loses in conference play have traditionally not fared well in the "Big Dance."

Statistics

 * - no team has ever won the NCAA championship after losing the first round game of their division championship
 * - the ACC has had only one team advance to the Sweet 16 in the past two years (UNC)
 * - in the past 12 years at least one team seated 7th or higher has advanced to the Elite Eight
 * - no team seeded 16th has ever defeated a #1 seeded team within the first three rounds
 * - there has historically been at least one upset per tournament involving 10, 11, & 12 seeded teams, in some cases two to three upsets
 * - in 9-8 seeded match-ups, 9th seeds have had a history of upsetting teams seeded 8th more than half of the time

Upset Predictions
Statistically, upsets usually occur when a 12th seated team plays a 5th seated team - "No. 12s beat No. 5s 33% of the time." This leaves upset match-ups between :
 * Florida St (5) vs. Wisconsin (12)
 * Utah (5) vs. Arizona (12)
 * Illinois (5) vs. Western Kentucky (12)
 * Purdue (5) vs. Northern Iowa

10-9 match-ups have also frequently produced upsets. Look for:
 * Siena (9) vs. USC (10)
 * Texas A&M (9) vs. Maryland (10)
 * Tennessee (9) vs. Minnesota (10)
 * Butler (9) vs. Michigan (10)

Presidential Bracket
President Barack Obama made his predictions Wednesday, filing out a bracket (or “Barack-et”) on ESPN during a White House interview with ESPN's Andy Katz. The President chose UNC, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Memphis to advance to the Final Four with Louisville and UNC advancing to the final. He chose UNC to win the entire tournament. “Now, for all the Tar Heels who are watching, I picked you last year – you let me down,” Obama said. “This year, don't embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I'm counting on you. I still got those sneakers you guys gave me.”

His pick prediction of a UNC victory and Duke not advancing to the Final Four sparked the following comment by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: "Somebody said that we're not in President Obama's Final Four, and as much as I respect what he's doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets"

The President responded to Krzyzewski's comments in an interview with talk radio show host Ed Schultz saying, "Coach K, I think, is a great coach, and you know Reggie Love, my assistant, played for Coack K, and so, you know, it's not surprising--I didn't take them to go to the finals. Look, you know, he's a competitive guy. I just don't think they've got the inside game to go all the way, but I look forward to him proving me wrong." So far the President has been eleven for sixteen in this predictions which places him in the "27th percentile among all players ," according to CBS Chicago.