So much for the little guy. Big boys like defending champion Florida and No. 1-ranked Ohio State are among the topseeded favorites, while the darling mid-major teams get surprisingly few chances to turn the NCAA tournament into a free-for-all for underdogs.

March Madness officially began Sunday when the pairings were announced, kicking off office and online pools and triggering debate about seedings, who went where and who didn't make it at all.

Florida will try to become the first team since 1992 to repeat as champion and the Gators will do it as the overall top seed in the tournament, leapfrogging Ohio State courtesy of three straight routs in the Southeastern Conference tournament. North Carolina and Kansas were the other No. 1 seeds, rounding out a group that all won both their regularseason and conference tournament championships.

This is the first top seed for the Gators (29-5), who rebounded after losing three games at the end of the regular season.

''It's a compliment to our season as a body of work,'' said Florida coach Billy Donovan.

Falling to a No. 2 was last year's national runner-up, UCLA, which looked headed for a No. 1 seed until losing its last two games, including the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.

But the real surprise came in the meager number of atlarge bids handed out to midmajor teams. Only six of 34 spots went to the little guys, down from eight last year and 12 in 2004.

It means fewer opportunities for a repeat of last year, when 11th-seeded George Mason - the commuter college in Virginia - struck a blow for the underdog.