38. Justin Holiday is among the key ingredients for Washington, the defending Pac-10 champ pegged for second this season. Holiday, the brother of Sixers' first-round pick Jrue Holiday, had hernia surgery in the offseason after playing in all 35 games off the bench last year.
39. Abington Friends product Jason Love is the only senior for Xavier, which has won the last three Atlantic 10 titles. Dayton is the league's favorite, but the Musketeers also should challenge for an NCAA berth.
40. Locally, La Salle was picked fourth, Temple fifth and Saint Joseph's 10th in the A-10 preseason poll.
41. Cornell is the unanimous choice to win its third consecutive Ivy League crown, with Princeton and Penn selected second and third, respectively.
42. Old Dominion is favored to win the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel was tabbed to finish seventh.
43. ODU's Gerald Lee, the Monarchs' leading returning scorer and the CAA preseason co-player of the year, is the son of Gerald Lee Sr., the leading scorer in Finland pro basketball history.
44. Hofstra's Charles Jenkins is the other CAA co-player of the year. His father may not have been a star in Europe, but he did teach the Pride star the fundamentals of basketball.
45. Best of luck to former Temple star Mark Macon, who is charged with cleaning up the colossal mess as the new (and interim) head coach at Binghamton. Macon takes over for Kevin Broadus, who was suspended indefinitely after admitting a recruiting violation, and the dismissal of six players.
46. Like in the NBA, defenders will no longer be allowed to draw charges under their opponents' offensive basket. But unlike the NBA, that area of the floor will not be marked and instead left to the interpretation of officials. One intent is to end violent collisions, though many coaches worry this will make refs' jobs even harder.
47. Selection Sunday is March 14.
48. Syracuse and Salt Lake City will host Thursday/Saturday regional finals on March 25 and 27 with St. Louis and Houston hosting Friday/Sunday games on March 26 and 28. The Final Four is in Indianapolis on April 3 and 5.
49. Future sites of the Final Four: Houston (2011), New Orleans (2012), Atlanta (2013), Cowboys Stadium/Arlington (2014), Indianapolis (2015) and back to Houston (2016).
50. Texas is the pick for the national championship. The Longhorns have a star and experienced leader in Damion James, an improving big man in Dexter Pittman and a deep backcourt, especially if freshman Avery Bradley is as good as advertised. Joining the Longhorns in Indianapolis will be Villanova, Michigan State and, throwing in a dark horse, Washington. *
Daily News wire services contributed to this report.
