NCAA to expand tourney to 68 teams

There was talk of a bracket-busting expansion to 96, a little March Madness madness so to speak, but thankfully the NCAA has seen sense and tossed that idea in the trash.

Instead, the annual basketball competition will expand to 68, allowing three more bubble teams to make the big dance. This year, based solely on NIT seeding, that means Illinois, Mississippi State and either Arizona State and Virginia Tech would have taken up those last three new spots.

In recent years, the last bubble teams have typically fallen 12 seed line, which is part of why you see so many 5-12 upsets, but far fewer 4-13 upsets. Instead, the last seeds will now fall on the 13 line, which should lead to a few more competitive 4-13 games (Murray State-Vanderbilt notwithstanding).

The other big news out of this is the TV deal. The Turner networks (TNT, TBS and TruTV) will pick up additional games, so you can watch the whole tourney on network and basic cable. Turner is quite good at basketball, having had an NBA deal for the last few years, so the tournament is in pretty good shape.

But mostly, this ends the problem of CBS not flipping to a more exciting finish because it wants to stay with its national game. Now, I can solve that issue with my remote.

Oh, and by the way, the NCAA makes out like a bandit on the cash end. The deal is for 14 years, and CNBC's Darren Rovell reports that the NCAA will take in an average of $771 million a year, up from $545 million a year.

That's a lot of scholarships for people who will go pro in something other than sports.

Bring Your Binoculars

Izzo is still going to Broadway! And now maybe you can afford to join him!

Evidently, someone at Wharton Center noticed the issue we pointed out over a week ago: Tickets aren't selling!

So, to fix this, Wharton Center announced yesterday that some tickets will be reduced to $25, or as we call it, "the bad seats at a Big Ten Tournament game" level, as opposed to the earlier (and still available!) tickets which we call "the bad seats at a NCAA Tournament game" level.

Now, it should be noted that these seats are pretty bad. They are called the "Spartan Faithful" seats, which is similar to Spartan Stadium renaming the "End Zone" seats the "Family Section." These $25 seats are in the back of the Grand Tier. "Grand Tier" is to theater goers what "upper deck" is to sports fans. It wouldn't surprise me if Magic Johnson's retired jersey blocks some of your view (I can only assume they would bring those over from Breslin). But, with 840 tickets still available (as of Wednesday morning), something needed to be done to start getting people in the seats, and this is probably second best thing to actually shaving Izzo's head on stage.

Photo courtesy of whartoncenter.com

A Tough Decision

It had to be a tough decision for Mike Kebler of Okemos. Before the Final Four, he had to make a choice to either dress for the game against UConn, or to dress for a possible National Championship and hope MSU made it there. This is because MSU has 16 players on the team, but can only dress 15 of those players for any game. Kebler chose to dress for the UConn game, letting fellow walk-on Jon Crandell wait for the National Championship.

Kebler told the Detroit Free Press,

"Once the tournament started, I simply picked the first one of each weekend. The first one was Robert Morris. I picked that one so I could get in. I figured we'd blow them out. I got, like, a minute of playing time.

"The next time, I picked Kansas. One of the main reasons was that I wanted to be a part of everything that went on.

"Then I picked (the Connecticut game). I didn't play, but I wanted to be a part of the Final Four. It's definitely a dream. So when I had that choice of taking the first game or the second game, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make sure I was on the court for the Final Four."

Because Kebler didn't play in the game, he is not included in the official box score. Crandell, however, made it into the box score of the championship game because of his 1 minute of playing time at the end.

So, Kebler got to dress for a MSU win in the Final Four, but not play. He does not get to be immortalized as officially playing, but he, his family, friends, and other Spartans remember an experience that cannot be taken away. Crandell lucked out and not only got to dress for a National Championship game, but play. Kebler made the "safe" choice, but was it the better one? What would you have done?

Last Night's One Shining Moment

One of the annual highlights of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is CBS's presentation of "One Shining Moment" at the conclusion of the National Championship game broadcast. Because of MSU's deep run in this year's tournament, they are featured multiple times in the montage, including:

A closeup of Travis Walton with the ball (2:25)
Isaiah Dahlman celebrating by jumping on Goron Suton's back (3:04)
Kalin Lucas hitting a shot and getting fouled against Kansas, then slapping hands with Chris Allen (3:34)
Korie Lucious yelling victoriously (3:47)
Durrell Summers' "Dunk of the Tournament" over UConn (3:49)
Kalin Lucas fired up running down court (3:52)
Tom Izzo hugging Marquise Gray (3:55)
Travis Walton's jump ball against Tyler Hansbrough (4:09)
Multiple shots of North Carolina scoring on MSU in the Championship (4:11)
Tom Izzo sighing (4:18)

*Timestamps are unique to the video linked above.

It's always a great montage, and this year is no different, highlighting some of MSU's best moments in the tournament. One other positive: Unlike some years, there are hardly any clips from the championship game, only about 10 seconds of highlights with another 12 seconds of the celebration. Most of the highlights are from earlier games, when MSU looked awesome.

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Bob Murphy, winner of the inaugural TOSSS March Madness Bracket Pool! Mr. Murphy, a 2006 MSU graduate in Poli Sci and History, told us that his grand strategy was to "Just pick what felt right at the time."

"If there were a grand prize, it would definitely go towards the purchase of a new car."

The Final Four in the pool:

1. Bob Murphy, Lansing, MI
2. Eeda Shemke, Baltimore, MD
3. Scott Moore, Holt, MI
4. Nick Romley, Detroit, MI

Thanks again to everyone who played, and keep on the lookout for other fun games from TOSSS in the future!

One Shining Moment

The final whistle blew, the nets were snipped and the music played. It was One Shining Moment, and unfortunately for Spartan fans, its final scenes had the hue of Carolina blue.

It's the first time Michigan State has lost in an NCAA men's basketball championship game, and it certainly stings given all the storylines around the game - how MSU was playing for the state of Michigan, a silver lining to the clouds of economic storms that have swirled over the state for years now.

Still, it's hard to not be proud of how hard this team has worked, and I think that will be expressed in the papers Tuesday morning and beyond. How do I know?

Well, here's some reaction from folks in the media, as expressed on Facebook this evening:

Stephanie Angel, managing editor, Lansing State Journal... ":( The run is over, but the Spartan spirit is alive. 2010 here we come."

Amy Bartner, reporter, Indianapolis Star and former editor-in-chief, State News... "sigh"

Bob Benenson, reporter/editor, Congressional Quarterly... "Our very young Spartan team held its head up in the second half. There is only one team in the country, loaded with upperclassmen, that is better -- and last year it was where we were tonight. So congratulations to UNC, and enjoy that victory/going-away party. Our guys will be back, and so will the Michigan State team. Go Green, and thanks for a season of thrills."

Brian Fisher, former editor, NOISE magazine... "Spartans should be proud of themselves. And from a glass half full perspective, they did win the second half. So there's that."

Denny Kapp, producer, WDFN radio Detroit... "UNC may have won the game but Detroit won the PR battle. The select national media can rip this city all they want but we put on another stellar national event - the umpteenth one this decade - and yet again, it was damn near flawless. Stand up and BE PROUD Detroit!"

Laura Leslie, capitol bureau chief, North Carolina Public Radio... "respects MI state for a valiant game, regardless of the outcome. They're the definition of 'never say die.'"

Scott Moore, voice of MSU Hockey... "is bummed by the outcome, but incredibly proud of the journey."

My sentiments exactly.

Inside Ford Field

TOSSS contributor John Kreger is inside Ford Field, and called in with these observations:

10:10 p.m. "I feel like I am attending a church service, it's very quiet. The crowd is definitely out of it."

9:47 p.m. "It's much quieter here now. There have been a few fan disturbances already, with Detroit Police removing people from the building, no warnings. They are making sure no one is hassled."

8:55 p.m. "The Temptations just finished the National Anthem, the first group to ever sing. They honor the 50th anniversary of Motown. When the Spartans took the court there was a massive 'Go Green Go White' cheer that echoed around the building."

8:30 p.m. "There is a palpable energy inside this building. There is just an energy inside this building unlike anything else I've seen in sports. The Spartans seem very aware of their surroundings, but so is UNC. The Izzone now takes up the whole endzone, and they are rockin, and have been from the moment the doors opened. The white out doesn't seem like a great success, but I've never heard it this loud an hour before tipoff for any game in here. By tipoff it will be a madhouse. It looks like the UConn and Villanova sections were bought up by Spartan green. The Spartan fans seem to be here on a mission, everyone here watching warmups."

Forbes Picks UNC

As has been the case most of this NCAA Tournament, the experts seem to be rallying around whatever team is playing against MSU, and picking them for the win. Going against a preseason favorite and team who already beat MSU in Ford Field by 35 points this year is not helping MSU's case.

Even Forbes has gotten in on the UNC love. Before the tournament, Forbes released their rankings of the 20 most valuable college basketball teams and rankings of America's best college basketball coaches. MSU came in as the #14 most valuable team in the country, behind several other Big Ten schools including Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State and Wisconsin. All of the Big Ten schools were helped by their share of the Big Ten Network revenue. But UNC? They were #1 overall, relying on over $3 million in merchandise sales.

On the best coaches list, we fared about the same. Tom Izzo ranked a respectable #6, with consideration being given to his 4 (at the time) Final Fours. Roy Williams? Again, #1 overall.

That said, Kansas and Louisville were both ranked above MSU on the Forbes list, as was Bill Self. And that worked out just fine.

--
A couple notes:

The LSJ Bleeding Green blog has a warning about fake tickets that were sold for the Final Four games on Saturday night. The tickets are supposedly very realistic, with most fans only realizing the deception when the bar code would not scan upon entry to the stadium. Watch out for this and leave the fake ticket buying to the UNC fans!

For those of you going to the game, MSU has asked for the game to be a White Out. So, wear your white tomorrow!

Gameday

It's time Spartan fans! I hope that most of you are either in Detroit (maybe in one of MSU's extra hotel rooms) or on your way to Detroit... Keeping it simple, here is some light reading for the day that we thought you would find interesting.

Larry Lage discusses the 30 year anniversary of the 1979 Championship.
Tom Izzo appeared on PTI's Five Good Minutes back on Monday. Video.
Joe Rexrode of the LSJ talks about Izzo receiving the Good Guy Award, and Lucas to NBA rumors.
The Spirit of Detroit won't be wearing a Spartan jersey today.
MSU had a magical public shoot around at Ford Field yesterday.
Rep. Mike Rogers is getting in on some action supporting MSU.
And finally, the LSJ brings you all of today's vital information about the big game.

Go Green!

MSU's Other April Tradition

"If we win, I think we will have a good night. If we lose, I'm not really optimistic at all," said Tom Wibert, Chief of Police for the City of East Lansing.

If you have been around East Lansing for any of the recent trips to the Final Four, then you know that besides basketball, MSU is also closely associated with another tradition this time of year: riots. This has been going on for years, from Vietnam era protests and the old tradition of Cedar Fest to the late 90's football related incidents, including one embarrassing night after a victory over Western Michigan. Students even rioted after the University banned alcohol on Munn Field, a move meant to curb rowdy behavior.

But then came our basketball success. Starting with the loss to Duke in 1999, MSU has rioted after every Final Four loss. Our only Final Four where we didn't riot was in 2000, when MSU won the National Championship. There were still many people out in the streets, but that year it was more like a big party.

In 2005, the situation was just as out of hand for the police as it was for the students. Many citizens complained that the police went too far in their handling of the situation, and the City of East Lansing created a commission to review policies for future incidents. East Lansing Police Chief Tom Wibert (who took over after the 2005 incident) and MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap, as well as MSU Vice President Fred Poston all apologized for police actions during that night.

The commission produced a lengthy report that has served as a starting point for the East Lansing police in preparing for future incidents. (Full disclosure, TOSSS writer Derek Wallbank served on this commission, and this writer testified to that commission). The 43 page report listed 29 recommendations for future events, in areas from planning to implementation. Focus areas included communication and protection of personal rights. In 2006, the chiefs of police visited MSU's student governments, ASMSU and RHA, to review their revised "Use of Force" polices. This presentation outlined the steps that both the crowd and police would take before there would be any release of chemical munitions. The following chart was among the materials presented that day.
While these preparations were made for the 2006 NCAA Tournament, MSU has not advanced far enough for there to be any basketball related incidents since 2005. However, in 2008 a group of students were able to resurrect a version of Cedar Fest using the internet to help encourage attendance. Around 1 a.m. the evening of the event, the crowd turned violent and was declared an "unlawful assembly," legalize for riot. Police then used chemical munitions to disperse the crowd. Unlike in 2005, most people agreed with the police actions in 2008.

Since that incident, officials have been preparing for this year's tournament. Chief Tom Wibert and East Lansing Assistant City Attorney Tom Yeadon visited RHA on March 4th to discuss the incident in 2008 and its differences from 2005, as well as to discuss wording changes adopted by East Lansing to it's riot ordinance.

"In '05 we had over 280 police officers compared to 80 (last) year, in '05 tear gas was the first resort whereas last year we used it as the last resort," Wibert told the assembled students. "In '05 we sent off 300 rounds and last year we used 13." Wibert continued, "We are shifting towards taking the sportiness out of the event and making it a personal thing. People who were throwing things like bottles and bricks should be arrested. We will have the folks available to take these people to jail in the future."

"People go to observe, but I've prosecuted people who went there with that intention who got caught up in the activities and ended up doing something stupid," Tom Yeadon cautioned. "If you haven’t heard an announcement, don’t assume it’s not a riot. If the crowd is violent, it’s a riot. We are going to take some measures to run warnings on a loop, so people are continually fed the notice."

"ELPD and MSU PD don't have the numbers to deal with a large crowd. We have requested help from several area agencies and the State Police," Wibert said this week about preparations for for this weekends games. "We started working on our plan months ago. Our focus will continue to be reducing the amount of chemical munitions and increasing individual accountability. We will be capable of arresting mass quantities of people if necessary."

This weekend's plan is based off of recommendations and lessons from both 2005 and 2008, according to Wibert. "We are using a better sound system. (In 2008) it took 20 minutes to get the unlawful assembly announcement out. That's way too long. Also, we made 50 arrests that night and it caused all kinds of havoc in the jail." Wibert stressed that this weekend they will be ready to handle large numbers of arrests.

He cautioned that one significant recommendation of the 2005 report has not been adopted, dealing with crowd decontamination. "We can't get MSU or Olin to help. Our fire department can't help because they are busy with riot related fires and injuries."

"We plan for the worst and hope for the best," Wibert said when asked if he was optimistic about this weekend. "In 2000, we had a huge crowd after winning the title, but it went really well. I think that the best thing that could happen is if we win and have a huge party."

Tickets, Tickets, Tickets

There are plenty of stories floating around out there about tickets to the Men's Final Four this weekend, and to sum them all up, "You can get tickets if you have money."

Beyond that, there are actually a couple of interesting story lines involving tickets. The first is the Izzone snafu mentioned in the last post. This story isn't a big deal to many people, but to members of the Izzone, it most certainly is. Apparently when the Student Alumni Foundation sent an email to Izzone members about tickets, it contained a faulty link to the online ticket site that was contracted by the NCAA. The situation was fixed, but not everyone could be notified in time (or it was not fixed for everyone, do we ever really know when it comes to computers?). This led to a number of eligible Izzone members who felt they were not given a chance to get tickets. The situation was compounded by unconfirmed rumors that because SAF members knew the correct link first, they and their friends, and their friend's friends were the ones who actually purchased all of the tickets as the link spread by word of mouth. While not confirmed, this is not an unrealistic scenario.

Obviously this made many students upset, and members of SAF (which is overseen by the Alumni Association) worked with the Athletic Department to see what could be done. The NCAA was able to release an additional 79 tickets, and those tickets were allocated by lottery to eligible members. Problem solved...

Another situation is involving the number of allotted tickets and hotel rooms. According to the Lansing State Journal, each school's overall ticket allotment is 3,250. This is down from 4,500 in 2005 even though Ford Field holds many more people than any previous arena used to host the Final Four. This simply means less tickets for everyone associated with the program, including students families and friends, MSU administration, donors, past players, local celebrities, etc. Compounding the problem is that each school is on the hook for 500 hotel rooms for four nights each. It seems that many of the State fans don't really feel like spending that much time in Detroit (or simply don't need the room and don't want to pay for it). Unless MSU can work something out, the athletic department is on the hook for the cost of those rooms. It was suggested to me that they could offer the rooms to fans of other schools who do need to travel, but then again, wouldn't that hurt our home court advantage?

Finally, Tom Izzo was asked in his Tuesday press conference about ticket requests. He said that he has been overwhelmed by ticket requests, and has found an easy way to handle it. He said he has basically stopped checking his email and phone messages, using the theory that he doesn't have to say no if he never gets the message in the first place. So if your work buddy promised you a ticket because he's got that "awesome connection with Izzo," you might just want to look into plan B.

Nice Picture

TOSSS Reader Tom Edwards sent us this panoramic shot just before tip off of yesterday's game. If you couldn't tell on TV that the crowd was slightly in Louisville's favor, this is about what it was like. Click on the image to see it full size.

Motown Bound

This is it Spartan fans, Michigan State is going to Motown for the Final Four, its fifth Final Four trip under Tom Izzo and first since 2005.

We'll have more - much more - on this throughout the week, but we wanted to flag a bunch of things for ya right away:

• There's a pep rally tonight at 10 p.m. at the Breslin Center to welcome home the Spartans. It's free to go.
• Final Four packages, hotel included, are available here.
• Show up in style with Final Four shirts, hats and miscellany.
  
• Tickets, through StubHub, start at $300 (as of this writing) for the semifinals and finals. Expect those ticket prices online to soar through the week before crashing Saturday. Tickets "found" outside Ford Field will likely be priced MUCH higher - they were $2,000 a pop in 2005.
• The Free Press has a great feature on what to expect when you're inside Ford Field, including details the elevated court, student seating and a photo gallery from the court installation.
  

Go State!

A Day Off In Indy

Louisville and Michigan State fans steamed out of Lucas Oil Stadium late Friday night and quickly filled the downtown Indianapolis bars to celebrate. For one night, the fans could drink together, both excited about their team's victory and advancement to the Elite Eight.

Saturday came, and the mood for MSU fans changed somewhat. Everyone was still excited, but the realization that those people wearing red were no longer friendly was evident. "Go Green Go White" and "C-A-R-D-S Cards!" could be heard echoing throughout the downtown buildings.

On the day off in Indy, fans of both schools headed out into the city to see the sights and have some fun. It was a busy day at the NCAA headquarters and Hall of Champions, where an MSU student ID would get you $2 off admission. There, you could see exhibits about all NCAA sports, view banners honoring current NCAA champions, and even shoot some hoops. On the second floor, replicas of the trophies that the Men's and Women's teams are hoping to win are in a display case for fans to see.

Another option for some of the more restless fans was the Civil War reenactment taking place outside of the Indiana State Museum. There, about 15 actors portrayed soldiers from the North and South on the museums large front lawn. Crowds of Michigan State, Louisville and Kansas fans were gathered around, trying to stay out of the way of the gunfire. Michigan State fans quickly started rooting for the north, leaving the South as Louisville's only option. We all know how that worked out... Visitors to the Museum could see a traveling exhibit on African American imagery, or learn about the history of Indiana.

Some of the more adventurous fans ventured out away from the downtown area, and saw famous Indy landmarks such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While there was no race today, there were still crowds of fans taking photos.

Late afternoon shifted fans attention back to basketball, where fans packed bars both downtown and in Broad Ripple to watch the Men's games first, and then the MSU women's game against Iowa St. While a evening rainstorm tampered down the mayhem slightly, crowds of fans still could be seen on the street well after 3AM.

Saturday was fun, but Sunday it is back to business. MSU tips off against Louisville today at 2:20 p.m.

Fans in the Stands

At last night's games, Louisville fans seemed to outnumber all others. MSU fans made a good showing though, with Kansas and Arizona having a very poor showing. It is a little hard to judge who will have more fans tomorrow, as many Louisville fans left the stadium after their win, and many MSU fans didn't show up until late in the Louisville game.

These photos were provided by TOSSS reader Tom Edwards. The one on the left is during the Louisville-Arizona game. The one on the right is before the MSU-Kansas game. Click them for a much larger image.

My guess for tomorrow's game is that Louisville fans will slightly outnumber MSU fans, but I hope I am wrong.









On the venue, Lucas Oil Stadium was very impressive. I believe it would be a fantastic place to watch a football game. The issue with hosting basketball in these venues is that so many fans are very far from the court. It makes the game very difficult to see, and many fans have to rely on the jumbo screens in two corners of the stadium. However, many fan's sight lines of these screens were blocked by the scoreboard lowered over the center of the court. The stadium also swallows sound, and at its loudest it seemed much quieter than an average game at the Breslin Center.

Middle of the Road

In a follow up to their earlier Men's and Women's NCAA Tournament reports, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport released their annual Sweet 16 report on the school's academic success. The specific numbers obviously do not change from the earlier reports, but it does focus now just on the teams that have showed success on the court. I found the tournament re-seeds based on Graduation Success Rate interesting:

Tonight's Game Coverage

Here is the individual programming information that we have been able to track down for tonight's game.

• Detroit - Michigan State vs Kansas
  
• Chicago - Michigan State vs Kansas
  
• Los Angeles - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  
• Washington, DC - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  
• Baltimore - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  
• New York - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  
• Denver - Michigan State vs Kansas
  
• Indianapolis - Michigan State vs Kansas
  
• Minneapolis - Michigan State vs Kansas
  
• Miami (Fl) - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  
• Atlanta - Gonzaga vs North Carolina (Michigan State vs Kansas on Multicast)
• San Francisco - Gonzaga vs North Carolina
  

The country seems to be pretty split on coverage, with the coasts getting Gonzaga vs North Carolina, and the rest getting Michigan State. An option is still the free NCAA March Madness On Demand online.

Why Was It Here?

The MSU Women's Basketball win over Duke on Tuesday night was a classic game that will be remembered for a long time, not only because of the dramatic victory, but because of the stories involved: McCallie returning to the school she ditched, the improbable victory of a #9 seed beating a #1 seed, and Duke having been to 11 consecutive Sweet 16's.

Not lost in the discussion of MSU's victory was this question: Why did #1 seed Duke have to play at their opponents home court? McCallie insisted that the game location could not be blamed for the loss, but it still raises interesting questions of fairness and logistics. According to ESPN:

The women went to a field of 64 in 1994, with all games in the early rounds at the better-seeded team's gym. The next year, the setup for the first two rounds was that the top four seeds in each region would host. So four teams would play at 16 sites, with home-court advantage being rewarded because of your seeding. The only time that didn't happen was if a school had a conflict with its home arena or some problem with hotel-room availability. But those circumstances were rare.

Then, in 2003, the system was changed to make the first 16 sites predetermined. The reason given was supposedly to allow schools to market the subregionals all year, rather than waiting until they knew for sure they were hosting when the bracket came out.

However, promotion of games was far less a factor in having big crowds than just plain having the host team playing. There was no evidence that predetermination did anything to boost attendance.

What it did do -- and the reason behind its being used still -- is to pave the way for television to broadcast all 64 games of the tournament. It was neither logistically nor financially feasible to do that if TV had to wait until the bracket came out to know where the 16 sites were.

In 2005, a switch was made to try to create more neutral games: having eight sites with eight teams each. That system stayed for four seasons, but it had a negative impact on early-round attendance.

So this year, the tournament went back to 16 predetermined sites, and that's why there was a situation where a No. 1 had to play on a No. 9's home court. At the time bids are accepted for schools to host future games, it's obviously unknown whether their team will even be in the tournament, let alone where it might be seeded.

So basically the NCAA has to weigh fairness for the schools against paid attendance and television contracts. And while fairness is great, it doesn't pay the bills...

Indy or Berkeley?

Members of the MSU Band had a big choice to make this week, before the women's basketball team tipped off against Duke.

Option A: Commit to go to Indianapolis for the men's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Kansas, and possible Elite Eight game against Louisville or Arizona.

Option B: Take your chances on the women beating top-seeded Duke, with a trip to the Berkeley Regional as the reward if they do.

Now obviously the call has to be guaranteed trip over possible trip. But it got me thinking: What if they'd had until this morning to pick? Assuming MSU is picking up the tab for your trip, where should you go? Let's break it down in five key categories:

1) Chances of Success

The women are already giant-killers, having beat the best team in their regional. Correction: Having horse-whipped that team and sent them back to Durham with their tails between their legs. But it doesn't get any easier from here.

Iowa State is a four seed, and a win brings the winner of two-seed Stanford and three-seed Ohio State. If it's Stanford - and that's my bet - you've got to beat the Cardinal in California. Not an easy task.

The men's side shapes up somewhat more simply. First up is Kansas, the defending national champions and three seed. With a win you get the winner of Arizona and tournament number one Louisville.

Since you can only go to one, you've got to take your best odds at seeing a second State game - and MSU's men have already beaten Kansas once this year. Edge: Indy.

2) Location, Location, Location

Indianapolis is close, Berkeley is far, but since in our scenario MSU is footing the bill, cost to get there doesn't much matter. So now it's a question of where you'd rather be.

And this is easy. No offense to the Hoosier State, but would you rather be in the San Francisco Bay area or smack-dab in the middle of Indiana?

Easy. Edge: Berkeley

3) Atmosphere

Nothing tops an arena full of screaming fans, but unfortunately that's just not usually what happens at any regional in the NCAA Tournament. You're not quite at the Final Four, where people move mountains to get there, nor at the sub-regional, which is often just a cavernous arena full of empty seats.

Instead, the regionals really key off of how many of your own fans you can squeeze into a building - and as well-developed as MSU's alumni groups in San Fran and southern California are, nothing will get fans there like cheap tickets and a short drive.

Edge: Indy

4) Vacation Time

Out in the working world, vacation time is somewhat at a premium. Some folks get two weeks, some lucky ones get three. Others get one week, including sick time and some get none at all. College, therefore, can be your last best chance to do something you ordinarily wouldn't.

And who randomly picks up and takes off to California for the weekend?

The key here is repeatability. Anyone can go to Indianapolis any time. Shoot, for most in the Midwest, you can make it to Indy on a day trip. Not so with Cali. It could be a case of not now, not ever.

Edge: Berkeley

5) Legacy

In other words, peer three or four years into the future. Where do you want to be able to tell your friends and family that you went. In 20 years, what about your kids?

From my own personal experience, having been there in person for everything from the 2001 football win over Michigan to the 2005 men's Final Four, nothing - and I mean nothing - even comes close to the 2005 win over Tennessee that the MSU women engineered in their 2005 Final Four game. They weren't expected to be there, they weren't supposed to win, but they did.

And as loud as the Breslin gets for some men's games, the loudest I've ever heard that building was a few years back for a women's game against Ohio State. Some friends who went to the Duke game said it was even louder than that on Tuesday. That's the sort of passion you can get in MSU women's basketball for a truly huge game.

Look, it would be great if the men went to the Final Four in Detroit, but quite frankly it's well within their expectations. Both of us contributors to this blog have Sparty in the championship game (with one winning, the other falling short). But almost no one outside of the Spartan locker room thought that the women would be where they are right now. Now they've got a chance to keep shocking the world.

And you can't miss that. Edge: Berkeley

Winner: Berkeley, by a score of 3-2. It's close, and while the trip to Indianapolis would be great, how could you pass up a free ride to Berkeley?

That having been said, location is just one small piece of the puzzle. The Spartan men and women could play in Vladivostok for all I care, so long as they represent the university well and get the W.

To Boo or Not To Boo?

Former MSU Women's Basketball Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie returns to the Breslin Center again today as her Duke Blue Devils take on the Spartans in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Her first game back in Breslin was Sunday, when Duke defeated Austin Peay 83-42. Before that game, she had a mixed reception of some cheers and many boos.

There are reasons supporting both reactions. Her departure days after signing a contract extension reminded many of the sudden departure of football coach Nick Saban. The confusing situation surrounding her husband's arrest only added to the drama of the move.

However, her tenure at MSU was incredibly successful, with five NCAA Tournament appearances which included appearing in the 2005 National Championship game.

MSU junior Mandy Piechowski, one of McCallie's recruits and former players, told the Lansing State Journal, "You have to remember, too, if it wasn't for her, we might not be where we are right now."

So I pose this question to you: When Coach McCallie is introduced tonight, should she be booed, or cheered?

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NOTE: The game tonight tips at 7:00 p.m. at the Breslin Center. The first 500 students to attend tonight's game will get in free.