-North Carolina and UConn have the pressure of failed seasons if they don't come away with the title. These two were, at one time, the easy favorites to cut down the nets in Detroit. Of course both cannot win it so at least one was destined to fail. It will be interesting to see how these two teams handle that pressure.
-Pitt and Memphis have a lot riding on this tournament, too. During the season, Pitt emerged as one of the true power teams that should get to the Final Four. Memphis has a lot riding on any tournament run. John Calapari's insistence that the Tigers should be a No. 1 seed means they must get to the Final Four to prove it.
-Arizona needs to prove they deserve to be in. Zona gets a good team, but a "upper middle class" conference champion in Utah. Many people were surprised to see Arizona in the tournament and while it is unfair to expect them to win a game in the dance (they are just a No. 12 seed), they do need to put up a fight.
-Is the Big East king? Seven Big East teams made the tournament (the ACC and Big Ten matched that number) and three of them are No. 1 seeds. Five of them are a No. 3 seed or better. Conference supremecy is so hard to gauge until this tournament comes around. How the Big East performs in this dance could be the biggest story of them all.
-Speaking of being the king, I am very interested to see how the Big Ten performs. They got a higher percentage of their teams in than any other conference. Still, there isn't one team that is a really favorite to get to the Final Four, let alone a National Championship. Michigan State could, but no one trusts them. Purdue is healthy and getting some love as a buzz team. Add into that that everyone's upset pick is Western Kentucky over Illinois. The flip side is that a lot of people are feeling Michigan over Clemson.
-Who will be our new Stephen Curry? Many times one guy sparks a fire in the tournament and becomes the "did you see that" player. A bracket buster. Curry did that last year as Davidson took down Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin. Wally Szczerbiak, Tyler Coppenwrath and Eric Maynor became first weekend stars with their various play in the tournament. Guys like Danny Manning, David Robinson and Carmelo Anthony take over the tournament for a little longer. There is usually somebody who becomes The Man of the tournament, even if it is for a couple of days.
-Will people show up? I am very interested in how the economy will affect this tournament. I'm not an ad guy so I don't know about how CBS' corporate sponsors. I just want to see the fan support. With some programs traveling to great distances, I want to see how full these arenas are. No offense to Dayton, Minneapolis, Boise and Greensboro but these aren't big time tourist destinations at this time of year. Portland and Miami are lovely, but they can be long, expensive trips.
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