2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: How will the 11 Catholic college teams fare?

(Catholic Online) - Fans of Catholic college basketball have much to cheer about this month as 11 Catholic school teams earned bids to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The 11 Catholic college teams include several already familiar with the "March Madness" tournament along with a few that are in the tournament for the first time in history.

How far might we expect the Catholic college teams to go? Do any have a chance of making it to the Final Four? Here is our quick team-by-team bracket analysis.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

#2 Georgetown

Here's a Catholic university that is quite familiar with the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Hoyas made the Final Four before falling to Ohio State. This year, sporting a 27-2 record, Georgetown is a team to beat in the Midwesst Regional.

The Hoyas have a balanced team, but Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace had the hot hands in the Big East Tournament. The selling point, however, is a rock-solid defense. Expect the Hoyas to walk all over their first-round opponent, the just-glad-to-be-here University of Maryland/Baltimore County, setting up Georgetown for a second-round matchup against Gonzaga.

#7 Gonzaga

Speaking of Gonzaga, the Zags find themselves in familiar territory as a mid-ranked team with potential to upset the big boys. If David Pendergraft and Steven Gray gets into the shooting groove and reserve Josh Heytvelt is healthy, and Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin play a notch above themselves, Gonzaga may have legs. That's a lot of "ifs." The problem is that if they get past #10 Davidson, they will probably meet #2 Georgetown -- and the season ends there.

#12 Villanova

The Wildcats put it all together late in the season and won an at-large berth. Individual players have tended to be inconsistent during the course of their 20-12 season, but the late-season play of Scottie Reynolds and Dwayne Anderson has helped put some spark into the team. Talk about a balanced offense: In a loss to Georgetown in the Big East tournament, Anderson led the team with 13 points and three others had 12 each. Villanova may give opening-round opponent #5 Clemson a run for their money. It would be interesting to see Villanova take on #13 Siena in what would be an all-Catholic matchup of giant-killers, but that's not likely to happen.

#13 Siena

The tiny-school-that-could from Loudonville, N.Y., has gone one-and-out in each of the last two NCAA tournaments. It will almost certainly happen again this year as the Saints take on #4 Vanderbilt. Siena knows how to score and can play the running game, and the team showed scrappiness in winning six straight and overcoming a 17-point deficit against Loyola en route to taking the MAAC crown. Players on and off the bench, including Alex Franklin, Josh Duell and Tay Fisher, each seemed to hit their stride at precisely the right time to keep the Saints alive. In the end, however, their mediocre defense will not be able to stop Vanderbilt's sparkling offense.

The Saints are a young team, with three starting sophomores and no starting seniors, so watch for a more formidable Siena team to penetrate the bracket deeply -- in 2009.

EAST REGIONAL

#6 Marquette

Marquette, another at-large Big East team deserves to be here with its 24-9 record. The Eagles have been one-and-out over the past two years, but they will hang around a bit longer in 2008. Jerel McNeal and Dominic James anchor the team with a good mix of strong defense and scoring threat. If scoring threat Lazar Hayward gets consistent and Dan Fitzgerald comes off the bench and knocks down some threes, Marquette could sneak into the Final Four. Their opening game against #11 Kentucky won't be a cakewalk, but the Eagles should come out on top.

#10St. Mary's (Moraga, Calif.)

Someone has got to explain how the Gaels ended up with four Australian players on their team. Heavy recruitment efforts in Sydney? They didn't win the West Coast Conference, but their surprising 25-6 record got them an at-large berth. Patrick Mills, Todd Golden, and Diamon Simpson are the main sparkplugs of the team, which knows how to score inside and outside and can keep up with a running game. There is some vulnerability at the free-throw line, which could spell their downfall in the closing minutes of a tight game. The Gaels could be the Cinderella team of this tournament. They could upset #7 Miami in the first round, but their season almost certainly would end in the second round against #2 Texas.

SOUTH REGIONAL

#3 Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Here's a team with strength at every position. Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender can do it all -- defense, scoring, playmaking, 3-pointers, free throws -- and the fact that the team's leading scorer is a reserve (Josh Duncan) says a lot about balance. Xavier's 27-6 record should earn them respect, but even as an at-large team from the Atlantic 10 they are a powerhouse that sometimes is not taken seriously -- much to the detriment of their opponents. Watch for them to beat #14 Georgia and then the winner of the #6 Purdue/#11 Baylor game to make the Sweet 16, then keep in mind that their likely Regional Semifinals opponent, #2 Duke, has shown some vulnerability this year.

#13 San Diego

The Toreros earned a trip to its first-ever NCAA tournament by upsetting Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference championship. Juniors Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare anchor this 21-13 team. The Toreros are tenacious, but they have no depth, no bench strength to speak of. #4 Connecticut will send them home with nothing but muscle aches and autographs. But this is a university sports program that is definitely on the rise, so you can expect San Diego to be back before long.

WEST REGIONAL

#5 Notre Dame

Digger Phelps, call your office.... the Fighting Irish are for real this year. Luke Harangody is the most outstanding player of the Big East, they have solid inside play also from Rob Kurz, Kyle McAlarney (an Irish name if ever there was one) can rack up the numbers, and Ryan Ayers and Luke Zeller can come in off the bench and toss in three-pointers all evening if you let them.

The problem is that one of the Irish's best weapons is also their downfall: If you live by the three, you die by the three. Inconsistency can mean an early exit, but if Notre Dame is hot, they could still be playing on the tournament's third weekend. They should not look past their opening match with a pesky #12 George Mason team, though.

#11 St. Joseph's (Philadelphia, Pa.)

The Hawks have a strong team at 21-12. However, this is not the team that has surprised opponents in past tournaments. The Hawks have some fine players, but each comes with an Achilles' heel. Pat Calathes can both rebound and score from the mid-range and beyond, but at a wiry 6-10 he can't keep up physically under the basket. Darrin Govens can shoot threes but has trouble running the offense; Ahmad Nivins is a good low-post scorer but is inconsistent in defense. #6 Oklahoma should send the Hawks packing, but then again the 22-11 Sooners have demonstrated that they know how to lose a game, too -- so this could be worth watching.

Mount St. Mary's (Emmitsburg, Md.)

This tiny college (enrollment: 1,522) makes the NCCA tournament by virtue of its surprise triumph in the Northeast Conference tournament. Chris Vann, Jeremy Goode, and Sam Atupem are the team's obvious leaders, and much will depend on how well they play -- or how well their opponents shut them down.

At 18-14, the Mountaineers aren't going to scare any major teams. But their saving grace is that they are in the "play-in" game, which gives them an opportunity to move from the "round of 65" to the "round of 64." Their play-in opponent, cross-state rival and MEAC champion Coppin State, was a late-blooming team this season that sports a losing record of 16-20. You've got to love the Mountaineers' chances there. Their reward for that victory will be a first-round lesson on how to play big-college basketball courtesy of #1 North Carolina.

Our NCAA First-Weekend Catholic Team Predictions:

One-and-Out: Mount St. Mary's (after play-in victory), San Diego, Siena

Gone By First Weekend: Gonzaga, St. Joseph's, St. Mary's, Villanova

Should Make Regional Semifinals: Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Xavier

Could Make Final Four: Notre Dame, Georgetown, Xavier

Could Go All the Way: Georgetown, Xavier

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