Tip-off 2011

Gonzaga rules. UCLA sputters. And Rick Pitino repents.

Now that's madness

ast April the NCAA signed a $10.8 billion deal with CBS and Turner Broadcasting that allows the two networks to beam March Madness into our homes until 2024. How can the NCAA fetch such a hefty price? In a word (or, more aptly, month)—March. Whether by design or dumb luck,

every spring it hosts an epic single-elimination tournament capable of entrancing millions and devastating workplace productivity. Yet for all the surprises each college basketball sea­son brings (see Butler's unexpected tournament run in 2010), much will remain the same: Duke will be good,

the Big Ten will be slow, and Dick Vitale will overheat. Soon the madness will begin anew—with 347 teams fighting for 68 spots in a bracket that requires three weeks to produce a single cham­pion. To property prepare you for the delirium, here are the 11 most compel­ling questions for the 2011 season.

PLAYBOY'S TOP 25

PURDUE

• • •

©Duke

O Michigan State

©Pittsburgh

©Florida

© Washington

©Villanova

O North Carolina © Ohio State

©Kansas © Georgetown ©Temple

©Kansas State

© San Diego State

©Memphis

©Kentucky

©Syracuse

©Butler

©Baylor

©Illinois

©Wisconsin

©Missouri

©Xavier

©BYU

11. ARE FRESHMAN PHENOMS CURSED? Every year we celebrate the arrival of the amazing one-and-done freshman who gives our flatscreens a badly needed respite from Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. This year's candidates? North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, Duke's Kyrie Irving and Syracuse's Fab Melo. But though they may be great individual players, there is no guarantee they will lead their teams to greatness. In fact, since the NBA barred high schoolers four years ago from bypassing college for the draft, no team with a one-and-done fresh­man has won the national championship.

10. CAN JOHN CALIPARI STAY OUT OF TROUBLE? It's hard not to hum the car-chase classic "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" when watching Calipari's

Kentucky team. After all, the NCAA voided the Final Four appearances of both Massachusetts (1996) and Memphis (2008) after coach Cal came through town. He wasn't directly im-

plicated in either case, but the scandals occurred on his watch. Now Calipari is in the Bluegrass State with the type of talent that interests agents and draws scrutiny from the NCAA. Already, inves­tigators in Indianapolis are looking into the legitimacy of the high school tran­scripts of former Wildcat Eric Bledsoe. They are also probing current freshman Enes Kanter's playing career in Turkey.

If Calipari does win a national title with the Wildcats, the championship trophy may read pending further review.

9. ARE BLUE-CHIP PROGRAMS THE NEW DOORMATS? Just two years ago UCLA, Louisville and Connecticut went a combined 8-3 in the tournament, while North Carolina won it all. Yet last season only Louisville went to the dance—and the Cardinals lost by 15 points to Cali­fornia in the first round. Bank on another year of losing for the Bruins; however, the Tar Heels appear to have the necessary talent to compete. As for the Cardinals and Huskies....

8. CAN RICK PITINO AND JIM CALHOUN BE REDEEMED? The Big

East is nothing if not the home of the big-time coaching diva. Exhibits A and B—Louisville's Pitino and Connecticut's Calhoun. Alas, both coaching icons would like to forget 2010. Pitino was the target of an extortion attempt by Karen Cunagin Sypher, who alleged that Pitino impregnated her in a Louisville restau­rant in 2003. While her plot failed—in

August she was found guilty of extortion—the trial's salacious

testimony shredded Pitino's image. Cal-houn's trouble was with the NCAA. When he returned

to the Huskies after missing seven games for unspecified health reasons, investigators sent Connecticut a notice of allegations accusing

Calhoun's staff of making | impermissible phone calls \ to a recruit. Quick redemp­tion on the basketball court will be hard to come by for ei­ther. Though Pitino has some elite talent due to arrive in Louisville next season, both the Cardinals and Huskies will continue to struggle this year.

7. DO YOU HAVE TRUTV? W WOULD YOU KNOW IF YOU DID? "1

Typically, truTV attracts roughly J 19 viewers with its "actuality" pro- ' gramming (as opposed to reality programming—no, wedon't understand the difference either). That will change come March. As part of the NCAA's new TV deal, first- and second-round tourna-

merit games will be car­ried by the three Turner Broadcasting outlets—cable stalwarts TNT and TBS and the nearly in­visible truTV. So start look­ing for it now.

6. WHY WILL WE TALK ABOUT MIKE KRZYZEWSKI NOW? Will it be be­cause his Blue Devils repeat as national champions? Or will it be because he has

broken Bobby Knight's Division I record for ca­reer wins? Actually the two conversations are related. If Duke makes a

reiaieu. ±i uuKe makes a deep run in the ACC and NCAA tourna­ments, Coach K could conceivably top Knight's 902 coaching victories.

5. HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU HEAR "WHO IS THE NEXT BUTLER?" The

Bulldogs, a hitherto nondescript Horizon League school from Indiana with fewer than 4,000 undergraduates, surprised ev­eryone by coming within a single basket of beating Duke in last year's national title game. Their unlikely run will inspire non-

stop chatter about which underdog

team can repeat the accomplish­ment in March 2011. But therein lies the rub: Once-in-a-lifetime tournament runs are exactly that—once in a lifetime. That said, »»». San Diego State is capable of £/ causing some tournament trouble—or fun, depending on vour DersDective.

i. WILL THE NUMBER 68 EVER EASILY ROLL OFF THE TONGUE? Of course not! Nevertheless, the NCAA de- cided to expand the tourna- ment field this season to 68 teams, up from 65. Now i there will be a total of four 1 "play-in" games that look

DOG DU JOUR

Butter's success

in 2010 will

inspire endless

guessing about

which underdog

can do the same

this season.

so strange on your bracket. Two will pit 16 seeds against each other, as in the past few seasons, while the other two will feature the last four bubble teams. For example, major-conference teams such as Illinois and Virginia Tech that barely missed the tournament last year

will now compete to make the field as 11 or 12 seeds.

3. IS IT SAFE TO CALL GONZAGA A DYNASTY?

For years Gonzaga head coach Mark Few has fielded job offers and feelers from campuses with actual airports—e.g., Oregon, Indiana and Arizona. Yet for reasons that remain murky (is he wanted by the FBI?) he has chosen to remain in Spokane. We say good for Few. He has built a legitimate basketball dynasty along the Washington-Idaho border. The quantitative evidence: Gonzaga is 291-73 since Few arrived in 1999. And thanks to six-foot-seven Elias Harris, a star in the making, the Bulldogs should once again reside among the country's top teams in 2011.

2. CAN TOM IZZO'S GENIUS BE EXPLAINED?

Not really. But here's our best shot: During the past few seasons, Izzo's Michigan State Spartans have done about as well, per possession, on the road as at home. So when theSpartans play in thetournament—

where, in theory, home games don't exist—they have no drop-off of any kind (unlike just about every other team). It's at least a plausible ex­planation for Izzo's incredible 35-12 tournament record and six Final

Four appearances since 1998. Whatever the reason, never bet against Izzo and his Spartans in March, no matter what the oddsmakers say.

1. WHO WILL WINITALL?TheBoilermakersfrom Purdue. The team's nucleus—Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore and Ja Juan Johnson—have seem­ingly played together since the Truman administra­tion. And 2011 is the year the trio will finally stay injury free, perhaps blessed with good health from

above by the recently de­parted John Wooden, a Purduealum, which should propel them to the na­tional cham­pionship.

• •• GUARDS •••

ALEC BURKS—Colorado, Sophomore, 6'6", 185 pounds. Last season Burks became the first Colorado freshman to surpass 500 points in a single season. Over­all he was fourth nationally among freshmen in points per game (17.1) and field-goal percentage (53.8). WILLIAM BUFORD—Ohio State, Junior, 6'5", 205 pounds. The 2009 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Buford is the Buckeyes' top returning scorer, with 14.4 points per game.

KEMBA WALKER—Connecticut, Junior, 6'1", 172 pounds. Walker averaged 14.6 points per game in 2010 and led the Huskies in scoring in eight of their final nine games.

KYRIE IRVING—Duke, Freshman, 6'2", 175 pounds. Mike Krzyzewski is so optimistic about Irving's future that he is allowing the New Jersey teenager to become the first Duke player during his coaching tenure to wear the number 1.

*•• FORWARDS •**

HARRISON BARNES—North Carolina, Freshman, 6'8", 210 pounds. A co-MVP (with Irving) at the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, Barnes is also the reigning Mor­gan Wooten Player of the Year—which officially makes the Iowa native the nation's top high school player. KYLE SINGLER—Duke, Senior, 6'8", 230 pounds. A highly skilled offensive player with the ability to score in­side or on the perimeter, Singler was an integral compo­nent in Duke's drive to the 2010 national championship.

PERRY JONES—Baylor, Freshman,

6'11", 235 pounds. Jones's combination of size, skill

and athleticism will make him a star at the college level and eventually ticket him for the NBA. MARCUS MORRIS—Kansas, Junior, 6'9", 235 pounds. The Jayhawks' top returning scorer and rebounder from last season, Morris averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 boards per game.

*•• CENTERS ***

KEITH BENSON—Oakland, Senior, 6'11", 230 pounds. The Mid-Major

and Summit League Player of the Year. Benson holds Oakland records for blocks in a single season (116) and career (243).

AARIC MURRAY—La Salle, Sophomore, 6'10", 250 pounds. Another big-time shot blocker, Murray led the Explorers with 70 rejections last

season. His defensive domination, along witi his consistent offensive output (12.2 points per game), helped earn him Philadelphia Big 5 Rookie of the Year honors.

* it COACH OF THE YEAR * *

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI—Duke. Always a deserv­ing choice—if also an obvious one. Coach K's accomplishments speak for themselves: four national championships, 11 Final Four appearances, two gold medals and 40 NBA draft selections.

IT'S HARD NOT TO HUM THE CAR-CHASE CLASSIC "FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAK­DOWN" WHEN WATCHING JOHN CAMPARI'S KENTUCKY TEAM. IF THEY WIN IT ALL THIS YEAR, THE TROPHY MAY READ "PENDING FURTHER REVIEW."

NEVER BET AGAINST TOM IZZO

AND MICHIGAN STATE WHEN

MARCH ROLLS AROUND.