As the NCAA men's tournament field was trimmed to 16 so to were the number of African American coaches which went from 15 to just three after the first two rounds of March Madness.

It is no surprise that the three remaining Black coaches are commanding teams that were among the top four seeds in their respective regions.

Georgetown coach John Thompson III gestures during his team's NCAA second- round East Regional game against Boston College at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saturday, March 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lawery raise his fist to celebrate Sunday, March 18, 2007, after Southern Illinois beat Virginia Tech 63-48 in the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam) Oregon head coach Ernie Kent leads his Ducks to a Sweet 16 showdown against UNLV (AP Photo)

John Thompson III is hoping to for a championship run like his famous father with the same college his father led to an NCAA championship.

Sharing a stark resemblance to his father who is a radio broadcaster during the NCAA tournament, Thompson III had to eliminate fellow Black coach Al Skinner of Boston College in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Hoyas 27-6 on the season are beginning to look more and more like a team capable of winning it all, methodically wearing down their opponent with physical defense and a patient offense that relies on precision cuts and not over bearing power.

Georgetown is the No. 2 seed in the East Regional and would have to beat the USC/North Carolina winner if it gets past Vanderbilt.

Meanwhile Oregon needs to beat UNLV for Ernie Kent and his Ducks to get a shot at the Florida/Butler winner.

Kent's No. 3 Ducks featuring a fast paced run and gun team and is one of three remaining teams from the PAC 10 Conference, but his success at Oregon has drawn interest from Michigan which recently fired Tommy Amaker.

"I have an agent, and he's been contacted by some people," Kent said. "All I'm going to say is that I want to be at Oregon as long as they want me there."

Oregon didn't roll over Kent's contract following last season, but he has a folk following in Eugene and it would be shocking if the Ducks did not increase his $800,000 annual salary to keep the best coach they've ever had.

Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery has set no limits on his No. 4 seed Salukis that meet Kansas in the round of Sweet 16.

The Salukis (29-6) are in the West regional and face the No. 1 seed Jayhawks, a daunting task but not one that Lowery and his team is intimidated by.

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