Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
March 21, 2008, Washington Post

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Big Dance

The men's NCAA college basketball tournament is one of the biggest and most exciting events on the sports calendar. Sixty-five teams playing 64 games all around the country means there will be plenty of hoops action for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

You probably don't follow every team in every conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Maybe you are a fan of Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech or another team that didn't make the tournament this year. In that case, who will you root for to feel part of all the March Madness? Here are some suggestions.

Local Teams: Georgetown, George Mason, American, Mount St. Mary's and University of Maryland Baltimore County are all at the Big Dance. A special shout-out goes to American and UMBC, which are there for the first time. Just don't expect either school to advance out of the first round.

Georgetown is the local team with the best chance for a long tournament run. The veteran Hoyas are led by 7-foot-2 senior center Roy Hibbert and made it to the Final Four last year. But Georgetown better be careful, because it's sure to have a tough game against Gonzaga or Davidson in the second round.

Players: If you don't have a special team in the tournament, root for players who are fun to watch. Kansas State's Michael Beasley is a 6-foot-10 phenomenon who scored 26.5 points a game and led the nation in rebounding as a freshman. Beasley, who grew up in Prince George's County, is so good he probably will turn pro after the tournament.

Stephen Curry of Davidson is a sharpshooting guard who can score from anywhere on the court. Curry's shooting talent is in his genes. His dad, Dell Curry, was a star in the National Basketball Association.

Underdogs: Upsets -- when a smaller, lower-rated team shocks a top seed -- are what make the tournament so much fun. So don't root for favorites such as North Carolina, UCLA or Kansas, even though one of those terrific teams probably will win it all. No, hope that upstart teams such as Winthrop, George Mason or St. Mary's can knock off some of the big guys.

Animals: Let's say you like dogs more than you like basketball. You can still enjoy the tournament, because five teams -- Butler, Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Drake and Georgia -- are called Bulldogs. There's a team of Retrievers (UMBC) and one pack of Huskies (Connecticut).

Maybe you're a cat person. Five tournament teams -- Arizona, Kentucky, Villanova, Kansas State and Davidson -- are called Wildcats. There also are Cougars, Jaguars, Tigers and Panthers.

The tournament is loaded with bird nicknames, from fierce Eagles and Hawks to little Cardinals. And if you love horses, cheer on the Boise State Broncos.

In other words, root for your favorite animal.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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