We'll break this down region by region:
East Region: Newark, NJ
Contenders for the Crown:
(1) Ohio State - The East region's number 1 seed has looked the part of a national champion all season long. What Ohio State lacks in depth it more than makes up for with its talented 6-man rotation.
With Jared Sullinger banging inside and Jon Diebler bang 3s from the outside the Buckeyes have a legit inside out combination and are surrounded by veteran leadership from the likes of David Lighty and William Buford. The Buckeyes are the natural favourite from the East region.
(2) University of North Carolina -Going ahead and laying the chalk here and picking the 1 and 2 seeds as the contenders- (Duh! Thanks for the preview Jared. So we should just take the higher seed. ok.) Some number 2 seeds are pretenders but I don't think this is the case here. The Tar Heel's finished the season strong challenging the Dukies for the ACC crown in the conference tourney after winning the ACC regular season crown. UNC is again stacked with talent and are always well coached by Roy Williams. The Tar Heel's have had a relatively poor showing in recent NCAA showings and will be out to avenge those losses this year with a team playing it's best basketball of the season at just the right time.
Pretenders:
(4) Kentucky - Despite being given a 4 seed and coming off a strong showing in the SEC tourney I just don't think the Wildcats have whet it takes to bring home the crown in '11. Long gone are the uber-world talents of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins from last year, this years team features a new crop of talented young freshman, but I think ultimately their inexperience and coach Calipari's nuttiness will be there undoing. I just haven't seen enough explosion from them in watching them this year and I think the SEC was a weak conference in general this season.
(3) Syracuse - I've always had a soft spot for the Orangemen since the days of Melo, Warrick and McNamara but I just don't think Syracuse is playing championship caliber basketball at this point in the season. It's never a good sign when you're best basketball was being played back in December, it might make for an enjoyable December vacation, but that's about it. The Orange boast a talent guard in Scoop Jackson and a superior tactician in Boeheim but despite that and the strong competition of the Big East I just don't think this is their year, in fact I'm thinking and Indiana State Sycamore upset in round 1. CHALK it up to a hunch i guess.
East's Cinderella Pick: Indiana State
1st Rd Games To Watch:
(12) Clemson vs. (5) WVU - Upset Special
(8) Villanova vs. (9) George Mason
Players to watch:
Jared Sullinger (OSU)
Harrison Barnes (UNC)
Scoop Jackson (SYR)
Isaiah Thomas (Wash)
Tu Holloway (XAV)
Region Champ: OSU
West Region: Anaheim, CA
Contenders for the Crown:
(1) Duke - Not sure that I need to validate this but the ACC champs have it all: depth, senior leadership, great guard play, and coaching. Led by All-American seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, the Dukies are primed for another deep tourney run. The defending champs certainly have the horses and with rumours that their number one recruit Kyrie Irving could come back any day now, the rich are only getting richer. It's never bad to be rich, right? Right.
(3) University of Connecticut - The UCONN Huskies are coming off an impressive Big East Tourny Championship run in which they one and unprecedented 5 games in 5 days. More remarkable when you consider the 5 wins didn't come against the sisters of the poor club team. The Big East has a tourney high 11 conference representatives and Connecticut bested all of them last week. Guard Kemba Walker has the skills and the swagger needed for a tourney that has always favoured undersized lead guards. He's half the size of Khaled El-Amin but twice the player and he too could take his Huskies to the promise land this season.
Pretenders
(4) Texas - Hurts to say this because of the Canadian representation on this team, (They boast 2 Canadian players who play legit minutes, but we've had Steve Nash for years, what else do we have to prove!) Nationalism aside the fact of the matter is the Longhorns have backed their way into the postseason losing 4 of their last 8. Once rated the number 1 team in the land the young and inexperienced Longhorns are not playing their best ball these days which has them in my list of pretenders. Also they are coached by the nutty Rick Barnes which has them in my list of pretenders.
(2) San Diego State - I watched the Fab Five Documentary and if Steve Fisher can't win a national title with the likes of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, JuwanMontross, George Lynch and a bunch of other no names- I can't let that slide. How did Webber not know they didn't have a timeout? How did they not have a T.O.? You get my point.
West's Cinderella Pick : Missouri
1st Rd Games To Watch
(6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Missouri Upset Special
(5) Arizona vs. (12) Memphis
Players To Watch:
Derrick Williams (ARZ)
Nolan Smith (Duke)
Kawhi Leonard (SDST)
Kemba Walker (UCONN)
Region Champ: Duke
Southeast Regional: New Orleans, LA
Contenders for the Crown:
(1) Pittsburgh U - The Pitt Panthers were the unlikely 'other' No.1 (1:4) when it came time for NCAA selection committee to dole out the award, and awarded they were. Many believe Pitt was given the easiest route to the Final 4, while the number 1- number 1 (Ohio State, 1:1) were given the toughest path. This seems to be the truth. Pitt had been enjoying a great season in the Big East only to lose out in the conference to a tough buzzer beater shot by Kemba Walker, so we shouldn't penalize them to much for that. Pitt has the size to dominate the glass and the guard play from Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wannamaker to take Jamie Dixon's boys all the way to the big dance. Pitt has stumbled in the tourney in the past but this is their best team to date, could this be their year?
I don't see any other legit title contenders from this, the weakest, region.
Pretenders:
(2) Florida - Don't be fooled by their overrated number 2 ranking, this was widely viewed as an oversight by the selection committee in a year in which there was far more griping over the selections than in years past. As I said earlier this was a down year for the SEC and if I'm gonna have the SEC champion Kentucky Wildcats listed as pretenders the Florida Gators have to be as well. The Gators may survive the first few rounds and possibly the region but I think that will speak more to the lackluster region than anything else. I can think of several teams more deserving of this number 2 ranking. I've watched the Gators play and I'm selling.
(3) BYU - I love watching Jimmer Fredette walk the ball down the floor and shoot 28 footers in people's eye. I love watching that. But can a team built around that 1 dimension make it all the way to the national championship, me thinks not. I realize Steph Curry carried Davidson on his back a number of rounds in years past but I'm not sure Fredette is as good as Steph Curry nor am I convinced his supporting cast is. After losing key starting forward Davies to the honour code of having sex with his girl, this team just doesn't look the same, and nor should it! I love Fredette I see him scoring 40 points unfortunately 60 points a game will only be enough to get them passed a round or two.
Southeast Region's Cinderella Pick: Utah St.
1st Round Match Ups To Watch:
(7) UCLA vs. (10) Mich St.
(5) Kansas St. vs. (12) Utah St. Upset Special
(6) St. Johns vs. (11) Gonzaga
Players To Watch:
Ashton Gibbs (PITT)
Dwight Hardy (STJ)
Taj Wesley (UTST)
Jimmer Fredette (BYU)
Southwest Region: San Antonio, TX
Contenders for the Crown:
(1) Kansas - Much like Pitt in the Southeastern Conference I think the Jayhawks are the dominant squad in their bracket. However, in the case of the Jayhawks it has less to do with what the other teams in the region have and more to do with the talent laden Kansas squad has. Kansas has all kinds of talent and a relatively easy road to Houston if they play up to their potential. (P.S. Kansas has been my team ever since the days of Kirk Hinrich, so personal bias is at play) Kansas has to be the overwhelming favourite in this region but likely Louisville, Vanderbuilt or Purdue will have something to say about that before it's all said and done. The Jayhawks have a plethora of versatility both in their guard play and in the bruising paint play of the Morris Brothers. I like it when brothers ball out! (What up, Dan! What up, Thomas!)
Pretenders:
(2) Notre Dame - Don't get me wrong I think Notre Dame has a decent squad and I don't mind Hansborough as a lead guard I just think the Fighting Irish lack the depth and the size to make a tourney run. The Irish rely heavily on their ability to stroke it from the outside and if that shooting stroke fails them they could be in tough in a grind it out defensive style game on a neutral court. Just what I'm think after watching the squad play a couple of times, I have a lot of Big East pretenders and I'm a fan of the Big East conference! Oh well! My opinion is that the Irish will go cold at some point and that will be their undoing, until then they'll be fun to watch.
(4) Louisville - I like Louisville, I've been a fan of the Cards since I went to Kentucky a few years back for the tourney and rooted for Louisville and Edgar Sosa all weekend. I can personally say that even though Pitino looks likes a dapper mafioso he never actually threatened my life. That said, I think the Cards overachieving season finally comes to an end. Ironically, this years overachieving squad will likely make up for the underachievement of seasons past in the tourney and take the cake just to spite me and this whole 2 hour column writing endeavour!
Southwest Region's Cinderella: Morehead State
1st Round Games to Watch:
(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Florida St. Upset Special
(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Richmond
(I also like USC to upset Georgetown if they make it in through tonight's play in game versus VCU)
Players to Watch:
Marcus Morris (KAN)
Ben Hansborough (ND)
John Jenkins (Vandy)
Preston Knowles (LOU)
Peyton Silva (LOU) (Shout out to new baby Bateman! I don't even know if this guy is very good; great name though)
Regional Winner: Kansas
And their you have it...if all else fails you can always just match up the team nicknames and use that as your bracket strategy. (Example : St. Peter's Peacocks vs. Purdue Boilermakers - you best be boiling those peacocks)
Here is my competitive bracket in its entirety: All that's left now is the crying! Happy guessing! Go Jayhawks!
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