State goes oh-fer as NCAA dance cards set

It's official. The Land of Lincoln has been reclassified as a college basketball wasteland.

For just the second time in 33 years (1999 was the other), none of the Division I schools in Illinois found a place in the NCAA Tournament field.

While schools such as Illinois and Southern Illinois didn't earn their usual spots in the 65-team madness -- and NCAA hopeful Illinois State had to settle for an NIT berth despite being a rock-solid No. 33 in the Ratings Percentage Index rankings -- the sport's perpetual powers claimed the inside tracks to the Final Four in San Antonio.

North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas -- all of which reached the Elite Eight last season -- earned No. 1 seeds in the field revealed Sunday afternoon.

More Coverage Graphics NCAA brackets Links State goes oh-fer as NCAA dance cards set [03/17/08] NCAA bid vanishes as Illini flaws resurface [03/17/08] Illinois State coach won't shed any tears about NCAA tourney snub [03/17/08] Weber's focus turns to getting program on track in '08-09 [03/17/08] Illinois St., SIU make NIT [03/17/08] Power teams Az., Ken., Villanova slip in [03/17/08] By-the-book brackets produce few surprises, controversies [03/17/08] North Carolina locks up No. 1 seed in NCAA tourney [03/17/08] Video Analysis of the Top Four NCAA Seeds NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview

The top-ranked Tar Heels (32-2) benefited from their status as the overall No. 1 team as determined by the 10-person NCAA Tournament committee.

"From a basketball standpoint, North Carolina deserves to be right where they are," said Tom O'Connor, the NCAA committee chairman.

And in order for North Carolina to return to the Final Four for the first time since beating Illinois in the 2005 national title game, Roy Williams' team barely needs to leave Tobacco Road.

They can get to San Antonio by winning two games apiece in Raleigh, N.C., (22 miles away from home) and Charlotte (140 miles).

On the other hand, the Tar Heels likely find themselves in the toughest quadrant.

The East regional features seven teams among the top 22 in the Associated Press poll.

Second-seeded Tennessee, which was No. 1 just three weeks ago, third-seeded Louisville, fourth-seeded Washington State and fifth-seeded Notre Dame are the leading challengers.

That doesn't even take into account 12th-ranked Butler, which was bumped down to a No. 7 seed despite its gaudy 29-3 record and 17 RPI.

Apparently the Horizon League champs paid for a mediocre schedule. The Bulldogs only played one other NCAA Tournament team -- and that was a 7-point home loss to Drake on Feb. 23.

In general, teams from the Midwest did not receive their due when compared to their compatriots from both coasts.

The 16-team Big East tied an NCAA record as half of its teams received bids. Villanova (20-12), which lost nine of its last 16 games, was the recipient of the committee's final at-large invitation.

Meanwhile, the Pac-10 earned lots of nice seeds for their six entrants.

Oregon, thought to be on the bubble for its 18-13 record, earned a No. 9 seed. Arizona, another bubble candidate with a 19-14 mark, picked up a 10th seed despite losing eight of its last 12 games.

"We've been saying all along as a committee, it's who you play, where you play and how you did," O'Connor said. "With Oregon, they had 3 (road) wins against teams in the top 100."

O'Connor also noted the committee liked to see an elite strength of schedule.

When Illinois State (24-9) looks for the hole in its resume that drained its bid for the school's first NCAA berth in 10 years, its comparatively weak schedule will be a good place to start.

CollegeRPI.com listed the Redbirds' strength of schedule at No. 71 nationally. They lost all five of their games against NCAA Tournament teams -- and four others against teams with RPIs over 100.

That explained why 13 schools with worse RPI ratings than Illinois State (the Redbirds were No. 33) received at-large bids. Oregon, for example, checked in at No. 58.

That snub left the Missouri Valley, which finished as the No. 8 conference overall per the RPI, with just one representative.

"In the big picture, only six teams (of the 34 at-large) got in that were outside the BCS," said Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich. "It's an honor to be in that mix.

"Georgia's very unlikely run in the SEC possibly could have been the crowning blow."