If the next two weeks of NCAA tournament play are anything like this past weekend's conference tourneys, we're in for a roundball bonanza that may be one of the best ever.

    All four teams that earned No. 1 seeds also took their respective conference tournaments. North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA comprise that quartet of top seeds, with Carolina the overall No. 1. Ironically, I think the Tar Heels have the most difficult road to San Antonio and the Final Four. As always seems to be the case, the West No. 1 -- UCLA -- seems to have the easiest rout.

    North Carolina will get the winner of Indiana-Arkansas in the second round, and Notre Dame, Louisville and Tennessee are all looming in the East region bracket as well. Meanwhile, the Bruins look like a shoo-in to the Sweet 16 and appear to be on a collision course with Duke for a shot at the national semifinals.

    As for the SEC, a surprising six schools got bids. That's true in large part to the performances of Georgia and Arkansas in the conference tournament last weekend in stormy Atlanta. The Bulldogs won it -- incredibly pulling off two upsets in the same day -- while Arkansas beat both Tennessee and Vandy to reach the league finals.

    The only real shocker was Kentucky, which did not record a quality non-conference victory and finished only 18-12. Evidently, the selection committee thought the Wildcats' 12-4 slate in regular-season conference play was impressive enough to earn an invitation. Interestingly, Kentucky gets Marquette in the first round. Marquette is coached by Tom Crean, who tried to get the Wildcat job last year when Billy Gillispie was hired away from Texas A&M.

    In-state, South Alabama is the only club that got a bid, with UAB and Alabama State relegated to the NIT. Alabama did not receive a bid to the NIT, but turned down an offer to play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. Reportedly, the CBI will have a 16-team field, but the asking price to host a game was $60,000 and evidently Tide officials didn't believe that was cost-effectivve. Florida and Ole Miss accepted bids to the NIT, which begins tonight.

    In the meantime, fans across the country are thankful there wasn't more devastation Friday evening in Atlanta, as a tornado apparently skirted over the Georgia Dome, leaving large pieces of the roof-support steel swaying hundreds of feet above the crowd. The Alabama-Mississippi State game was halted for several minutes before it was eventually resumed, but all other games were moved to Georgia Tech's tiny Alexander Coliseum, leaving tens of thousands of fans without tickets.

    However, it was the only thing the league office could do. As of Monday, there were still dangerous areas roped off around the dome. One eyewitness said furniture was falling out of the Omni Hotel, which is just around the corner from the Georgia Dome.

    All in all, it was a time of thanksgiving concerning a tournament that won't soon be forgotten. Let's hope the NCAA party gives us different reasons entirely to live on in our minds and memories. Here's betting it does.

    Phil Paramore's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in The Dothan Eagle. He can be heard weekday mornings from 7 until 9 on AM 560 WOOF. He can be reached at www.woofradio.com.