By Pat Coleman
Publisher, D3hoops.com

This year's tournament gets underway Wednesday night, with 36 of the 50 teams in action. If you don't already know why it's 50 teams for the women and 48 for the men, it's because there are more women's basketball programs in Division III. Those extra two teams are dispersed throughout the bracket on an annual basis, meaning two teams do not get first-round byes.

The suspense over whether Trinity would defend its title came in the final minutes of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title game loss to DePauw, which is unfortunate. It should, however, put a big fork in any complaints about politics and members of the committee getting favorable treatment — Becky Geyer as the national chair wasn't enough to get her team in the tournament.

Will any of the three University Athletic Association teams, each getting a first-round bye, return the conference to the national championship tradition set out by Washington U. and New York University? Which MAC team will play for a trip to the Final Four, and which Maine team will face them? Will UW-Stevens Point finally defend its 2002 title?

We try to answer these questions and more in our 2004 NCAA Tournament preview.

East Regional

No. 9 Mount St. Mary at No. 8 Union, winner to No. 1 New York University
No. 10 Cortland State at No. 5 Ithaca, winner to No. 3 Rochester
No. 12 Alvernia at No. 6 Johns Hopkins, winner to No. 2 Marymount
No. 11 Pitt-Greensburg at No. 4 McDaniel, winner to winner of
No. 13 Hunter at No. 7 New Jersey

There are three legitimate Final Four contenders out of this group in NYU, Marymount and Rochester. Can McDaniel or Johns Hopkins do the same? Marymount can be knocked off, although it's tough to do at home.

Cinderella story: We usually define this as a team that starts with a first round road game and advances to the Sweet 16. Cortland State has been to the Sweet 16 as recently as 2001 but the SUNYAC hasn't won a playoff game since. They'll have to have learned something since their Dec. 9 loss at Ithaca in order to do so, however.

Most likely to disappoint: Rochester. They've continued to play well at home, but it's not clear how long they'll get to stay there.

Who will win? New York University. The Violets were on the cusp of the tournament the last two years before falling off the bubble and are hungry.

Great Lakes Regional

No. 9 Albion at No. 8 Wilmington, winner to No. 4 Franklin
No. 12 Aurora at No. 5 DePauw, winner to No. 1 Thomas More
No. 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at No. 3 Chapman, winner hosts No. 7 Puget Sound
No. 11 Lakeland at No. 6 Carleton, winner to No. 2 Buena Vista

Franklin? Thomas More? Buena Vista? Chapman? These aren't your typical top seeds for these parts of the country. But Thomas More, led by interim coach Jeff Hetzer after longtime coach Sherri Brumfield left under unexplained circumstances in early February, stands at 20-5, 4-0 under Hetzer. Franklin is 1-1 against NCAA Tournament teams, with puzzling results — a win against Millikin (21-5) and a loss to Aurora (11-17). Chapman has done fairly well in the tournament in recent years and a first-round win would give them a second-round home game against Puget Sound. Remember, the Loggers got into the tournament on a coin flip in the first year since the Northwest Conference discontinued its conference tournament.

Cinderella story: Albion has the best path but Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is our choice. They split with Chapman, led by former CMS interim coach Carol Jue, in the regular season.

Most likely to disappoint: Thomas More. They'll be at home in the second round but likely facing a much better DePauw team.

Who will win? We like DePauw.

Northeast Regional

No. 12 Widener at No. 7 Gwynedd-Mercy, winner to No. 2 Scranton
No. 11 Penn State-Behrend at No. 6 Wittenberg, winner to No. 3 Messiah
No. 8 Emmanuel at No. 9 Salve Regina, winner to No. 1 Bowdoin
No. 10 Clark at No. 5 Salem State, winner travels to the winner of
No. 13 Husson at No. 4 Southern Maine

Bowdoin, Scranton and Southern Maine are all legitimate national contenders, and Messiah is probably one year away from being so. Tiffany Jones' sprained ankle could be a problem for Southern Maine if she's not ready by Saturday's second-round game. Bowdoin held off archrival Bates for the second consecutive year in the NESCAC finals to get this far but doesn't match up well with Emmanuel's athleticism.

Cinderella story: We don't see any of the first-round road teams pulling off two upsets, but Wittenberg is the next-best bet.

Most likely to disappoint: Everything centers on Bowdoin as the No. 1 team in the country and only unbeaten team in Division III.

Who will win? Southern Maine avenges its early-season loss and beats Bowdoin, then beats Scranton in the Elite Eight.

Central Regional

No. 9 Wheaton (Ill.) at No. 8 Ripon, winner goes to No. 1 UW-Stevens Point
No. 10 Maryville (Mo.) at No. 7 Millikin, winner to No. 4 Washington U.
No. 12 Mary Baldwin to No. 5 Maryville (Tenn.), winner to No. 2 Hardin-Simmons
No. 11 Christopher Newport to No. 6 Bethany, winner to No. 3 Eastern Mennonite

Two recent national champions in this bracket, though the defending national champion is not. This is a top-heavy bracket, with only three teams with a history of recent playoff success. Mary Baldwin could give the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference its first NCAA Tournament win. Millikin could knock off Washington U. the way they beat UW-Oshkosh, or they could lose to Maryville right off the bat.

Cinderella story: Winning two road games? Christopher Newport is the only one with a legitimate chance. Wheaton could do so theoretically but has run hot and cold over the last couple of seasons.

Most likely to disappoint: Eastern Mennonite. They're not yet ready for a high seed.

Who will win? UW-Stevens Point. They'll believe it if they read it here.

Final Four

We'll take DePauw over New York University, then Southern Maine over UW-Stevens Point. Southern Maine defeats DePauw in a championship game worthy of a national stage.

Then Southern Maine will not get a Pool C bid next season.