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By now you've been studying the brackets for hours. Perhaps more importantly, you've been fielding calls in hushed tones and having secretive conversations at the water cooler about your NCAA Tournament picks.
Your opportunity to impress your co-workers, your friends, your boss and -- yes -- your significant other has never been greater. So why would you head into these conversations with anything less than the most current conventional wisdom?
Check out the list below for who and what is hot, and what's not cool to spout off about. Your ability to be out front on this will cement your celebrity status within the office, at the bar and in the home for the rest of the year.
What's Hot, What's Not: The 2002 NCAA Tournament
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Category
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Hot
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Not
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Directional school
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Southern Illinois
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Central Connecticut State
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Premature MOP favorite
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Steve Blake
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Casey Jacobsen
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This year's Gonzaga
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Illinois-Chicago
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Gonzaga
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Fan
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Ashley Judd
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John Stockton
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"Forget our academics"
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Notre Dame
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Duke
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Old coach
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Steve Fisher
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Jim Boeheim
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Young coach
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Sidney Green (Fla. Atlantic)
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Matt Doherty
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Really-needs-a-win coach
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Bobby Knight
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Bill Self
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"He's due" coach
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Kelvin Sampson (Okla.)
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Al Skinner (B.C.)
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Hoops hot-bed
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Ohio
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Georgia
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Perennial underachiever
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Cincinnati
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Missouri
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Nickname
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Salukis (Southern Illinois)
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Wildcats (pick any)
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Cheerleaders
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UCLA
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(We're not that mean)
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Small conference
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Horizon
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America East
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Mid-major conference
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Mizzou Valley
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WAC
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Power conference
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Pac-10
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Atlantic 10
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Sleeper
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Xavier
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Wake Forest
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Bandwagon Final Four pick
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Maryland
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Arizona
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Carry-the-team PG
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Cordell Henry (Marquette)
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Steve Logan (Cincy)
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Go-to scorer
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Juan Dixon (Maryland)
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Kareem Rush (Mizzou)
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Upset special
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San Diego State over Illinois
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Hampton, Part Deux
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Lock to choke
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Indiana
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Ohio State
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Phrase at the office
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"Two entry-sheets, please."
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"So, it wasn't a recession?"
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Sub-region
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Albuquerque, N.M.
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Greenville, S.C.
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NBA stock
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Chris Wilcox (Maryland)
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James White (Florida)
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"State"
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Mississippi
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Oklahoma
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"Williams" on hot seat
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Roy (Kansas)
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Gary (Maryland)
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Sartorial style (coach)
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Snappy suit
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Sweaters
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Sartorial style (player)
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Roc-a-fella
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Sean John
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Bench superstition
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Locked arms
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Timed feet stomp
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Jersey to be seen in
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San Diego State
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Miami (Fla.)
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Say hello, say goodbye
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Montana
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Florida Atlantic
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"Sound-smarter" buzzwords for the water cooler
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"Record vs. RPI 1-50"
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"Um ... Duke's good."
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Conventional wisdom
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You need an experienced point guard
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You need depth
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Defense
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Multiple zones
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Straight man-to-man
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Hot coming in
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Gonzaga
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Stanford
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Hairstyle
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The high 'fro
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Cornrows
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Three-point shooter
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Kirk Hinrich (Kansas)
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Jason Gardner (Arizona)
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First-round matchup
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Wyoming-Gonzaga
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Duke-Winthrop
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"Get over it already"
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The Cincy-Oklahoma "Who's No. 1?" debate
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Gonzaga as a 6 seed
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Fashion statement
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High socks
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Headbands
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Discussion topic
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"How's your Greenville?"
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"How's that presentation?"
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Trend
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Return of power leagues
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Mid-majors are a force
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"OH-ver-RAY-ted!"
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Indiana a 5?
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Pittsburgh a 3?
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NIT favorite
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Virginia
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Butler
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Will screw your pool sheet every time
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UCLA
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The Big Ten
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NCAA coach convention hot-button issue
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Tanking the conference tourneys
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Recruiting LeBron James
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Pity for burst bubble
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Utah State
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Memphis
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Strategy
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3-point bombs away
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Half-court execution
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Cliché
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"Survive and advance"
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"One game at a time"
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Storyline
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Fourth No. 1 as weakest link
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KU, MD, Duke FF locks
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Least likely to be underexposed
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Jason Williams (Duke)
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Frank Williams (Illinois)
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Needs more hype
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Luke Ridnour (Oregon)
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Drew Gooden (Kansas)
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Hottest ticket
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D.C. sub-regional
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64 vs. 65 play-in
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"One Shining Moment" cover-band wish
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Alicia Keys
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Enrique Iglesias
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Duke flaw to watch
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Jason William's FT percentage
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Carlos Boozer's fouls
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Spotlight-stealer
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Quin Snyder to DePaul?
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Tim Floyd to Purdue?
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Human highlight reel
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Marcus Hatten (St. John's)
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Sam Clancy (USC)
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Bandwagon team
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Oklahoma
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Illinois
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Potential second-round matchup
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Cincinnati-UCLA
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Pitt-Cal
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Everyone out there thinks they know the hot sleeper or the favorite that can't miss. Well, Page 2 already has heard it all, and here's what we think of the conventional wisdom on picking this year's bracket big winners:
Page 2 bracket picks
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Category
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We like
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We don't like
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East fave
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Maryland
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Georgia
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East sleeper
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N.C. State
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Texas Tech
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West fave
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Gonzaga
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Cincinnati
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West sleeper
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Xavier
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Missouri
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Midwest fave
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Kansas
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Oregon
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Midwest sleeper
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Florida
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Texas
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South fave
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Duke
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Alabama
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South sleeper
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USC
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Indiana
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Has it easy
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Duke
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The West
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Got hosed
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Gonzaga
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Georgia
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Pick for your boss
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Kansas over Duke
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Alabama over Gonzaga
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Pick for yourself
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Maryland over ...
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... Duke
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Dan Shanoff is a regular contributor to Page 2.
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| THE HOT LIST | |
| ALSO SEE:
Dan Shanoff Archive
Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for Washington sports
Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for NBA at midseason
The Hot 'n' not list for 2002 Winter Olympics
Shanoff: The Hot 'n' not list for Super Bowl
Shanoff: The Hot 'n' Not List for 2002
What's hot, what's not for college hoops
What's hot, what's not for NBA 2001-02
What's hot, what's not for NHL 2001-02
What's hot, what's not for college football '01
What's hot, what's not for NFL 2001
What's hot, what's not for summer 2001
What's hot, what's not for NBA playoffs
What's hot, what's not for Stanley Cup playoffs
What's hot, what's not for NCAA Tourney
What's hot, what's not at spring training
What's hot, what's not at Super Bowl XXXV
What's hot, what's not in 2001
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