“Final Four” --- the 2003 NCAA Basketball Tournament

American college basketball (NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association) is a favorite sports of Americans. It may correspond to Japanese high school baseball, which is one of the most popular sports for the Japanese ^*). The NCAA Basketball season started last November and a few weeks ago the league games in each conference finished. 64 teams were selected for the 2003 NCAA Basketball Tournament based upon the results of the league games. The NCAA Tournament is underway, and after many intense games there are only four teams remaining. These “Final Four” teams will play in the semifinals in New Orleans on April 5 and then the two winners will play in the final on April 7.

Note: Once this tournament begins, people, especially guys, like to pick the game winners beforehand and then see whose "picks" are the most accurate at the end of the tournament. Often the person with the best picks wins a pool of money.

Re: a local team: Unfortunately the Golden Gophers, the men’s basketball team of the U of Minnesota, didn’t make the Tournament. However, they were chosen for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) (20 teams). The U of Minnesota team made it to a semifinal game which was played at Madison Square Garden , N. Y., but they got creamed.

Women’s NCAA Tournament: Although women’s college basketball is not as popular as men’s, it continues to gain popularity. Like Men’s basketball, 64 teams were chosen for the 2003 NCAA Basketball Tournament and the teams have been fighting to reach the “Final Four”. The four teams will compete for the championship at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta , April 6 and April 8.

Re: a local team: The Golden Gophers, the women’s basketball team of the U of Minnesota, made the Tournament. They became one of the “Sweet 16”, but failed to become one of the “Elite Eight.” Every year this team improves, so we look forward to seeing better results next year

*) in Japanese < http://www.exploreamerica.info/what_letter_Jpn_12_S_01_120402.htm >

Sources
< http://www.ncaasports.com/ >
< http://www.gophersports.com/sports/sport.asp?sport_id=mBasket&sport_name=Basketball >
< http://www.gophersports.com/Sports/sport.asp?option=fr&sport_id=wbasket >

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