We begin our breakdown of the NCAA men's tournament with the Midwest Regional. The NCAA has gone back to using regional names, instead of generic names like the St. Louis Regional. This is a good move by the guys in Indianapolis. Click on the graphic for more details.
There is no regional in true SEC country this year (the South regional is in south Texas), so the committee shipped Florida to St. Louis and the Midwest. The Gators look really, really strong once again, returning almost their entire team from last year's national championship.
First, the Gators have a date in New Orleans with Jackson State. Jackson State doesn't have a prayer in the first round. Someday, a #16 seed will beat a #1 seed in the first round. Not here.
The winner (Florida, cough, cough) gets a matchup with the winner of the 8-9 game between Arizona and Purdue. Purdue has had a nice bounce-back year. Arizona is here every year, though they are not as strong as they were when they were going to Final Fours and winning a national championship. Still, the Cats are good enough to beat the Boilers here.
Every year, a 12 seed seems to always beat a 5 seed. This regional will be no different. Butler has had a great season, and has earned a #5 seed on the strength of its non-conference performance. They lost three games at the end of the year, and appear to have peaked too soon. Old Dominion is just the kind of team that can take advantage of this matchup. I pick Old Dominion in the upset in beautiful downtown Buffalo.
Maryland is another team that has bounced back this year. I thought the #4 seed was a little high, especially after their brainlock against ACC cellar-dweller Miami. Davidson, their first-round opponent, has rolled through the Southern Conference, and has won 29 games overall. This will be a tough game. I'm picking the Turtle, but Davidson will give Maryland all they want, and then some. The real question is: who does Lefty Driesell cheer for? He coached at both schools.
On the bottom half of the bracket, we find America's football team, Notre Dame, up against everyone's favorite choice for this year's surprise team, Winthrop. The Eagles come into this game at 27-4, and have broken into the Top 25, a first for a Big South team. Notre Dame is a pretty good team. But, I'm jumping on the Winthrop bandwagon for this one.
Also in Spokane is potentially the worst matchup of the tournament. Oregon rolled to the Pac-10 tournament championship last week. Miami (Ohio) got into this tournament on a literal prayer of a 3-point bank shot to beat Akron at the buzzer in the MAC final. The magic runs out for the Redhawks. Oregon, and it won't even be close.
Chicago is the site of one of the better first-round matchups: 7th seed UNLV and 10th seed Georgia Tech. The Runnin' Rebels are back, and got hosed a bit with this low seed. Tech has some guys that can play, and beat North Carolina during the last week of the regular season. In a tough game, give me Vegas. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas.
Wisconsin stays close to home in Chicago as a #2 seed, and draws the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. TAMU-CC is the ultimate hyphenated school, and they're not even Aggies! I'd love to see them pull the upset, and I look for them to keep it close. But, Wiscy will pull away at the end to advance.
In the 2nd round, Florida draws Arizona. The Gators show up to play, and it won't even be close. Old Dominion survives to take on Maryland, and this turns out to be a good game. The Terps hold on in a close one to advance. Winthrop moves into a 2nd round game with Oregon, represents well, but comes up short, and the flourescent yellow of Oregon advances. The Ducks will take on Wisconsin, victors over UNLV.
Which brings us to the Sweet 16 by the Arch in St. Louis. The Gators get Maryland, and handle them with relative ease. Oregon takes on Wisconsin. The Badgers play to their seed, despite many experts' pick against them, and move on to the Elite Eight.
The Gators get a matchup with the Cheeseheads for a trip to Atlanta. Florida is just a little better, and moves on to the Final Four to defend their title.
Coming up: predictions from the West, East, and South regionals.
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