*East *
It’s cliché to say anything can happen during March Madness, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
The East Region is a tough one in this year’s NCAA Tournament with the Big Ten’s Ohio State earning the top seed. The Buckeyes will not have an easy time advancing far into the tournament with traditional basketball programs such as No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Syracuse and No. 4 Kentucky looming.
The depth in this division doesn’t stop after the top four either; the winner of Marquette and Xavier should have a good chance to upset Syracuse in the second round.
Former Cinderella story George Mason is also in this region, with a first-round matchup against Villanova. Villanova lost five straight coming into the tournament, so there is a good chance George Mason will have a shot at being that Cinderella again in the second round if they meet Ohio State.
The dark horse in the East Region is the Washington Huskies. The Huskies won the Pac-10 tournament in overtime on a shot from Isaiah Thomas, so the team has proved it can make shots when it counts.
I think the East region is a good candidate to be a busted up bracket. Ohio State is a great team, but its road to the Final Four is certainly not one that I would envy if I were a college basketball team.
West
The favorite out of the West Region is the defending national champions, the Duke Blue Devils, who will start the tournament against No.16 Hampton University. Many think the Blue Devils have an easy road to the Final Four. When you have the possible player-of-the-year in Nolan Smith and the second most winning coach in NCAA Division 1 history in Mike Krzyzewski, it’s easy to see why.
San Diego State, a No. 2 seed, put together a great season with only two losses but has never won an NCAA tournament game in the program’s history. This year, the team has the potential to make it the Sweet 16 in Anaheim. But its dance could end there when it will likely face No.-3 seed Connecticut Huskies and Kemba Walker. The team is still red hot and full of confidence from its five wins in five days that took the Big East title.
In a possible upset game, No. 4 Texas will take on No. 13 Oakland. The Longhorns were the No. 1 team in the nation at one point, but their play as of late has been very inconsistent, with four of their seven losses coming during the final month of the regular season. Oakland’s Keith Benson is a NBA-caliber center who declared for the draft last year but withdrew because of an injured hand. If Texas continues to play inconsistently like it has lately or doesn’t take the Golden Grizzlies seriously, look for Oakland and Benson to send Texas home early.
Southwest
Kansas Jayhawks are the clear favorite in the Southwest Division for the NCAA Tournament. It is the No. 1 seeded team for a reason with an overall record of 32-2, and a conference record of 14-2.
Kansas has an advantage by having NBA prospects and twin brothers Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris. Marcus Morris was named big 12 player of the year. Kansas also has a coaching advantage in Bill Self, who has already won a national championship in 2007-2008.
But the Jayhawks were in this position a year ago when they were the No. 1 seed and were upset by Northern Iowa in the second round.
No. 2 seed Notre Dame shouldn’t be overlooked. The Irish finished 25-6, and 14-4 in the Big East good for second place. The Irish are led by Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough and Big East coach of the year Mike Brey.
Another team to look at is No. 3 seed Purdue. Purdue finished the year with an overall record of 25-7, 14-3 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are led by seniors JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, who both were named first-team all-Big Ten; Johnson was named Big Ten player of the year.
The teams to watch in this division are No. 4 seed Louisville and No. 9 seed Illinois. Louisville is coming off a stellar run in the Big East tournament where it upset Notre Dame with the help of future hall of fame coach Rick Pitino. Also, look for Illinois to regain its confidence and live up to the expectations that many experts had for the team at the beginning of the season.
Southeast
The Southeast Region is full of teams capable of making noise.
Kansas State is in interesting team in this region; it has been brutally inconsistent of late. It wouldn’t be shocking if the Wildcats made it to the Sweet 16, nor should you be stunned if they get bounced in the first round.
You probably aren’t real familiar with Belmont (N.C.) but after the first round of the tournament, I have a feeling you will be. Wisconsin would have to have a significant bounce back to make me feel better about it moving forward, and Belmont is a very good under-the-radar team.
It probably doesn’t deserve it, but Michigan State-UCLA is a matchup that will catch the attention of any college basketball fan. Both teams are struggling, but if one of them can find a way to turn it on for the tournament, the Spartans or Bruins could make a little run. It’s a far shot, but a first-round win for either of these teams could be a huge boost.
