For the first time since 2003, the state of Wisconsin has placed three teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. That year, Marquette went to the Final Four, Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 and UWM lost a 1-point thriller to Notre Dame in the first round; I don't expect the results to be quite as fruitful in 2006.

But before I get into this year's matchups, allow me to complain about the selection committee's seeding decisions, which is first among the college basketball fan's Bill of Rights. Marquette is a 7 in the Oakland bracket, Wisconsin is a 9 in the Minneapolis bracket and UWM is an 11 in the same region. I don't have much of a beef with those seeds, but I do have some relational seed issues pertaining to both MU and UW.

For instance, was Indiana's brutal win over the Badgers on Friday worth three seeds? IU is a 6, despite finishing tied with UW in the regular season and getting blown out in the teams' meeting in Madison (and being squarely on the bubble for the last month). Apparently, Friday's win (in "neutral" Indianapolis) was important enough to give the Hoosiers a significantly better draw than the Badgers.

Marquette may deserve a 7, but how does Syracuse -- a team that finished three games behind the Golden Eagles in the Big East -- merit a 5? I understand the Orange completed a magical tourney run in New York City last weekend, but didn't they lose by 39 to DePaul the weekend before? Syracuse finished sub-.500 in conference play, yet they earn a 5 seed! No extended Gerry McNamara highlight reel justifies that.

The lesson, of course, is that conference tournament play matters -- too much, from my perspective, but such is life. But because UWM took care of business impressively in its tournament, it earns a respectable 11 seed. That's one line higher than last year's 12, which the Panthers used as a springboard to the Sweet 16.

Now, on to the matchups:

Marquette: No. 7 seed in Oakland/West region

When/Where: Thursday at 1:40 in San Diego

Opponent: No. 10 Alabama (17-12, 10-6; third in SEC West)

Player to Watch: Sophomore point guard Ronald Steele. Steele's numbers (13.8 ppg, 4.1 apg and 3.7 rpg) are very similar to those of Dominic James (15.1, 5.4, 4.6), and he averaged more than 40 minutes/game in conference play.

Matchup Issue: The game could turn on the Golden Eagles ability to slow down forward Jermareo Davidson (14.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg), who presents major size and quickness issues for Marquette in the post. It could be a long game for Ousmane Barro.

Notable wins/losses: In non-conference play, Alabama lost to Memphis by 11 and N.C. State by 4. The Tide also lost at home to Notre Dame, a team MU beat twice. In conference play, Alabama beat all five of the SEC's other NCAA tourney teams (Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee) one time apiece.

Factoid: Including this season, the Tide have made the tournament in five consecutive years. Last year, UWM bounced the No. 5-seeded Tide in the first round, 83-73. In 2004, Alabama reached the Elite Eight before losing to UConn, who went on to win the championship.

Pick: This game is dangerous for a lot of reasons, but I like the mercurial Golden Eagles simply because they've been through so many wars in Big East play. A possible Saturday matchup involving No. 2 seed UCLA could be another story.

UW-Milwaukee: No. 11 seed in Minneapolis/Midwest region

When/Where: Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Jacksonville

Opponent: No. 6 Oklahoma (20-8, 11-5; third in Big 12)

Player to Watch: Senior forward Taj Gray (14.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg). The 6-9, 238-lb. big man is a true post player. His bulk will present some problems for twin towers Jason McCoy and Derrick Ford, but their 10 fouls and long arms could neutralize the Sooners main weapon.

Matchup Issues: Senior point guard Terrell Everett (12.4 ppg, 6.7 apg) will probably draw Boo Davis defensively rather than undersized Chris Hill. Sixth-man Mike Neal (12.7 ppg) has hit 3-point daggers all season. UWM must neutralize his shooting acumen to pull the upset.

Notable wins/losses: Beat Alabama but lost big to West Virginia (24) and Villanova (by 11). In conference, they split with Texas and lost their only game with Kansas by a point.

Factoids: Top scorers Gray and Neal are both JUCO transfers. Also, the Sooners have lost to No. 13 seeds three times since 1992, so OU may be prone to an upset.

Pick: I write for OnMilwaukee.com; in short, I ain't picking Oklahoma. In a dandy, the Panthers win by 3. Round two would feature either Florida or S. Alabama.

Wisconsin: No. 9 seed in Minneapolis/Midwest region

When/Where: Friday at 11:30 in Philadelphia

Opponent: No. 8 Arizona (19-12, 11-7; fourth in Pac-10)

Player to Watch: All-conference shooting guard Hassan Adams (17.3 ppg, 5.1 apg) was suspended from the Pac-10 tourney on a DUI charge. He's expected to play, and he's incredibly dangerous offensively.

Matchup Issue: Freshman forward Marcus Williams (12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) is UA's version of Alando Tucker, and he finished the season playing his best ball. The Badgers will need to slow him down if Adams has a big night.

Notable wins/losses: The Wildcats opened the season with a win over Kansas and close losses to UConn (by 9) and Michigan State (by 3), but November was a long time ago. Went 2-4 against the three teams (UCLA, Washington and Cal) that finished ahead of them in conference play.

Factoid: Arizona has made the tournament in every season since the field expanded to 64 (now 65) teams -- which adds up to 22 straight NCAA berths.

Pick: UA likes to press and Bo Ryan's teams at UW are known to be careful with the ball. But this Badgers team actually turns it over more than its opponents, and no UW team under Ryan has played worse over the last six weeks. Unless someone besides Tucker starts to hit some shots (paging Kammron Taylor), UA figures to beat UW.