美国国家公共电台 NPR Selection Sunday: 2017 Men's College Basketball Tournament Bracket Set

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Well, they do not call it March Madness for nothing. It is time. The selection committee has made their selections. We have the brackets. We have the 64 teams - or maybe more than 64, as we'll hear in a minute. It's NCAA tournament time. And NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman is on the line. Tom, good morning.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE¹: Good morning, David.

GREENE: So we should point out that the tournament unofficially starts later this week. But it sort of officially starts tomorrow, right?

GOLDMAN: Oh, very officially, yeah, as it has every year since 2011. It started on the Tuesday of the first week. It's the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. And I'm going to be there. How cool is that?

GREENE: That is very cool.

GOLDMAN: It's really the bookend to the Final Four. Of course, in three weeks' time, you've got the four best teams left. The teams playing in Dayton, they're the last teams picked to get into the tournament - kind of the kids on the playground looking at the ground, kicking the dirt, you know. The winners of the first four games in Dayton, they'll go on to the first round, which starts on Thursday.

GREENE: Then, we'll have the 64 teams set for later this week. And we have the top seeds, one from each region. We've got Villanova, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Kansas. Any controversy³ over those picks?

GOLDMAN: You know, not too much squawking, as there often is - if there's any, it's North Carolina getting that one seed and Duke getting a two seed. Duke beat North Carolina 2 out of 3 times this season, including in last week's ACC tournament, when Duke was just red hot, and they beat two other highly ranked teams, Louisville and Notre Dame⁴.

But the selection committee says North Carolina had the better regular season. The Tar² Heels finished first in the ACC. That's the best conference in the country. Those two could meet for the championship. And if they do, it would be epic⁵.

GREENE: It would be epic. So can you tell me...

GOLDMAN: (Laughter).

GREENE: ...Which upsets to pick, so I can win my bracket competition with all my friends here?

GOLDMAN: Yeah, I can tell you exactly which ones to pick.

GREENE: Awesome⁶.

GOLDMAN: I'll probably go with a couple of 12 seeds over fives, that's the pretty well-known and reliable upset pick. But, you know, in general, we're supposed to have a really good tournament with a lot of close games. Mark Hollis, the chairman of the selection committee, says this is the most competitive bracket he's seen in his five years on the committee.

Obviously, you know, a couple of games to talk about - Northwestern is the automatic darling of this tournament, since it's in for the first time ever. Northwestern plays Vanderbilt in the first round - and then, another one that should be fun, Florida State versus⁷ Florida Gulf⁸ Coast in Orlando, Fla. That's a lot of Florida, David.

GREENE: That's a lot Florida.

GOLDMAN: Florida Gulf Coast was a tournament darling in 2013, when they came out of nowhere and they beat too high seeds. And people loved their high-flying style. They nicknamed them Dunk City, which they're still nicknamed.

GREENE: Nice.

GOLDMAN: They're a 14 seed this time. Florida State is a three. But there is talk that Florida Gulf Coast could win this game and maybe the one after.

GREENE: I appreciate the help with the bracket.

GOLDMAN: Sure.

GREENE: You mentioned Northwestern being at the tournament for the first time. A lot of their fans are acting⁹ like they've already won the tournament. It's crazy.

GOLDMAN: (Laughter).

GREENE: So any players we should be watching?

GOLDMAN: Oh, my God. We don't have time to talk about all of them. But, you know, what I really love are the guys we don't know who are going to emerge, who are going to explode. And, you know, if they were musical acts, they'd be one-hit wonders. They dazzle, and then you never hear from them again...

GREENE: I like that.

GOLDMAN: ...(Laughter) The Baha Men of March Madness, players like Ali Farokhmanesh, in the 2010 tournament when he played for Northern Iowa shooting down a number one seed, Kansas - guys like that. That'll be fun to watch.

GREENE: OK, and we should say it is selection Monday for the women. We're going to find out that bracket today. And, I mean, the only question to ask is how many points will UConn, the University of Connecticut, win by in the title game?

GOLDMAN: It's a valid¹⁰ question since they've won 107 straight games. But, you know, you've got South Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame, Maryland those - that's the principal competition. And it would be nice to see if UConn gets pushed, see how they respond.

GREENE: OK, NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman talking to us about March Madness. Thanks, Tom.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

5 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？