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.