"Inadvertent" eh Katz? Right...
QuoteMarquee 8-9 matchups: This has been the year of high-profile teams playing their way down in the seeding process. Just look at the 8-9 matchups: Arizona doesn't have eighth-seeded talent, but it played its way down to that seed and draws No. 9 Purdue in New Orleans. Marquette, which looked like a Big East title contender earlier in the season, slid to a No. 8 and will play No. 9 Michigan State in Winston-Salem (one of those inadvertent coaching story lines that pits teacher against pupil as Tom Izzo faces off against Tom Crean). Kentucky, one of the most recognizable names, dropped to a No. 8 and drew No. 9 Villanova in Chicago. You conceivably could have Florida playing Arizona, Kentucky against Kansas and Marquette against North Carolina in the second round. There's nothing wrong with these second-round games -- it is just jarring for traditionalists to see these games in so early in the tournament.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/columns/story?id=2795023 (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/columns/story?id=2795023)