Another highly-anticipated NCAA tournament has arrived! Here’s a preview of the tournament along with Final Four projections:
Midwest Region
Kansas is the nation’s #1 ranked team and has an experienced, deep line-up led by Guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich. They have a great offense and pretty strong defense too and they are deservedly the pre-tournament favourites.
However, the Midwest is an extremely tough region. It features the best player in College Basketball Evan Turner and his #2 ranked Ohio State side. Big East runners-up Georgetown have been in superb form of late, fulfilling their potential. Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez, Oklahoma State’s James Anderson and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors are also amongst the top players making their teams dangerous. This section of the bracket also contains Tom Izzo’s Michigan State, who could be a dark horse pick to advance into the later rounds.
Highest Upset Potential: #11 San Diego State over #6 Tennessee- San Diego State has been playing very well down the stretch and is a very good rebounding team. They won the Mountain West Conference tournament and they might just have a little too much for Tennessee.
Elite Eight Predictions: Kansas will make the final four after defeating Georgetown in the regional final game. Watch out for a superb Sweet 16 encounter between Ohio State and Georgetown, potentially one of the games of the tournament.
West Region
The main story in this region will probably center on Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku, if Onuaku is healthy then the Orange are a legitimate title contender, however his health is questionable. Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins lead what is still a very talented Syracuse team that can score from anywhere.
Kansas State leads the remaining contenders in this region, the Wildcats posses two excellent Guards in Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen and should enjoy a good tournament. Pittsburgh will also be an interesting team to watch in this section of the bracket; the Panthers have surprised many this year earning a #3 seed in the tournament, but could face a test if they meet Xavier in the second round.
Highest Upset Potential: #12 UTEP over #15 Butler- UTEP has been under-seeded and this will be an extremely good encounter between two equally matched teams, definitely a game to watch in the first round. #13 Murray State could also be a good pick to upset Vanderbilt in the first round.
Elite Eight Predictions: Syracuse and Kansas State will advance to the Elite Eight where the Wildcats will edge this one to set up a fourth contest with bitter rivals Kansas. Syracuse has the potential to go all the way in this tournament, but its chances are really dependent upon Onuaku and initial signs are not encouraging.
East Region
The East Region is headlined by a young Kentucky team that has done nothing but impress. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe headline a tremendous group of freshmen, not to mention junior Patrick Patterson. There are questions over whether Kentucky’s inexperience will count against them in the big tournament.
West Virginia is the #2 seed here and was probably very close to being a #1 seed themselves. The Mountaineers are a great defensive team, something that counts for a lot in these competitions; they also have Da’Sean Butler to knock down the big shots. The #3 seed is New Mexico, who are a dangerous team having won a strong Mountain West Conference. An interesting opening round matchup will be between under-achievers Texas and Wake Forest, can either team live up to its potential in this competition?
Highest Upset Potential: This section of the bracket contains a number of interesting lower seeds with #11 Washington, #12 Cornell and #13 Wofford all capable of causing an upset. Cornell in particular are an extremely strong team and are probably under-seeded, they were only just edged out by #1 in the nation Kansas earlier in the year.
Elite Eight Predictions: This could be an unpredictable region with some interesting results, but expect it to end up being Kentucky and West Virginia in an interesting Elite Eight matchup. The Wildcats should have just too much scoring for West Virginia and advance to the Final Four.
South Region
The South has been labelled the weakest of the four regions, mainly because it is headlined by Duke and Villanova, both of whom might have been seeded a little high. That being said the Blue Devils were impressive on their road to another ACC tournament victory and Villanova is led by one of the best Guards in College Basketball, Scottie Reynolds.
They can no longer count as a dark horse pick, but Baylor has a good chance to progress in this region as the #3 seed, they have two very good Guards and Ekpe Udoh is a dominant defensive player on the inside. Texas A&M is another team to keep an eye on in this section of the bracket; they are a gritty team and could give Duke some troubles in the Sweet 16.
Highest Upset Potential: #13 Siena over #4 Purdue- a popular upset pick and for good reason, Purdue are just not the same team without Robbie Hummel. Old Dominion is another team to watch even in a matchup against the red hot Notre Dame.
Elite Eight Predictions: Duke battles off Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, but gets beaten by Baylor in the regional final. The Baylor Bears will advance to the Final Four.
Final Four Predictions: Kansas will beat Kansas State for the fourth time this season in the Final Four and they’ll meet Kentucky, who’ll win an entertaining affair over Baylor. Kansas will win their second national title in three years ending John Wall’s and John Calipari’s dream run at the last hurdle.
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