Thursday, March 13, 1997
NO. 1 SEED * Minnesota (27-3)Led by the three-guard tandem of
Bobby Jackson, Sam Jacobsen, and Eric Harris, the Golden Gophers
rolled to the Big Ten title. Still, nobody is sure how good they
really are, as the Big Ten was down this season, and Clemson was
the only quality non-conference team Minnesota beat…and that was
three months ago.
DARKHORSE * Temple (19-10)After a slow start, Temple has come on
like gangbusters. The Owls have won 10 of their final 14 games,
including wins over Cincinnati, Xavier, and St. Joseph’s. And you
know any team coached by John Chaney will be ready once Tournament
time comes around.
PAC-10 HOPES * UCLA (21-7)UCLA is playing its best basketball of
the past two seasons. Behind the play of Charles O’Bannon, the
Bruins have won nine consecutive games, including wins over
tourney-bound Stanford, USC, Duke, and Arizona. Although UCLA got
shipped out of the West for the second straight year, the bracket
shapes up well for the Bruins.
THE DAILY BRUIN SAYS…Perhaps the most even of the four
regions, it will come down to the UCLA-Cincinnati matchup in the
Sweet 16…This region will have upsets galore, as Boston
University, and Miami of Ohio will knock out Tulsa and Clemson,
respectively…Although Minnesota is the top seed, Big Ten tourney
teams are 3-11 the past two years. The Gophers will be hard-pressed
to get past the second round, with the matchup with Temple
looming.
1. Minnesota * 2. UCLA * 3. Cincinnati * 4. Clemson * 5. Tulsa
*
6. Iowa State * 7. Xavier * 8. Mississippi * 9. Temple *
10. Vanderbilt * 11. Illinois State * 12. Boston Univ. * 13.
Miami (OH) * 14. Butler * 15. Charleston Southern * 16.Southwest
Texas State