No one can accuse this year's NCAA Selection Committee of lacking a sense for the dramatic. It did give 32-1 Duke what it wanted, awarding the Blue Devils the top seed in the East Region and two games in Charlotte. But the committee also added some intrigue to the bracket, placing the team responsible for Duke's one loss in the same region.
If the Blue Devils are looking to leave the Meadowlands next Sunday with their fifth Final Four bid in five tries, their opponent could be third-seeded Cincinnati, which upset them 77-75 Nov. 28 in the finals of the Great Alaskan Shootout.
Not that a rematch with the Bearcats wasn't what Duke wanted. Back in early February, Chris Carrawell was asked if there were any teams he'd want to face a second time.
The forward thought for a moment then replied, "Cincinnati. I'd like to play them twice."
The Bearcats climbed as high as No. 3 in the polls in January before suffering two controversial losses. Cincinnati's four defeats in its nine contests have been more convincing though. Still, the Bearcats boast a physical, athletic lineup and a feat no other school can claim: a win over the Blue Devils.
All the talk about a potential Duke-Cincinnati rematch must be irritating for the East Region's No. 2 seed. Seven years after joining the Big East for its football team, Miami proved this winter that it belongs in the conference come basketball season, returning to the AP poll after a 39-year hiatus. The Hurricanes posted the best field-goal percentage in the Big East and got 36 points per game between forward Tim James-who last month joined Rick Barry as the only Miami players to have their jerseys retired-and guard Johnny Hemsley.
On the other side of the Boston bracket, the Bearcats will have to beat George Mason and either Temple or Kent to reach a possible date with Miami. The sixth-seeded Owls are still coached by John Chaney, which means they play stifling zone defense. Temple is suspect offensively, however, shooting 41 percent from the floor and 31 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Back in Charlotte, the seedings point to Tennessee emerging as Duke's Sweet 16 opponent. The Vols dethroned Kentucky in the SEC East this season and swept the Wildcats for the first time since 1979.
Tennessee's first-round opponent, Delaware, is coached by a familiar face to Duke fans, former assistant Mike Brey. Brey was on board the last time the Blue Devils reached the Final Four, in 1994.
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