Tournament Preview -- Atlanta Region

The brackets are out and the field is set. Here's a look at the NCAA Tournament teams, players and coaches. In this article, we look at the Atlanta Region.

Atlanta Region (Team seed is in parenthesis)

Overrated Team: North Carolina (6)

This has nothing to do with the seed they received. There seems to be a consensus around the nation that the Tar Heels will cruise to a regional final match-up with Duke. It is important to remember that as talented as this group is, they have not been to the NCAA tournament. Also, it is a team that played inconsistently throughout the year and has not shown any indication that they can reel off three straight wins under the pressure of the tournament. Air Force will make things hard on them in the first round and potential second round opponent, Texas, will challenge them physically. It will be a tougher road for the Tar Heels than most people believe.

Underrated Team: Seton Hall (8)

With the way people are talking about the potential Duke-Arizona game in the second round, you would think that Seton Hall is a No. 16 seed that Arizona will handle with ease. Isn't Seton Hall the No. 8 and Arizona the No. 9 seed? This is a Pirates team that won 20 games overall in the regular season and went 10-6 in a very tough Big East conference. Senior point guard Andre Barrett is making his first (and only) tournament appearance and he will want to hang around for a while. His experience and savvy will cause major problems for Arizona freshman Mustafa Shakur. The Hall has a strong post presence in Kelly Whitney and solid veteran wing men in Marcus Toney-El and John Allen. If Arizona gets sloppy with the ball, as they have often this year, it will be Seton Hall who gets the shot at Duke in the second round.

Sleeper: East Tennessee State (13)

The champions of the Southern Conference have some weapons that could give Cincinnati some trouble in the first round. The Bucs lead the nation in steals(11.6) and their 5'9" point guard Tim Smith is so small and quick that he often looks like a blur moving across the court. Zakee Wadood, along with having the best name in the field, is a solid low post scorer and rebounder. And, if Cincy wants to mix it up, the Bucs have a 6'9" player named Brad Nuckles on the bench, who I have to assume can play some physical basketball. This team should compete with Cincinnati, who has been prone to the early round tournament exit over the past few years.

Coach you want on your bench: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke

I shouldn't have to explain this, so I won't. But, you can give me points for spelling his last name instead of bailing out and just typing "Coach K."

Coach you want on the other bench: Bob Huggins, Cincinnati

Huggins simply does not get the job done in the NCAA Tournament. Five times in the last seven years, Cincinnati has received either a No. 1, No. 2, or No. #3 seed. In all five of those years, they were bounced in the second round. However, in 2001, as a No. 5 seed, the Bearcats reached the Sweet 16. Perhaps this year, as a No. 4 seed with lower expectations, Huggins' team will make a run. Also, what's with the jogging suit? He looks like he just woke up. Is it that hard to put on a tie?

Overrated Player: Royal Ivey, Texas

Players with snappy names always get attention, but Ivey is not the big time player that he is identified to be. One of the reasons that Texas has had major struggles offensively is that Ivey has not been a threat from the perimeter. He rarely gets to the line and even when he does, he only shoots 57%. Ivey has to be more aggressive offensively if Texas wants to advance.

Underrated Player: Timmy Bowers, Mississippi State

Bowers is a 6'2" senior who runs the point for the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs. He scores (14.7ppg), passes (4.7apg) and is a tremendous rebounder (4.0 rpg) for a point guard. Bowers teams with SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Roberts to give Mississippi State one of the best inside-outside duos in the tournament.

Role Players to Watch:

Nick Smith, Illinois: How many teams can bring a 7'2" player off of their bench? The rail-thin junior has outside shooting range and hits his free throws (82%). He scored 7.6 points per game this year in an average of only 17.5 minutes of action.

Brian Boddicker, Texas: This is a 6'8" senior who can do a little bit of everything. Not only can he score and rebound, he is also one of the toughest players in the paint that you will find in this tournament. Boddicker is also a scoring option late in the game due to his three-point range (44.6%) and his free throw shooting (77.5%).

Luke Whitehead, Louisville: The chants of "Luuuuke" could be heard ringing throughout Freedom Hall this year whenever this 6'6" senior grabbed a rebound, which was often. While gunners Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean fired away from the outside, Whitehead was there to take care of the dirty work. He averaged a team high 8.0 rebounds per game. His senior leadership is also very important for this young and inconsistent team.

Key Stats:

* Duke is just 6-4 in their last 10 games. In all four of the losses, guard Daniel Ewing fouled out.

* This seems to be the "Princeton" bracket. Princeton (obviously), Air Force and Monmouth all play a version of the Princeton style of basketball, which consists of a patient motion offense which drains out the shot clock and looks for high percentage shots, while trying to keep the score down in the 50s. Not surprisingly, Air Force (50.4 ppg) and Princeton (56.5 ppg) were the top two teams in the nation in points allowed, while Monmouth held their three opponents in the Northeast Conference Tournament to an average of 50 points per game.

* First-year Illinois coach Bruce Weber led Southern Illinois to the Sweet 16 in 2001 as a No. 11 seed.