Kentucky Top Seed…In NIT
Mark Story, Kentucky.com
As Sunday progressed toward dusk, the "bracketologists" had long since moved toward unanimity: The Kentucky Wildcats were not going to be in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Still, as CBS revealed the actual tourney matchups, I could not help expecting to hear the word Kentucky called out. Half expected it right up until 6:32 p.m., when CBS announced that Arizona and Belmont were the 67th and 68th teams in the 2013 Big Dance. For UK, Selection Sunday had officially become Rejection Sunday…MORE

Xavier’s Season Over Early
Andy Katz, ESPN.com
The NIT selection committee snubbed Xavier despite quality the Musketeers' wins over Temple, Butler, La Salle, Memphis and Saint Louis. Xavier coach Chris Mack and outgoing athletic director Mike Bobinski were expecting to get an NIT bid. When one didn’t come Sunday night they both agreed not to pursue the CBI…MORE

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Nearly six months after Xavier's 76-53 win over the Bearcats ended in a brawl at Cintas Center, school officials at Cincinnati and Xavier re-evaluated aspects of a series that began in 1927 and has been played every year since the 1945-46 season. The end result has the two schools playing at US Bank Arena, at least for the next two years, and has the series being renamed from the Crosstown Shootout to the Skyline Chili Crosstown Classic.

COMPLETE ARTILCE (WCPO.com)

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After an embarrassing brawl at the end of last year’s Crosstown Shootout between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center, the game will reportedly be moved to US Bank Arena for the next two years, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Neither school has confirmed the move and the two issued a joint statement in a press release yesterday stating that no official agreement has been reached and announcement will come at a later date.

The paper states that the rivalry game will be played on Dec. 18, 19 or 20 and will be televised on one of the ESPN channels, with an official announcement expected in June. 

The last time UC and XU played each other at the downtown arena was Jan. 29, 1987 when the building was known as Riverfront Coliseum and served as UC’s home court.

MY TAKE: I don’t have a problem with the move, but I don’t believe that moving it to a neutral location where the fan base will be closer to 50/50 is going to help make it a less hostile environment. I definitely side with keeping the game around more than suspending indefinitely altogether.

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from USA Today...

Xavier guard Mark Lyons is headed to Arizona to complete his final year of eligibility. Lyons, a fifth-year senior, is expected to play immediately because there is no mandatory redshirt year for graduate students. Lyons confirmed the decision to transfer to Arizona on Twitter.

The move makes sense for Lyons, who originally committed to then-Xavier coach Sean Miller. Miller took the Arizona head coaching gig prior to the 2009-10 season. The Wildcats also needed a point guard since freshman guard Josiah Turner left the program (and is now headed to SMU).

COMPLETE STORY

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Between Syracuse being without Fab Melo and North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall’s broken wrist, projecting the remainder of the NCAA Tournament gets tough. Let’s be honest though after shredding my brackets on Saturday I wasn’t that good on my first crack last week at the beginning of the tournament.

With that in mind is here are my updated Power Rankings heading into the Sweet 16:

1. Kentucky
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Syracuse
5. North Carolina
6. Kansas
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Marquette
10. Cincinnati
11. Indiana
12. Florida
13. NC State
14. Wisconsin
15. Xavier
16. Ohio

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Here are some interesting numbers for this year's field of 16 in the NCAA tournament:

OHIO PROUD
-The Buckeye State becomes the first state ever to field four Sweet 16 teams with Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio State and Xavier all still alive.

BY CONFERENCE
Big East (4)
Big Ten (4)
ACC (2)
Big 12 (2)
SEC (2)
A-10 (1)
MAC (1)

BY SEEDS
1 seeds (4-Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, Michigan State)
2 seeds (2-Kansas, Ohio State)
3 seeds (2-Marquette, Baylor)
4 seeds: (3-Louisville, Indiana, Wisconsin)
6 seed (Cincinnati)
7 seed (Florida)
10 seed (Xavier)
11 seed (N.C. State)
13 seed (Ohio)

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Thursday, March 22
7:15 – 1 Syracuse vs. 4 Wisconsin (Boston) - CBS
7:47 – 1 Michigan St vs. 4 Louisville (Phoenix) - TBS
9:45 – 2 Ohio State vs. 6 Cincinnati (Boston) - CBS
10:17 – 3 Marquette vs. 7 Florida (Phoenix) - TBS

Friday, March 23
7:15 – 3 Baylor vs. 10 Xavier (Atlanta) - CBS
7:47 – 1 North Carolina vs. 13 Ohio (St. Louis) - TBS
9:45 – 1 Kentucky vs. 4 Indiana (Atlanta) - CBS
10:17 – 2 Kansas vs. 11 NC State (St. Louis) - TBS

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from Forbes.com...

The financial windfall that seating-related contributions generate for college basketball teams is just one way that the sport is progressively emulating its professional counterpart. This is the first year that our valuations have captured the effects of Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center, which opened in October 2010. The state-of-the-art waterfront arena rivals many NBA venues, and it has certainly played a major role in Louisville’s 39% growth in value over the last two years.

1. Louisville
5. Kentucky
6. Indiana
7. Ohio State

One that could surprise you...

17. Xavier Musketeers
Current Value: $12.9 million
Two-Year Change in Value: -10%
Basketball Profit: $7.3 million
Conference: A-10
Head Coach: Chris Mack
Xavier is the only school on our list from a non-football conference, due mostly to meager expenses: the Musketeers were the only team on our list to keep spending under $4 million. Xavier was also second only to Duke in money contributed to basketball scholarships.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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Here's a look at the opening round matchups and times of local interest:

COMPLETE SCHEDULE (CBSSports.com)

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Tuesday, March 6 – First Round
(Regional TV only)
No. 9 Duqense (16-14) at No. 8 Massachusetts (20-10) - 7 p.m.
No. 12 Charlotte (13-16) at No. 5 St. Joseph's (19-12) - 7 p.m.
No. 10 Richmond (16-15) at No. 7 LaSalle (20-11) - 7 p.m.
No. 11 George Washington (10-20) at No 6 Dayton (19-11) - 7 p.m.

Friday, March 9 - Quarterfinals
(CBS Sports Network)
UMass/Duquense winner vs. No. 1 Temple (24-6) - 12 p.m.
St. Joseph's/Charlotte winner vs. No. 4 St. Bonaventure (17-11) - 2:30 p.m.
LaSalle/Richmond winner vs. No. 2 St. Louis (24-6) - 6:30 p.m.
Dayton/George Washington winner vs. No 3. Xavier (19-11) - 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 - Semifinals
(CBS Sports Network)
Friday afternoon winners - 1:00 p.m.
Friday evening winners - 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 11 - Finals
(CBS Sports Network)
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.

*First-round games played on campus; remainder of tournament in Atlantic City, NJ

PROJECTED WINNER: ST. LOUIS (TeamRankings.com)

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