Field of 65: we've done the hard part; the NCAA just needs to take care of the seeding

America East: * Albany

ACC: Boston College, * Duke, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, N. C. State, Wake Forest

Atlantic Sun: * Gardner-Webb

A-10: * Charlotte, George Washington, Xavier (A)

Big East: Cincinnati, * Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia

Big Sky: * Montana State

Big South: * Winthrop

Big Ten: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, * Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin (B)

Big 12: Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, * Texas, Texas Tech (C)

Big West: * Cal State Fullerton

Colonial: * Old Dominion

Conference USA: * Memphis

Horizon: * Wisconsin-Milwaukee (D)

Ivy: * Pennsylvania

Metro Atlantic: * Iona

MAC: * Ohio

Mid-Continent: * Oral Roberts

MEAC: * South Carolina State

Missouri Valley: Creighton, * Northern Iowa

Mountain West: * Utah (E)

Northeast: * Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley: * Murray State (F)

Pac-10: * Arizona, California, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Washington (G)

Patriot: * Bucknell (H)

SEC: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, * Kentucky, LSU (I)

Southern: * Davidson

Southland: * Northwestern State

SWAC: * Alabama A&M

Sun Belt: * Western Kentucky

WAC: * Nevada

West Coast: * Gonzaga

* Automatic bid

(A) Charlotte

All-American candidate Curtis Withers and Oklahoma transfer De'Angelo Alexander will help the 49ers follow their Atlantic 10 welcoming party in January with a conference championship celebration in March.

George Washington

The Colonials caught everyone's attention with victories over Maryland and Michigan State last season, but they lost big in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. GW returns plenty of scorers and once again will play fast, but it would benefit from slowing their opponents now and then.

(B) Indiana

The Hoosiers have an imposing 1-2 inside punch in Marco Killingsworth and D.J. White. The keys will be trying to blend in Killingsworth and fellow Auburn transfer Lewis Monroe and trying to ignore the distraction of playing for a coach, Mike Davis, who presumably must get in the NCAAs--or else he's out.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes banned themselves from the tourney last season; they'll get a taste of it this season, which will be a nice steppingstone for next season. That is when Greg Oden & Friends reach Columbus.

Wisconsin

A year ago, the question was: "How can the Badgers replace Devin Harris?" Now, after an Elite Eight run, it is: "How can they replace Mike Wilkinson?" Well, how about with excellent coach Bo Ryan, a well-oiled system and a balanced lineup. But the Badgers need one of their talented freshmen to catch on quickly.

(C) Kansas

No one knows what to expect from the Jayhawks; their leading returning scorer, Christian Moody, averaged 5.8 points. But the freshmen are filthy-good and diverse in their talents. If Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright mesh, you can expect this: a lot of W's.

(D) Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The Panthers have a better chance of returning to the NCAAs than Bruce Pearl, who left to coach Tennessee. First-year coach Rob Jeter gets four returning starters, including Joah Tucker, who hung 32 on Illinois in the Sweet 16.

(E) Utah

No Andrew Bogut, no problem? Not exactly. The Mountain West has added a team but is way down, which is a big reason the Utes should be able to break into the field. And then they almost certainly will lose to Kentucky.

(F) Murray State

The Racers have more than enough capable bodies to play the tempo coach Mick Cronin likes. The aptly named Trey Pearson is a proficient long-range shooter and TSN's pick for Ohio Valley player of the year.

(G) Washington

Usually a top-heavy league, the Pac-10 has terrific depth. The Huskies figure to be one of those middle-tier teams fighting for March positioning throughout the conference season.

(H) Bucknell

Five starters return from the team that stunned Kansas and played Wisconsin tough in the NCAA Tournament. So, yeah, the Bison are the pick to represent the Patriot League.

(I) Arkansas

The Razorbacks are one of the few SEC teams on the rise. Multiskilled Ronnie Brewer is the best player in the conference, and big man Darian Townes will continue to improve inside. Stan Heath will make his first NCAA trip since he was coaching Antonio Gates at Kent State.

Florida

Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh, who left school a year early, pass the torch to promising sophomores Corey Brewer and Al Horford. Hey, at least Roberson and Walsh finally decided to pass something.

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