Welcome, everyone. Columnist Caulton Tudor is joining us to discuss N.C. State's return to the NCAA tournament, UNC and Duke's matchups in Greensboro and the rest of the bracket.

Well actually I thought there was a lot of attention devoted to the injury. It will be covered as the week goes along too. Roy Williams said Henson could have played Saturday and Sunday but there really was no reason to rush his return.

I certainly think there should more in the way of explanations from the league. It's the same throughout sports -- NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, even PGA. There's a gag order complete with heavy fines for anyone publicly criticizing or questioning officials. The ticket buying customers deserve more insight than that.

I don't think the situation with Kelly is settled yet. It's still early in the week and Duke shouldn't need that much Friday against Lehigh. It'd be nice for him to play enough to get live-game feel back. But Sunday against Notre Dame or Xavier, the Blue Devils would need him. Even so, in Greensboro on familiar turf, Duke should get to Atlanta whether Ryan's back this weekend or not. Don't forget that with a lot going wrong with the offense Saturday, Duke still had a chance to beat Florida State at the end.

But you just cannot erase the fact that FSU lost to Harvard and Princeton. I thought a No. 3 was spot-on. Plus, I think the Noles should have a fairly easy second-round game against Texas or Cincinnati. On paper, neither of those teams have the size and depth to deal with FSU. The big problem this weekend for the Noles could be the Noles. They have to pretend they're still facing UNC and/or Duke.

I can actually envision a scenario in which both get to St. Louis. But even if the Pack gets past Sunday against either Georgetown or Belmont, that likely would lead to Kansas in a building that will be packed with KU fans.

I think so. I think the Big East has been the best basketball conference overall for the past several years. The ACC has been a 2-car garage. Those 2 are limos, of course. But otherwise, the ACC hasn't had a lot pop in the middle of the standings.

Michigan State's offense can be iffy. If you lose 42-41 to Illinois, there's an obvious downside. Syracuse - like UNC - sometimes has trouble guarding the 3-point arc. Kentucky has the best talent, but John Calipari still hasn't won one anyway. If Duke had won the ACC Tournament, I think the Blue Devils would have been the fourth No. 1 -- over Michigan State.

Not really. I think FSU has as many tools as any of the No. 2 seeds, and more than the other No. 3s. But this is a team that seems to lose its focus unless the opponent is UNC or Duke. I think the Noles should win two games for sure.

No. I think anytime you get an NCAA bid, it beats the heck out of the NIT.

It would be a lot like a road game even in St. Louis. But if UNC has Henson back in decent health, the Heels probably would be a 1-to-3 point favorite. A big key for UNC is Harrison Barnes. He was all that on-target in ACC Tourney. He got most of his points on follow shots and free throws. I don't think he's banged up or leg weary, he's just not been very effective with the ball.

Marquette turned down the NCAA a couple of times in the early 1970s. Al McGuire hated the selection committee. But then in '77, he took the NCAA bid and beat UNC in the title game in Atlanta.

There's an officiating committee. There is no juror ejection process, though. The NCAA supposedly reviews the officials throughout the year in an effort to get the very best for the tournament.

I have to think all of the UNC guys will go -- Barnes, Marshall and Henson. I do think that if Henson decides to return, Marshall would consider it too. If Heels win the NCAA, though, I think they'll all go. With Duke, the only question in my opinion is Rivers. I'm beginning to think he'll come back for one more year. Mason Plumlee, I think, will come back. He could slip into the 2nd round if a lot of big guys from overseas enter the pool. CJ Leslie, I think, will leave at State. That said, he's really enjoyed working with Gottfried's staff, so it's not a cold lock he'll leave.

Roger Ayers will be there. Probably Les Jones, Tum Nestor. The big question now is Brian Dorsey. He obviously had a bad performance Saturday in the State-Carolina game. Karl Hess will be included. Bernard Clinton probably. You have to remember that 180 to 200 officials will work NCAA games somewhere this week.

I don't think he's confident handling the ball in perimeter traffic. He gets stripped of possession and/or disrupted a lot more than I thought would be the case after two seasons. He'll probably be better in the NBA, where hand-checking is basically outlawed.

Most of the mocks have him at the bottom of the first round right now. But there are always more overseas players who wind up in the draft than anyone predicts in February and March.

Swofford didn't bring those schools in. The 12 current ACC schools made that decision based on advice primarily from ESPN. The motivation behind expansion and realignment has very little to do with anything except a desire to annex cable TV systems in the largest possible cable TV markets. That's why the ACC probably will go 16, then 18. It's dumb through and through, but it does bring in more TV loot to the schools -- for now. Eventually, it'll collapse from within.

Both teams will be Columbus on Thursday for practice. State will probably practice here Wednesday, have a meal and then charter to Ohio.

Nope. Duke's road resume is better than any other team.

There's probably something to that, based on the ACC's lack of depth the past few years. But at the same time, Duke and UNC generally have played aggressive non-ACC schedules. Most of the other so-called "major" conferences have slipped.

No. I think UNC's chemistry is fine. The ACC tourney gave Hairston and McAdoo a glimpse of what's ahead. The big UNC question -- to me -- goes back to Barnes. If he has a big NCAA tournament, I think the Heels will get to the Final Four as long as Henson is in acceptable health. He doesn't have to play 35 minutes, but Henson's defense is important against big front lines.

I still think State's big question is the 7-man rotation, because Leslie and Howell simply get into foul trouble. And Saturday, C.J. Williams got into early foul trouble against UNC. Leslie is playing lights out, no question. If State could ever get to the second half with no more than two fouls on each of the starters, the ceiling would be much higher. But the most unpredictable thing in basketball (other than injuries) are fouls.
Thanks for the questions from all. Our time is up and it's going to be a hectic day and a hectic week. We'll do this again soon. So long for now.