By now you have filled out 15 brackets, between ESPN and your office pools. I will breakdown each regional and let you know if there are going to be any upsets. I am no Jay Bilas, and I can’t really tell you how many teams are in the tournament or if the first round starts on Tuesday or Thursday. I do however watch a ton of college basketball and have a pretty good idea about most of the teams in the tournament.
So here goes….
East Regional:
Favorite: Ohio State has to be the favorite to win the east bracket, and maybe the overall favorite to win the whole thing. Thad Matta will bring a Buckeye’s team that has just about everything you could ask for in a college basketball team. A young super star in Jared Sullinger who will pose a problem for most teams with his low post play. A guard that can pretty much shoot from any where on the court in Jon Diebler and senior leadership in David Lighty, who played on the runner up team of 2007. Look for Ohio State to cruise through the opening round in Cleveland.
Upset special: Clemson over WVU in the first round. That is if Clemson can get past UAB in the play in round. I have not been that impressed with Clemson or WVU this season, but I feel Clemson is a little more athletic and their guard play will be the difference. As a good gamecock fan I hope Clemson loses every game they play, no matter the sport, but this could be their match up to win, even if they have to play the early game on Thursday after they win the late game on Tuesday.
Dark Horse: My dark horse for the East is the Kentucky Wildcats who might be young but have the talent to win any game they play. They made quick work of the SEC Tournament after a poor regular season, in Kentucky standards. Look for Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight and Darious Miller to be key factors on how far the Wildcats get.
Best First Round Game: Washington vs. UGA- the Bulldogs are happy to be in the tournament and the Huskies earned it by winning a great PAC 10 Championship game against Zona. Look for the Bulldog stars Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins to be the wild cards in the opening round. If the Dawgs can slow down Isiah Thomas, they have a good chance of making it to the 2nd round.
Southeast Regional:
Favorite: I am going to say that the Florida Gators have the best chance of winning the southeast regional. Pitt is good but I am just not sold on them making it to Houston. The Gators played well most of the season minus a couple loses to some inferior teams in the SEC. The Gators have a balanced offensive attack with a couple bigs in Macklin and Tyus, and outside shooting from Boynton, Parsons and ErvingWalker. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Gators make the final four.
Upset Special: I would like to say Wofford over BYU, but just about every national annalist is now calling for this upset, so I am going to stay clear of that game. I am going to go with Gonzaga over St. Johns. As much as I like what the Red Storm have done this season, I just have a feeling the Zag’s are a team that could give them trouble.
Dark Horse: Michigan State: Tom Izzo has made a living getting teams to the final four and this would probably be his best coaching job if this team did make it to Houston. Lucas, Summers and Green will have to be outstanding if the Spartans have any chance, but they have to talent to make a run. Watch out for the Spartans.
Best first round matchup: BYU vs. Wofford. Got to give the State of South Carolina a little love. If they can control Jimmer and do what they do best, play defense and get rebounds. They do have a chance to advance. Jimmer could easily go for 50 and blow out the Terriers, but I have a feeling Wofford is going to put up a heck of a fight.
West Regional
Favorite: How could you go against the defending National Champs, the Blue Devils will be ready to defend their title, but it won’t be easy. If Kyle Singler shoots like he did last year in the tournament, then it could be a pretty easy run for Duke.
Upset Special: Missouri over Cincy. Cincy plays great defense and has a big man that could give any team in the tournament trouble, but the Tigers are a fast paced offensive team that can score points. Marcus Denmon will lead the charge for the Tigers with a little help from Ricardo Ratliffe.
Dark Horse: I don’t know if you can call UConn a dark horse after the show they put on in the Big East Tournament but I don’t see many guards slowing down Kemba Walker. If he can continue his hot streak, the Huskies could make a run for the national title.
Best first round matchup: Arizona vs. Memphis: Both of these programs have been to the top and are now working their was back to the top with new young coaches. Memphis is still the cream of the crop in C-USA, and Arizona took down a bad Pac 10 in the regular season before being knocked off in the conference championship game in the last second by Washington. The player to watch is Derrick Williams, who is one of the top players in the country that gets very little media hype.
Southwest Regional:
Favorite: The favorite has to be Kansas, with a 32-2 record you could be the team to beat in the tourney. The Morris twins are a force in the low post and the outside shooting of Morningstar and Reed. If they take the tournament for granted like last year, they might get knocked out by another Northern Iowa team this year. I have a feeling they will be ready this year.
Upset Special: Richmond over Vandy: Just like every other SEC team in the tournament, Vandy could play their way into the sweet sixteen by shooting the lights out or they could just roll over and die. We will have to see which team shows up on Thursday, but Richmond is not a team to take lightly. The Spiders can shoot from behind the arc and have the senior leadership to keep their composer to make a run.
Dark Horse: Purdue has JaJuan Johnson and Etwaun Moore, and they can take over a game against anybody. Shut them down and you win. Easier said then done. Don’t sleep on Notre Dame either. If they are hot for 3 point land, they could score 100 points in the first half.
Best first round match-up: Texas A &M vs. FSU; This would be a great match up if FSU star Chris Singleton is health, but if not look for Texas A & M to pull it out. This will be a good match up as both teams match up pretty well. FSU will keep the score low with their shut down defense, but in the end A&M’s will hit the boards hard and offensive rebounds will be the difference.
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There you go…thank me later when you win…..
