‘’Would you be willing to wear a Cinderella dress?’’

That’s something you ask a 5-year-old girl who loves pretend games. But in late January, we asked it of Dick Vitale, 68, the face and voice of ESPN’s college basketball broadcasts.

He agreed.

‘’I’m a ham,’’ Vitale said. ‘’This game has been so good to me, I’ll do anything to promote it. Besides, I love those Cinderella teams.’’

On March 11, wedged between his assignments at the North Carolina-Duke game and the ACC Tournament, Vitale made time for us at his Lakewood Ranch home. Sports writer-turned-fashion coordinator Katherine Smith secured the dress and accessories. Photographer Michael Spooneybarger, somehow keeping a straight face, patiently searched for the proper angles and lighting. Multimedia photo editor Joseph Brown III documented the proceedings on video.

Vitale, ever the good sport, was a perfect model. And, as usual, he says we can expect the unexpected at this season’s NCAA Tournament. Some results may even leave you speechless – sort of like the anticipated reaction to our cover shot.

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We remember Florida’s back-to-back titles, Villanova’s perfect game, N.C. State’s improbable feat, Michael Jordan’s championship-winning shot as a freshman, Bird-Magic and UCLA’s great run.

The Final Four is about making memories.

But what about the NCAA Tournament overall, specifically its beginning?

March Madness officially opens for business today. You’re bound to see some upsets and great performances.

Here’s a look at some moments that resonated and other things to watch in the NCAA Tournament’s first-round games.

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The No. 5-seeded Drake Bulldogs (28-4) were picked for ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Now they have reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971 and face No. 12 Western Kentucky on Friday afternoon.

Drake has generally fought for basketball recognition, even in its home city of Des Moines, where the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones are the kingpins. But for the second straight season, neither Iowa nor Iowa State has made the NCAA field.

‘’I think most people in the entire state of Iowa are behind us and want us to do well,’’ Drake senior guard Adam Emmenecker said. ‘’Things are changing. You used to go into a [sporting goods] store in Des Moines and you couldn’t find anything from Drake. It was all Iowa and Iowa State.

‘’Now Drake stuff gets a whole wall display. The word is getting out.’’

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The San Diego Toreros play at the 5,100-seat Jenny Craig Pavilion, a distinctive looking $17.5-million arena with a 16th-century Spanish Renaissance architectural theme.

The name was prompted by a $10-million donation from Sid and Jenny Craig, the weight-loss entrepreneurs.

The arena’s unofficial name: The Slim Gym.

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The No. 4 Vanderbilt Commodores (26-7) began the season at 16-0.

They enter the NCAA Tournament losing three of the last five games, including an SEC Tournament quarterfinal defeat against Arkansas.

Vandy coach Kevin Stallings wasn’t going to play fun with numbers. He said none of them will dictate how the Commodores perform in the first round against Siena.

‘’It’s not fair to take one snapshot and say you’re playing well or you’re not,’’ Stallings told the (Nashville) Tennessean. ‘’Last season, we’d lost our last two [before reaching the Sweet 16]. It didn’t seem to affect us.

‘’I’m not concerned with three losses in the last five games. The game before that, we beat the team [Tennessee] that was No. 1 in the country.’’

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Georgia has made the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia was 4-12 in the SEC. Now it is 4-0 in the SEC Tournament, and it’s dancing following the Sunday victory against Arkansas.

So what did we see here?

Oh, not much.

* Georgia escaped an overtime SEC quarterfinal game against Ole Miss on a frantic bank shot by Dave Bliss.

* The next night, as Georgia prepared to face Kentucky, parts of the Georgia Dome roof were blown apart by a tornado. The game was postponed. The Georgia Dome was deemed unplayable. So the Bulldogs went to sleep, well after midnight, not knowing when they would play UK.

* The game was moved to Georgia Tech. Because of the capacity of Alexander Memorial Coliseum, only family, friends, band members, cheerleaders and media members were permitted to attend. Repeat: Georgia was playing the SEC Tournament in its home area, and its fans COULD NOT attend.

* The Dawgs went OT again, beating UK on another insane buzzer-beater. The schedule-makers mandated that Georgia had to play again, facing Mississippi State in a night semifinal. Georgia won again, thus beating two NCAA-bound teams in one day.

* Finally, Sunday, the Dawgs beat Arkansas to win the SEC Tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament.

It’s Cinderella, but not in the Coppin State-sense of the term.

This is N.C. State-like, Villanova-like.

This is 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team-like.

I can’t remember a better story in college basketball, given all the obstacles, the near-weather disaster, the playing two games in one day demands.

The Dawgs are America’s Team. Who cares if they flame out in the NCAA Tournament? We have seen something remarkable.

Note: Georgia will defend its SEC Tournament title next season—in Tampa.

Can’t wait.

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Check Out My Bracket

* Not So Hot: It’s not a deal-breaker if your team is on a so-so run entering the NCAA Tournament. Last season’s Sweet 16 included two teams (USC, Vanderbilt) that went 5-5 in the final 10 pre-tournament games and two more (Pittsburgh, Butler) that went 6-4.

* Don’t Go For Huge Upsets: Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No. 1 seeds are 92-0 against No. 16 seeds. No. 2 seeds are 88-4 against No. 15 seeds.

* Study Your No. 12 Seeds: In 11 of the last 13 tournaments, at least one No. 12 seed has beaten a No. 5. In 2002, three of the four No. 12 seeds won a game.

* Top Three: Top three seeded teams have won 22 of the last 25 titles. One title each has been won by a No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8 seed. No other seed has won the tournament.

* Major Conference Domination: In the past 15 years, 55 of the 60 Final Four teams have come from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or Pac-10. The five that didn’t were Massachusetts (Atlantic 10) in 1996, Utah (Mountain West) in 1998, Marquette (Conference USA) in 2003, Louisville (C-USA) in 2005 and George Mason (Colonial) in 2006.

* The ACC Factor: In 19 of the past 25 seasons, at least one ACC team has made the Final Four.

* Ultimate Matchups: Since seeding began in 1979, the tournament championship game has matched a pair of No. 1 teams only five times – 1982 (North Carolina-Georgetown), 1993 (North Carolina-Michigan), 1999 (Connecticut-Duke), 2005 (North Carolina-Illinois) and 2007 (Florida-Ohio State).

* No. 1 Priority: Since 1979, at least No. 1 seed has made the Final Four in every year except 1980 and 2006. There has never been a Final Four with all four No. 1 seeds (the closest was 1993, when No. 1 seeds North Carolina, Michigan and Kentucky were joined by No. 2 Kansas).

* The Perfect Bracket: So you think it’s possible to select the correct winner in each of the tournament’s 63 games? There are more than nine quintillion different ways to fill out a bracket (9,223,372,036,854,775,808 possibilities, to be exact).

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Somewhere, Ray Mears is smiling.

The Ernie-and-Bernie Show has been eclipsed.

The modern seasons of hopelessness (Wade Houston) and underachievement (Jerry Green) have been forgotten.

Saturday night, the Tennessee Volunteers went on the road to topple No. 1-ranked the prevously unbeaten Memphis 66-62 and it will soon become official.

For the first time in program history, Tennessee will become No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Of course, Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl is much more intrested in winning UT’s first outright SEC title since 1967 and clinching a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. That would provide an exclamation point for what has been an overall so-so season in the SEC.

Coming off back-to-back national championships by Florida, the SEC now has a major player to make a realistic run at the conference three-peat.

If Tennessee wins out, it would be the first time the SEC had three consecutive No. 1 NCAA seeds since a run of five straight in the 1990s (1993 Kentucky, 1994 Arkansas, 1995 Kentucky, 1996 Kentucky, 1997 Kentucky). That was a period of wild basketball success for the league (two national champions, seven Final Four teams).

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When you mention the SEC, what comes to mind? Perhaps Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson? Maybe Bear Bryant? The Swamp?

Oh, maybe Rupp’s Runts. Possibly Dominique Wilkins. Pistol Pete, perhaps? How about Florida’s back-to-back national champions?

Yes, the SEC does have a basketball heritage, an excellent one at that, but it is still widely perceived as a football-first league.

That’s why Tennessee (22-2, 9-1 SEC) could do wonders for the league by running out the remainder of its schedule and claiming a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament.

Since the NCAA began seeding in 1979, the SEC has received exactly 14 No. 1 seeds (nine by Kentucky, two by LSU and one each for Arkansas, Auburn and Florida).

Which major conference has claimed the greatest total of No. 1 seeds? Here are the standings:

* ACC—26

* Big Ten—18

* Big 12—14

* Big East—14

* SEC—14

* Pac-10—13

In a season when Florida has taken a step back, when Kentucky has clearly slipped and when no one else has stepped forward, it’s up to Tennessee to carry the league’s banner.

This should be the best Tennessee team of all-time, maybe one that surpasses 30 victories and goes deep into the tournament. Getting a No. 1 seed would be significant, a first for the Volunteers’ men’s program and a historical indication that Tennessee will be a factor well into March Madness.

Since the seeds began in 1979, there have been 116 teams seeded No. 1—and 99 of those reached the Sweet 16. That’s a pretty good success rate. There’s more than prestige at stake when you earn a No. 1 seed. It puts you that much closer to the Final Four. That’s why Tennessee’s finishing kick—road games with Memphis (Feb. 23) and Florida (March 5) will be fascinating—bears watching.

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OK, as predictions go, this isn’t exactly Joe Willie Namath material.

But the Memphis Tigers (21-0, 7-0 Conference USA) ARE NOT going to become the first unbeaten Division I men’s basketball team since Indiana in 1975-76.

The Tigers nearly went down on Saturday, squeaking past Texas-El Paso 70-64. Their old weakness, free-throw shooting, exposed itself again (21-for-41 from the line). The Tigers still look much closer to a really, really good team (instead of a great team).

Memphis has done everything necessary—so far—to earn a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. It very well could do some damage in March, perhaps making the program’s first Final Four since 1985.

But an unbeaten record? Nope.

It has become the college basketball version of splitting an atom. Heck, just 11 teams (2005 Illinois, 2004 Saint Joseph’s, 2004 Stanford, 1999 Duke, 1998 Princeton, 1997 Kansas, 1996 Massachusetts, 1996 Texas Tech, 1990 LaSalle, 1988 Temple and 1987 UNLV) have entered the tournament with only ONE defeat since the 64-team field was introduced in 1985.

None of them won the national championship.

Since Indiana’s 1976 title, only two teams entered the NCAA Tournament unbeaten (1979 Indiana State, 1991 UNLV).

Neither won the national championship.

Memphis coach John Calipari would never admit to this publicly. But would dropping a game or two in February be such a bad thing?

The C-USA opponents might not offer much resistence—UCF goes to Memphis on Feb. 9—but the real date to watch might be Feb. 23 (Tennessee at Memphis).

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Sooner or later, we have to acknowledge that the Florida Gators (18-3, 6-1 SEC) are back to building something pretty special in Gainesville. After Sunday’s smashing of Vanderbilt, the Gators have entered the conversation for an opening-round NCAA Tournament date in Tampa.

A few weeks ago, that looked like a long shot. It’s still not close to secure—the NCAA generally rewards top-four seeds with favorable sites, if it can be worked out—but the Gators are definitely on a roll. It’s reminiscent of UF’s young team from 1998-99. Those Gators played through their mistakes, got drilled a few times, but found themselves by season’s end and played into the Sweet 16 as a No. 6 seed.

I’m guess the Gators are somewhere in the No. 6 to No. 7 range right now. The next few weeks will tell a lot. Florida goes to Arkansas on Saturday, then travels to Tennessee, its chief competition in the SEC East, on Feb. 5. Florida’s last two trips to Knoxville were not kind for the teams that ended up capturing back-to-back national titles.

Other weekend observations:

* Purdue (15-5, 6-1 Big Ten) is underrated. The Boilermakers play smart and play together. That was evident in the 60-56 win against Wisconsin. While everyone focuses on the Badgers, Indiana and Michigan State in the Big Ten, you’d be well advised to keep an eye on Purdue.

* What a win for Connecticut on Saturday afternoon, going on the road to stun Indiana 68-63, after Coach Jim Calhoun had suspended two key guards. The Huskies pulled out a miraculous victory at Cincinnati, then followed it up with UConn’s most satisfying win since the 2004 national championship. If UConn can defeat Louisville on Monday night, that will be one of the more remarkable weeks of Calhoun’s career.

* Good news for the Miami Hurricanes (15-4). They stayed afloat in the ACC with a 75-72 home victory against Clemson. Bad news: Four of UM’s next five games are on the road.

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As we edge closer to the midpoint of men’s basketball season, there are 28 teams with unbeaten conference records.

The most surprising? Cleveland State in the Horizon League.

Remember the Vikings? Cleveland State opened with an upset—or was it an upset?—at USF. Then the Vikings defeated Florida State in a tournament at Daytona Beach. But not satisfied with victories against teams from the Big East and ACC, the Vikings (13-5) have stormed to a 7-0 mark in the Horizon, stunning Butler 56-52 along the way.

Cleveland State is very much a player for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Somewhere, Mouse McFadden is smiling.

Other unbeaten conference teams thus far:

* ACC: Duke (15-1, 3-0). The Blue Devils have taken command of the league after North Carolina’s crushing defeat against Maryland on Saturday. Duke’s only loss was 65-64 against Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.

* Atlantic Sun: Jacksonville (9-8, 5-0). The Dolphins followed up a miracle 65-64 finish at Savannah State with Saturday’s 67-56 win against rival North Florida. Jacksonville—a Final Four team with Artis Gilmore in 1970 (imagine that?)—hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1986.

* Big 12: We’re down to Kansas (18-0, 3-0) and Baylor (15-2, 3-0). Kansas might be the nation’s best team and it’s now just four victories away from the best start in school history (22-0 in 1996-97). But Baylor might be the nation’s best STORY. Coach Scott Drew has led an amazing turnaround for a program that weathered a cover-up in the 2003 murder of Patrick Dennehy, the firing of a coach and athletic director, not to mention NCAA penalties. Baylor ended a 25-game road losing streak in the Big 12 on Saturday night by defeating Nebraska 72-70.

* Big South: UNC-Asheville (14-4, 3-0)—The Bulldogs, of course, are best known for employing 7-foot-7, 360-pound center Kenny George. Let’s hope George emerges to scare somebody in the first round of an NCAA Tournament game. Asheville’s next big one is Feb. 2 against Winthrop.

* Big Ten: Wisconsin (15-2, 4-0) and Indiana (15-1, 4-0) were the front-runners heading into Sunday. Circle the date: Jan. 31, Indiana at Wisconsin.

* Big West: Cal State Northridge (13-3, 5-0) leads the loop for a league that always provides a great show for the East Coast insomniacs or sickos who wants 16 consecutive hours of basketball (instead of 14) on Selection Sunday Eve.

* Conference USA: Everybody knows about Memphis (17-0, 4-0). But there’s UCF (10-7, 3-0) hanging in there. The only regular-season meeting is Feb. 9—UCF at Memphis.

* Ivy: Can’t get a read on this yet. League play just began. Cornell and Yale both won their first conference games.

* MAC: Akron (13-3, 3-0) has broken in front in the East Division.

* MEAC: Hampton (9-6, 4-0) and Delaware State (6-9, 3-0) are the leaders. Hampton played tough against Maryland (70-64) and George Mason (57-54).

* Missouri Valley: Drake (16-1, 7-0) is the surprising front-runner. Or maybe it’s not that surprising. Drake has non-conference wins against Iowa State and Iowa.

* Mountain West: San Diego State (14-4, 4-0) has Coach Steve Fisher again dreaming about pulling the first-round NCAA upset.

* Patriot: Ah, college basketball at its purest level. No scholarships in the Patriot League, you know. Lafayette (12-6, 3-0) and Bucknell (8-9, 3-0) are head of the class.

* SEC: We expected Tennessee (16-1, 3-0) to be leading the East. Not sure we saw Mississippi State (13-5, 4-0) heading up the West. But there’s a long way to go.

* Southern: Super sophomore guard Stephen Curry (37 points in Saturday night’s 85-58 win against Chattanooga) has Davidson (10-6, 8-0) again looking like a dangerous team in March.

* Summit: Yes, the Summit League. We don’t think it was named for Pat Summitt. Anyway, the former Mid-Continent League has always feisty Oral Roberts (12-5, 7-0) in first place.

* Sun Belt: Ronnie Arrow has returned for a second stint at South Alabama and the Jaguars have rewarded him with a great start (15-3, 7-0).

* West Coast: Fascinating race. Gonzaga (14-4, 3-0) can hear the footsteps of Saint Mary’s (15-2, 2-0), which shows all the signs of becoming America’s Darling this March. The Gaels have lost only at Southern Illinois at Texas, but they have victories against Drake, Oregon, Seton Hall and San Diego State. Gonzaga goes to Saint Mary’s on Feb. 4 (ESPN2, 11 p.m.).

* WAC: Utah State (14-5, 4-0) is looking good, but the WAC isn’t what it used to be.

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The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s opening rounds will return to Tampa on March 21 and 23, prompting a question that will be heard many, many times in the next two months.

Who’s coming to Tampa?

Really, it’s anybody’s guess.

At this point, I’m guess teams from the state of Florida will be sent elsewhere. The NCAA tries to keep teams seeded No. 4 or better close to home. I don’t think the Florida Gators are that type of team (but they will be very dangerous when the SEC Tournament comes to Tampa in 2009). Florida should make the NCAA field, but Tampa would be an unfair reward for a team that looks to be seeded in the 8-9-10 range.

Florida State? The Seminoles will be battling uphill the rest of the way. There’s no evidence they can blitz through the ACC and build up enough victories to even make the NCAA field.

Miami? The Hurricanes looked dreadful in the first half at Boston College. They will be an ACC factor and probably should make the NCAA field, but again, it’s difficult to see them earning a No. 4 seed or higher.

Tampa’s eight-team slice of the pie, undoubtedly, will include a team from the SEC and ACC. Also look for the Big Ten and Big East to be represented.

I wouldn’t look for a No. 1 seed to be headed our way, given how the season has fallen so far.

My projections:

* North Carolina is No. 1 in the East. The Tar Heels should begin at Raleigh, N.C.

* Memphis is No. 1 in the South. The Tigers should begin at North Little Rock, Ark.

* Kansas is No. 1 in the Midwest. The Jayhawks should begin at Omaha, Neb.

* UCLA is No. 1 in the West. The Bruins should begin at Anaheim, Calif.

Notice a trend here? The top seeds generally get a huge advantage by playing close to home (or in the case of UNC and UCLA, ridiculously close to home). It’s the NCAA’s way of boosting the gate and protecting the top seeds. It makes good business sense. But for a site like Tampa, it means a lot of speculation and questions that won’t be answered until Selection Sunday.

Guess who’s coming to Tampa?

You can take that question literally.

Right now, that’s all it is—a guess.

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After Tuesday night’s results, the undisputed leader of the ACC race is ... Boston College?

Yes, Coach Al Skinner’s Eagles are doing it to us again.

BC has been the Tobacco Road outsider since joining the ACC for the 2005-06 season. But really, that’s only the perception. The Eagles have played like they belonged—from the opening tip.

The Eagles (12-4, 3-0 ACC) downed the Miami Hurricanes 76-66 on Tuesday night. And it’s a Miami team (14-2) we will hear from again. BC, though, is the story. Since joining the ACC, the Eagles are 24-11 in conference regular-season play. This season, BC’s roster includes five freshmen and five sophomores.

In all likelihood, BC is “renting’’ first place in the ACC. North Carolina has enough talent to run the table in the league. But big things were expected from the Tar Heels. Not so from the Eagles, making for another amazing story that may continue to unfold in Boston.

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Four things that caught my eye from the weekend in men’s college basketball:

* THE LOVE MACHINE: Last season was the Year of the Freshman. You get young players such as Ohio State’s Greg Oden and Texas’ Kevin Durant once every generation, right? Welcome to Year of the Freshman, Part II. Maybe there isn’t an Oden or Durant, but the freshman depth is even better this season. And the best might be UCLA’s Kevin Love, a one-man wrecking crew (27 points, 14 rebounds in 33 minutes) against Washington State.

* CATS: Every journey begins with a single step. Kentucky moved in the right direction with a 79-73 double-overtime win against previously unbeaten Vanderbilt. That made Kentucky 7-7. There’s still time for the Wildcats to turn it around. Maybe. Not likely. But maybe.

* HIBBERT’S TRIFECTA: Traditionally, Georgetown is not know for its 3-point shooting. But the Hoyas beat Connecticut on a trifecta. From 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert (of course).

* HEARTBREAKER: It’s difficult enough to face one buzzer-beater. But Florida State was hit with TWO buzzer-beaters in a double-overtime defeat at Clemson. Just what Coach Leonard Hamilton needed in his bid to get FSU back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.

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