Coming with a large group, we arrived in time for a 10:30 AM opening – can’t be too safe with a place this tiny.  Hearing about the Northeast Chinese style, the expectation was that we would be treated to something a bit more glutinous than the wonton based shumai sort of deal.  Indeed, the dumplings did not disappoint.  Each plate almost seemed to resemble these perfect little purses – indeed, maybe purses might be inaccurate, more like those sorts of sacks that hobos in old cartoons lugged their stuff around.  All of the dumplings can be had steamed or pan fried: we put ourselves in the restaurants hands here.  The lamb were excellent – and how often can you find lamb ANYTHING.  Their house special dumplings (fried) were amazing – pork, chive, shrimp – perfectly pan fried, like the best “peking ravioli” you’ve ever had.  The egg and chive (steamed) were fine though unmemorable while the chicken and shrimp (fried) were solid.

If the dumplings were all there was, this would be a hit.  But there are some good cold dishes too.  Spinach with chili oil was as good a spinach dish as I’ve had recently – and the sichuan style pig ears delivered some good textural contrast.  We ordered noodles as well, with black bean sauce – the homemade noodles had a little more chew than I expected, but not unpleasantly so.  The flavor was subtle with the bean and pork.  The tofu ribbons with green pepper was okay, but I am not a firm bean curd fan generally.  Overall, a lovely no-frills sort of find.

Of course when Thomas Doyle utters this line deep into Alex Gibney’s deeply absorbing Mea Maxima Culpa, we know that he is an ordained priest, but one who has been representing victims in the Church abuse scandal, serving as expert witness.  The victims are every bit the members of the community as anybody else in the Church, but the organization – not the religion, but the corporation that appointed itself the keeper therein – failed them, with considerable evidence that “failed” ought not be a present tense term.  The media of course largely sidestepped this reality when covering the conclave naming Pope Francis – either sheepishly describing the scandal as a relic of the past, or just breezily neglecting altogether to focus on the flowing robes.

Father Lawrence Murphy was himself a member of the corporation, running the Saint John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee from 1950-1974.  Surrounding him were kids with a physical handicap obviously, and kids who depended on him profoundly (one considers that in the 1950s and 1960s, parents often did not understand or appreciate communication with special needs kids), and kids who were extremely vulnerable marks, if you turned out to be a predator.  Gibney follows four of these children (now grown of course – voiced by actors you all know, but so unobtrusive that you almost totally forget), and we hear their stories in their words.  Murphy abused the kids yes, but he also had established a system much resembling a fraternity.  Former abused students grow into trusted lieutenants, and often abusers themselves.  We hear one of the men talk about offering up somebody else for abuse on an offsite trip – it’s obviously horrible but better him than me.

These were the choices these students had, because they could not communicate with their parents or with other officials – and certainly with the School for the Deaf as the pillar of the community, who could believe them?  Rarely watching a movie have I ever had the sense of loneliness that I got from these stories.  How could the parents have been so blind to their children’s plights?  Where could these kids turn as their childhoods were being robbed from them?  It goes without much saying that these systems totally failed this most exposed population.  This was the stuff that stayed with me, and the strongest parts of Gibney’s film.  Certainly for others, the meticulous case that the Church knew all about these things etc etc etc is a big deal, but being from the Boston area, I knew all about this (hello, Bernard Law).  Where the film works best is a statement on how this failure felt on a human level.  It is a testament to the power of these stories that the simple stuff carries the movie and allows it to transcend some of Gibney’s overly cinematic touches and “dramatic reenactments”.  This is a tough but hopeful story – and one gets the final reckoning won’t take place anytime soon.

Coming off of the last book that occupied the better part of my life – well the life not spent watching television of questionable taste – I was definitely ready for something of a break.  Now granted, the notion of a “Young Adult” genre book was not something I was much attracted to – indeed the genre has a very tinny sort of marketing sound to it.  It is a genre defined in terms of a target audience – and says little about the genre itself.  Put another way, a genre that can claim works by Stephanie Meyer and Mark Twain does not seem particularly informative.  That said, I had some expectations for the genre – and one of them was a somewhat breezier experience than a George RR Martin doorstop.

Gretchen Powell’s self-published Terra certainly delivered on some of the expectations – a very readable story with some pretty good plotting and a lot of action.  If we are looking at writing as commerce (and it is hard to ask someone to be a writer without actually making some money), this might be good enough – especially looking at this book (as intended) as the start of a series of some sort.  But there is a lot of talent here, especially in the book’s science fiction notes and sense of plot (later in the novel particularly) – even as it is muddled with some less certain aspects and the typical struggles commensurate with any sort of “first volume” story.  Like works such as Reservoir Dogs, Terra is a messy, flawed introduction to an exciting storytelling talent.

Terra Rhodon is an 18-year old girl who has been forced to grow up awfully quickly, taking care of her fourteen year old brother as they live alone.  As the novel opens, Terra is off to scavenge, which Powell uses helpfully to start giving us some exposition.  At whatever time in the future we are looking at, Earth has shiftd catastrophically into a permanent underclass and a permanent upperclass, the latter which has moved to residences in the skies, while those like Terra are left to scavenge for items left over and hopefully convert them into wealth.  Powell takes her time with the minutiae here.  How do the markets work?  What is a collection? What sort of currency do or don’t the people use?  In a world with very scarce resources, where is the food coming from?  Powell’s detail in the day to day is excellent – the reader gets a strong sense of what it is like to this world, and you can appreciate the completeness with which Powell has crafted her vision.

But back to Terra.  During the scavenging trip, she takes a direction and runs into something she has never seen before.  When she turns it in for collection, the government official offers her a huge sum of money, but no indication of what it is.  The non-answers do not satisfy Terra, especially when a piece so lucrative is out there.  She then the next day heads to the location to try to learn and find more, but then raiders – something between gangsters and marauding pirates – find her and start pursuing her.  In these areas, Powell’s best qualities emerge.  Her descriptions and action scenes here work and are definitely involving.  These positive qualities in her action and setting writing occurs when Terra starts snooping around a bit too much for the government’s taste and she is whisked up to the area capital.  Indeed in the story’s key climactic chase scenes, they worked for me – and I cared about her and her folks being okay.  Powell has the thriller elements down.

Where the story is less certain is in the characters and the development.  Terra certainly makes a sufficiently sympathetic heroine and narrator, especially given the circumstances of her and her brother.  However, at least so far, I tended to find the characters relatively general “types” – Terra the dogged heroine who is trying to be responsible and protecting old wounds, Mica her brother as a moody teenaged kid, Adam (whom she meets under odd circumstances) as a an earnest “good guy”.   There is not the sense of these characters being fully explored as individual people – it seemed that Powell spent more of her time on the world and the plot than necessarily the relationships and characteristics of her players – which while giving us a pretty good story, does put a ceiling on the ability to truly connect.  Also, and this sort of dovetails with the former, the dialogue throughout is functional and conveys plot information, but there is a little bit of a lack of a conversational style here.  The characters are not saying particularly memorable things, even if they are doing some interesting things.  Also, Powell is trapped a bit with this being Book I of a series – there is a LOT of exposition and description of the universe her characters are in, necessary description, but description that prevents some of the crackling action scenes from taking place.  But given the mission of a multi-book series, I am not sure how to get around this.

One other problem is more of an issue with a plot and structure point – and since I do like this book and do not want to spoil it, I will tread carefully.  There is an encounter later in the book, which requires Terra to have ended up in the sky portion, the national capital.  When she is returned from the sky to her home – something very specific has happened, but it is waved away with a little bit of deus ex machina.  It seemed as if Powell had a place to end her book determined before the plot point in question.  This stayed with me, and was immensely frustrating, because it felt like this was a natural stopping point (before the deus ex machina) – and frankly her own brother’s struggles during this part of the story might make at least as interesting a Book II.  Considering how strong Powell’s plotting and action scenes and sense of atmosphere are, this part felt rushed.

Overall though, Terra is a solid debut entry for Gretchen Powell.  Her ability to describe atmosphere and to create an entertaining story is a tremendous gift, and the things where she is wanting (pacing, plotting, dialogue, character specificity) are all things that get better with more writing.  There is a ton of potential here.

Indeed, if all you did was watch the television series, it would be impossible to even guess exactly how the stakes have been raised.  Yes, we know that there is danger above the wall – as we have discussed before and the mysterious Melisandre seems to have some pretty cool magic, and that the Red tradition in general has given us reanimated dead people like Beric Dondarrion.  We also know that dragons exist.  But the first two books, and even most of the third are firmly grounded in the battle for King’s Landing, the Iron Throne and the various players.  What you end up getting out of this book though, is a sense that courtly machinations of the Tyrells, Lannisters, Boltons and Baratheons are kittens with balls of string in comparison to what the real issues are.

1. Indeed, the only person who seems to fully understand the big picture – or at least the part of the picture that matters the most – is Jon Snow.  His scenes this time play like a cross between one of those nightmares where you cannot tell a loved one that he or she is about to die, and the frustrations that mediators in one of those Israel-Palestine peace negotiations must feel.  Jon’s origin story is still very foggy – but in his manner he is very much Eddard Stark’s son.  My heart went out to him as he tried to gather wildlings, giants, and his own very loosely banded together group.  In some ways it is a fool’s errand – we only need to recall the bloodshed at Craster’s to understand just how flimsy the ties are binding the Watch – but he alone understands where the real danger lies, and the level of manpower required to even begin to combat it.  Jon is trying so hard, so when the Watch turn on him, it is heartbreaking.  Now, could he really be dead?  Personally, it feels like it’d be cheating for Martin to wipe off the single most charismatic of the heroes – and as we know from the prologue, Jon’s connection to Ghost is much much more personal than even he understands.  He has a way out of his cliffhanger, if he knows how.
2. Melisandre also understands the big picture – sort of.  Or at least her dogma has accomodated for the big picture – Rhillor and The Other.  There is Red, and there is everything else (which would be a slogan for Sammy Hagar too but no mind).  But this is just religious mumbo jumbo – I am not sure whether this is something she has any real experience with.  She can do some low level magic, like creating an illusion to get Mance Rayder on a clandestine mission, and she has visions – but I don’t think she really gets how close to the “other” of her teachings she really is.  With her and the odious Queen Selyse, Martin has neatly set up a possibility of these folks being totally duped by their religion.  However, considering Jon’s current situation, I am not sure how much vindication this is.
3. Indeed, is the Red and Other distinct?  Sure, Thoros of Myr can reanimate dead people.  Sure, Moqorro could heal Victarion Greyjoy’s wounded, diseased hand.  But Others are (noticeably less loquacious) reanimated people too.  We know that there is reanimation, warging, the whole bit.  Are these really different things?  After all, Ghost seemed to be taken by Melisandre too.  I think this is all the same thing being tapped into – it’s not like Allah and Vishnu are describing distinct whatever-the-hell-you-call-them.
4. So, three bullets and no dragons?  Oh there are dragons – are there ever dragons.  Quentyn Martell sure figured that out (talk about a cockamamie scheme).  Daenerys in Mereen has built up reservoirs of resentment and fear with her dragons and her emancipating ways.  Much like other historical epochs, ending slavery is nice, but you sort of need to consider what’s next.  She had a lot of interesting advice in this term – while Barristan’s was the most noble, Shakaz the Shavepate seemed to be the most practical, if not brutal.  Dany’s marriage made sense to me – if it was a mistake, it would have been one I made.  And in any case, it set up that marvelous scene with Drogon in the fighting pits.
5. I guess a review/commentary would not be complete of course without Tyrion – who has to be the most loveable of the series, if not dripping with the tortured hero chops of a Jon Snow.  He of course is on the lam for killing his father – and kind of sort of for not exactly killing Joffrey.  He is very much far away from the ethereal struggles in the North, though he is certainly fascinated by the dragons too.  Certainly the ship he was directed to by Varys and Illyrio is interested.  Tyrion’s adventures this time are a weird rollicking sort of counterpoint, more actual adventure and travelogue.  Tyrion gets by on his wit, and that is a pleasure.  I have no idea if his scheme to get them on the Second Sons and to escape slavery will work – but it was the best card he had, and he is nothing if not a card player.
6. And one of the people he played with was Young Griff on the ship.  Young Griff, and who he really is – is one of the great reveals in the book.  Did we ever really consider that Aegon Targaryen might not have died during Robert’s Rebellion?  It still seems far fetched, but there he is.  Or is it him at all?  Why did Varys send him on a boat with their hand picked choice to be the next king?  Indeed, why Varys cares – aside from loyalty to Rhaegar and the Targaryen previous – is hard to peg.  If this is a game for Iron Throne superpowers, it’s a long one.  And the young lad might not be up for cooperating from early indications.

Overall, this book is a return to form after the interesting, but decidedly “lesser” fourth book.  Considering the history of this series, we have to be prepared for anybody to die at any time.  That said, usually I think, the deaths come from obvious errors, if not morally at least tactically.  I guess Jon might be gone – but somehow, I doubt it, or maybe I hope it is not the case.  Who knows.  For a 959 page doorstop – it’s a good, taut, exciting sort of adventure, not in the league of the third book (what is), but probably the second best book in the series.

Isn’t that always the case with Don Draper?  Since the former Dick Whitman deserted the War and reinvented himself, has there been anyone more alone?  In Mad Men, Don Draper has managed to excise his past – and Matthew Weiner has somehow managed to make the stunning secret which was this show’s undertow for two or three seasons to frankly not matter anymore.  Don has a wife he loves – maybe – and a good business.  For all of the steps we have walked with him, he should be happy – but when we leave him at the bar when the damsel asks him the above, he seems every bit the island he ever was.

Of course, this dramatic finish was just the last of what was a season full of set pieces, guignol gestures and dream sequences – so many “big” moments for a series which had spent four seasons building a reputation for tiny moments and the slow burn.  Hell, this was a show which spent two entire seasons building up to the central reveal of the series, and yet here we were with a trippy musical montage, one of the partners hanging himself and the partnership structure changing in a seedy (maybe) manner.  Is this the best of the five seasons?  That is hard to say, but it is the “biggest”.

1. Feminism has been one of the strongest threads throughout the series, and as the 1960s are veering towards increased liberation – the possibilities for women have opened up.  Obviously the glass ceiling was as thick as ever – but as we see Peggy and Joan deal with their lives, there is the chase of something better.  Peggy has continued to be the best creative, and we’ve seen her rise from secretary to Don Draper’s most trusted idea person – so when she wants the recognition and a level of respect commensurate with her performance, it is startling to see Don cut her down to size so cruelly.  So when she announces her departure from the firm – it is a lovely triumphant moment for her, even if her mentor will never fully appreciate it.
2. Joan of course, has a much harder decision as the chance to close on Jaguar comes on her doorstep.  Life is complicated – with her husband divorcing and without a ton of prospects for being able to provide for her child, she needs more than possibilities.  She is an interesting contrast with Peggy – a woman who has a lot more experience in the “man’s world”, and while being regarded for her looks is not something she is happy with, at some level do what you gotta do.
3. Betty Francis (not prominently featured this season with January Jones’ own pregnancy) of course remains a woman much more at home in the older paradigm who has sort of bought into sort of a pre-feminist version of things.  It makes for the same tension which has driven her for the entirety of the series – a woman who sees liberation but is trapped both by society’s expectation, but her own co-opting of those expectations into her worldview.  It manifests itself as jealousies and obsessions and trying to ruin Don’s relationship with his children.
4. Indeed the tension between the old fuddy duddies and the hippie counterculture permeates throughout.  We have people like Peggy who are trying to see a new way forward (a way that her mother clearly is not on board with), but we also have the partners like Don and Roger who have been the big guns in the room for years – and is moving haphazardly into a world where there might not be so much control.  Sure the LSD and grass are cool, but it is fun to see Don not understand the Beatles.  But these are fairly shallow experience, and when we see the issues Don has with a much more liberated wife, as well as how quick he is to hold Peggy’s career back, we see how uncomfortable these white men are with things shifting, even a little.
5. But at the end of the day, what we see is the fascinating dichotomy between what others see in Don’s life and Don’s own angle on his situation.  We see Pete Campbell, who wants what Don has and sees some sort of ideal life to aspire towards.  There is the house in Westchester, but the yearning to cheat (hello, Rory Gilmore!) and the itch to have a place in the city.  Pete surrounds himself with the spoils of a certain life, but in Vincent Kartheiser’s portrayal, you can see that Don’s life is still the ideal.  Peggy of course has been mentored by Don, and wants to take his mentoring and venture out on her own.  Everybody wants to be like Don – except for Don himself, who is adrift during most of this season.  He is less interested in work, more detached from his wife’s career as she turns down advertising for acting.  He is a man going through the motions – he doesn’t seem vested in his outcomes.  He doesn’t even seem to get energy from his children.

Overall this season was a treat – and the first season I saw in real time.  The show continues to develop the characters – and Matt Weiner has to be complimented for not leaning on Dick Whitman, and forcing Don Draper in a more interesting direction.  Don Draper has seemed  like some sort of male ideal in earlier seasons, but we see a character now that perhaps we are not supposed to actually be rooting for.  But we have seen his lot so clearly.  I keep thinking he has been lying to himself – those times in California seem like the only place where he has been truly at ease.  Has he phoned in the rest of his life?  How sad would that be.

NCAA FIELD

ARLINGTON, TX

• Austin: (1) New Mexico v (16) Southern/North Carolina A&T, (8) Minnesota v (9) NC State
• San Jose: (4) Syracuse v (13) Bucknell, (5) VCU v (12) Southern Miss
• Dayton: (2) Indiana v (15) Northwestern State, (7) UNLV v Ole Miss
• Philadelphia: (3) Georgetown v (14) Pacific, (6) North Carolina v (11) Oklahoma

WASHINGTON, DC

• Philadelphia: (1) Duke v (16) Long Island/Liberty, (8) Saint Mary’s v (9) Notre Dame
• Salt Lake City: (4) Saint Louis v (13) New Mexico State, (5) Colorado State v (12) Iowa State
• Kansas City: (2) Kansas v (15) Montana, (7) Wisconsin v (10) Pittsburgh
• Kansas City: (3) Memphis v (14) South Dakota State, (6) UCLA v (11) Temple

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

• Lexington: (1) Louisville v (16) James Madison, (8) Butler v (9) Missouri
• Salt Lake City: (4) Creighton v (13) Valparaiso, (5) Arizona v (12) Illinois/Boise State
• Austin: (2) Florida v (15) FL Gulf Coast, (7) MTSU v (10) Colorado
• Dayton: (3) Ohio State v (14) Harvard, (6) Oklahoma State v (11) Akron

LOS ANGELES, CA

• San Jose: (1) Gonzaga v (16) Western Kentucky, (8) Wichita State v (9) Oregon
• Auburn Hills: (4) Michigan v (13) Davidson, (5) Marquette v (12) Virginia
• Lexington: (2) Miami-FL v (15) Albany, (7) Belmont v (10) San Diego State
• Auburn Hills: (3) Michigan State v (14) Iona, (6) Kansas State v (11) Cincinnati/LaSalle

THE LITTLE DANCE (YOUR NIT FIELD – AUTO BIDS IN CAPS)

• (1) California v (32) CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• (16) Stanford v (17) Baylor
• (8) Denver v (25) Arkansas
• (9) Maryland v (24) Eastern Kentucky
• (4) Massachusetts v (29) NORTHEASTERN
• (13) Ohio v (20) Xavier
• (5) Kentucky v (28) LONG BEACH STATE
• (12) LSU v (21) Charlotte
• (2) Villanova v (31) NORFOLK STATE
• (15) Providence v (18) STEPHEN F AUSTIN
• (7) Alabama v (26) ROBERT MORRIS
• (10) STONY BROOK v (23) North Dakota State
• (3) LOUISIANA TECH v (30) MERCER
• (14) BYU v (19) Detroit
• (6) Tennessee v (27) NIAGARA
• (11) Iowa v (22) Saint Joseph’s

NCAA FIELD

WASHINGTON, DC

• Philadelphia: (1) Duke v (16) James Madison, (8) Minnesota v (9) Wichita State
• Salt Lake City: (4) Creighton v (13) Bucknell, (5) Saint Louis v (12) Akron
• Austin: (2) Florida v (15) Pacific, (7) Colorado State v (10) Oklahoma
• Dayton: (3) Ohio State v (14) Harvard, (6) Butler v (11) Oregon

LOS ANGELES, CA

• San Jose: (1) Gonzaga v (16) Long Island/Liberty, (8) NC State v (9) Colorado
• Kansas City: (4) Memphis v (13) Stephen F Austin, (5) Marquette v (12) Illinois/Boise State
• Dayton: (2) Indiana v (15) Montana, (7) Belmont v (10) Southern Miss
• Auburn Hills: (3) Georgetown v (14) South Dakota State, (6) UNLV v (11) Iowa State

ARLINGTON, TX

• Austin: (1) New Mexico v (16) Western Kentucky, (8) Wisconsin v (9) Pittsburgh
• San Jose: (4) UCLA v (13) Valparaiso, (5) Kansas State v (12) LaSalle/Cincinnati
• Lexington: (2) Miami-FL v (15) Vermont, (7) VCU v (10) Notre Dame
• Auburn Hills: (3) Michigan State v (14) Iona, (6) Oklahoma State v (11) Ole Miss

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

• Lexington: (1) Louisville v (16) Southern/North Carolina A&T, (8) Saint Mary’s v (9) Missouri
• Salt Lake City: (4) Michigan v (13) Davidson, (5) Arizona v (12) Virginia
• Kansas City: (2) Kansas v (15) FL Gulf Coast, (7) North Carolina v (10) San Diego State
• Philadelphia: (3) Syracuse v (14) New Mexico State, (6) Middle Tennessee v (11) Temple

THE LITTLE DANCE (YOUR NIT FIELD – AUTO BIDS IN CAPS)

• (1) California v (32) CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• (16) Baylor v (17) Providence
• (8) Alabama v (25) Arizona State
• (9) Denver v (24) Arkansas
• (4) Louisiana Tech v (29) NORTHEASTERN
• (13) LSU v (20) Saint Joseph’s
• (5) Villanova v (28) LONG BEACH STATE
• (12) Ohio v (21) North Dakota State
• (2) Massachusetts v (31) NORFOLK STATE
• (15) Stanford v (18) Detroit
• (7) Maryland v (26) ROBERT MORRIS
• (10) Iowa v (23) Eastern Kentucky
• (3) Kentucky v (30) MERCER
• (14) BYU v (19) Xavier
• (6) Tennessee v (27) NIAGARA
• (11) Stony Brook v (22) Charlotte

NCAA FIELD

WASHINGTON, DC

• Philadelphia: (1) Duke v (16) Long Island, (8) Wichita State v (9) San Diego State
• San Jose: (4) Syracuse v (13) Bucknell, (5) Oklahoma State v (12) Akron
• Dayton: (2) Miami-FL v (15) Vermont, (7) Butler v (10) Oklahoma
• Dayton: (3) Florida v (14) Harvard, (6) UCLA v (11) Illinois

ARLINGTON, TX

• Austin: (1) New Mexico v (16) Western Kentucky, (8) Missouri v (9) Notre Dame
• Kansas City: (4) Michigan v (13) Stephen F Austin, (5) Saint Louis v (12) Oregon
• Lexington: (2) Indiana v (15) Montana, (7) Saint Mary’s v (10) Pittsburgh
• Salt Lake City: (3) Arizona v (14) South Dakota State, (6) Kansas State v (11) Ole Miss/Virginia

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

• Lexington: (1) Louisville v (16) Southern/Morgan State, (8) NC State v (9) Wisconsin
• Salt Lake City: (4) Creighton v (13) Valparaiso, (5) Colorado State v (12) Iowa State
• Kansas City: (2) Kansas v (15) FL Gulf Coast, (7) North Carolina v (10) Temple
• Auburn Hills: (3) Ohio State v (14) Iona, (6) UNLV v (11) Cincinnati/Southern Miss

LOS ANGELES, CA

• San Jose: (1) Gonzaga v (16) James Madison/Liberty, (8) VCU v (9) Minnesota
• Austin: (4) Memphis v (13) Davidson, (5) Marquette v (12) Southern Miss
• Philadelphia: (2) Georgetown v (15) Long Beach State, (7) Belmont v (10) Colorado
• Auburn Hills: (3) Michigan State v (14) New Mexico State, (6) Middle Tennessee v (11) LaSalle

THE LITTLE DANCE (YOUR NIT FIELD – AUTO BIDS IN CAPS)

• (1) Kentucky v (32) CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• (16) Providence v (17) Charlotte
• (8) Maryland v (25) Eastern Kentucky
• (9) Stony Brook v (24) Arkansas
• (4) Tennessee v (29) NORTHEASTERN
• (13) BYU v (20) Florida State
• (5) Iowa v (28) NIAGARA
• (12) Ohio v (21) North Dakota State
• (2) California v (31) NORFOLK STATE
• (15) Baylor v (18) Saint Joseph’s
• (7) Denver v (26) Northern Iowa
• (10) Alabama v (23) Arizona State
• (3) LOUISIANA TECH v (30) MERCER
• (14) Stanford v (19) Detroit
• (6) Massachusetts v (27) ROBERT MORRIS
• (11) LSU v (22) Xavier

NCAA FIELD

WASHINGTON, DC

• Philadelphia: (1) Duke v (16) James Madison, (8) Butler v (9) Wisconsin
• San Jose: (4) Creighton v (13) Bucknell, (5) Syracuse v (12) Louisiana Tech
• Dayton: (2) Miami-FL v (15) Vermont, (7) UCLA v (10) Saint Mary’s
• Auburn Hills: (3) Michigan State v (14) Harvard, (6) Kansas State v (11) Cincinnati

ARLINGTON, TX

• Dayton: (1) Indiana v (16) Western Kentucky, (8) VCU v (9) Colorado
• Kansas City: (4) Marquette v (13) Davidson, (5) Colorado State v (12) Virginia/Kentucky
• San Jose: (2) Gonzaga v (15) Long Beach State, (7) Pittsburgh v (10) Oklahoma
• Austin: (3) Michigan v (14) Stephen F Austin, (6) UNLV v (11) LaSalle

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

• Lexington: (1) Louisville v (16) Long Island/Liberty, (8) NC State v (9) Missouri
• Austin: (4) Memphis v (13) Akron, (5) Saint Louis v (12) Ole Miss/Boise State
• Lexington: (2) Florida v (15) FL Gulf Coast, (7) Minnesota v (10) San Diego State
• Philadelphia: (3) Georgetown v (14) Iona, (6) North Carolina v (11) Iowa State

LOS ANGELES, CA

• San Jose: (1) New Mexico v (16) Savannah State/Texas Southern, (8) Wichita State v (9) Temple
• Salt Lake City: (4) Arizona v (13) Valparaiso, (5) Oklahoma State v (12) Illinois
• Kansas City: (2) Kansas v (15) Montana, (7) Belmont v (10) Notre Dame
• Auburn Hills: (3) Ohio State v (14) South Dakota State, (6) Middle Tennessee v (11) Southern Miss

THE LITTLE DANCE (YOUR NIT FIELD – AUTO BIDS IN CAPS)

• (1) Oregon v (32) CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• (16) Providence v (17) BYU
• (8) STONY BROOK v (25) Florida State
• (9) Maryland v (24) Charlotte
• (4) Denver v (29) NORTHEASTERN
• (13) Baylor v (20) Detroit
• (5) Tennessee v (28) NIAGARA
• (12) Stanford v (21) Arizona State
• (2) California v (31) NORFOLK STATE
• (15) Xavier v (18) Arkansas
• (7) Massachusetts v (26) Dayton
• (10) Alabama v (23) Saint Joseph’s
• (3) Villanova v (30) MERCER
• (14) LSU v (19) New Mexico State
• (6) Iowa v (27) ROBERT MORRIS
• (11) Ohio v (22) North Dakota State

NCAA FIELD

WASHINGTON, DC

• Philadelphia: (1) Duke v (16) James Madison, (8) Butler v (9) Saint Mary’s
• San Jose: (4) Creighton v (13) Akron, (5) Syracuse v (12) Illinois
• Dayton: (2) Miami-FL v (15) Vermont, (7) UNLV v (10) Oklahoma
• Austin: (3) Florida v (14) Harvard, (6) Minnesota v (11) Southern Miss/Oregon

ARLINGTON, TX

• Austin: (1) New Mexico v (16) Mount Saint Mary’s, (8) VCU v (9) Missouri
• Dayton: (4) Michigan v (13) Davidson, (5) Oklahoma State v (12) Virginia
• Lexington: (2) Indiana v (15) Montana, (7) Belmont v (10) Notre Dame
• Salt Lake City: (3) Arizona v (14) Stephen F Austin, (6) MTSU v (11) Ole Miss

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

• Lexington: (1) Louisville v (16) Norfolk State/Texas Southern, (8) NC State v (9) Temple
• Austin: (4) Memphis v (13) Bucknell, (5) Colorado State v (12) Iowa State/Cincinnati
• Philadelphia: (2) Georgetown v (15) FL Gulf Coast, (7) UCLA v (10) LaSalle
• Auburn Hills: (3) Michigan State v (14) Iona, (6) Kansas State v (11) Boise State

LOS ANGELES, CA

• San Jose: (1) Gonzaga v (16) Western Kentucky/Liberty, (8) Wichita State v (9) Wisconsin
• Kansas City: (4) Marquette v (13) Valparaiso, (5) Saint Louis v (12) San Diego State
• Kansas City: (2) Kansas v (15) Long Beach State, (7) Pittsburgh v (10) Colorado
• Auburn Hills: (3) Ohio State v (14) South Dakota State, (6) North Carolina v (11) Louisiana Tech

THE LITTLE DANCE (YOUR NIT FIELD – AUTO BIDS IN CAPS)

• (1) California v (32) CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
• (16) Xavier v (17) BYU
• (8) Stanford v (25) Air Force
• (9) Alabama v (24) Arizona State
• (4) Villanova v (29) NIAGARA
• (13) Ohio v (20) Detroit
• (5) Tennessee v (28) ROBERT MORRIS
• (12) Maryland v (21) New Mexico State
• (2) Kentucky v (31) MERCER
• (15) LSU v (18) North Dakota State
• (7) Massachusetts v (26) Florida State
• (10) Providence v (23) Richmond
• (3) Denver v (30) NORTHEASTERN
• (14) Baylor v (19) Arkansas
• (6) Iowa v (27) Washington
• (11) STONY BROOK v (22) Saint Joseph’s