West Regional at Louisville
6 Murray St. (-4) vs. 11 Colorado St.
The Murray State Racers capped off an unbelievable regular season with an OVC Tournament title to improve their record to 30-1. Now it is time to prove they can do it against the big boys. The Racers begin tourney play against Colorado State. Isaiah Canaan has had an All-American caliber season for Murray State, while Colorado State employs more of a balanced attack. The Racers are hungry and want to prove that their regular season was no fluke. Canaan will shine on the big stage and lead Murray State into the Round of 32 for the 2nd time in 3 years.
Prediction - Murray St. 80 Colorado St. 71
East Regional at Pittsburgh
8 Kansas St. (-5) vs. 9 Southern Miss
Southern Miss has waited 21 years to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles had a terrific regular season and are searching for their first tournament win in school history. They will try to get that win over Kansas State. KSU has had tournament success in recent years, making as far as the Elite 8 in 2010. The Wildcats were knocked out in the Round of 32 by Wisconsin last season. Southern Miss is a balanced team that is solid defensively. K-State is lead by veterans Rodney McGruder and Jamar Samuels who rank 1 and 2 on the team in both points and rebounds. I don't expect Southern Miss to get that coveted tourney win.
Prediction - Kansas St. 68 Southern Miss 62
West Regional at Portland
4 Louisville (-7.5) vs. 13 Davidson
This game has eerie similarities to Louisville's game with Morehead State last year. It's a 4-13 matchup that is being played on the same day, in the same time slot. Remember, Louisville was upset in that game. Davidson will not be intimidated by the Big East Tournament champions. The Wildcats played close games against Duke and Vandy in the regular season and actually pulled off the upset of Kansas. De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen will need to lead the way for Davidson if they are going to send Louisville to another early exit. This game will be close. Ultimately, Peyton Siva and the Cardinals' pressure defense will lead Louisville to the victory.
Prediction - Louisville 73 Davidson 67
East Regional at Albuquerque
4 Wisconsin (-9) vs. 13 Montana
Wisconsin and Montana square off in a battle of bruising teams. Both teams pride themselves on defense and grinding out victories. They will travel to the southwest to play in Albuquerque. Montana won the regular season and tournament titles in the Big Sky, lead by their outstanding Guard Will Cherry. Wisconsin's tenacious defense will be focused on shutting down Cherry. The Badgers should hold Cherry in check, and get enough offensive production out of Jordan Taylor to win this game going away.
Prediction - Wisconsin 67 Montana 46
East Regional at Pittsburgh
1 Syracuse (-15) vs. 16 UNC-Asheville
This is an interesting matchup of great offense versus great defense. They say that defense wins championships. Especially when the great defensive team has plenty of offensive firepower themselves. That is the case when talking about Syracuse. They utilize the 2-3 zone to perfection, and have a tremendous amount of experience and talent to help lead them to strong offensive performances. The Orange did announce that Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Fab Melo, has been ruled ineligible for the rest of the season though. This is a blow to their national title hopes, but it will have no effect against UNC-Asheville.
Prediction - Syracuse 73 UNC-Asheville 55
West Regional at Portland
5 New Mexico (-4) vs. 12 Long Beach St.
Long Beach State built a reputation of battling with the best teams in the country this season. They took on 7 different tournament teams during the non-conference portion of their schedule. They only won 1 of those games (Xavier) but all of their losses were by single digits except for one (Louisville). The 49ers, lead by All-American candidate Casper Ware, can compete with anybody. New Mexico was much better than people gave them credit for this year. They have been overlooked at times this year, so I wouldn't expect them to overlook Long Beach. New Mexico is a good rebounding team and they are very efficient on offense. They should be able to win the battle of the boards and create open looks against the 49ers. Drew Gordon is a beast down low for the Lobos and will eventually lead them on to the next round.
Prediction - New Mexico 73 Long Beach St. 67
East Regional at Albuquerque
5 Vanderbilt (-5) vs. 12 Harvard
Vandy is on a roll right now. They just won their 1st SEC Tournament in over 50 years and gave Kentucky just their 2nd loss of the year in the process. This game could be dangerous though. The Commodores have a recent history of bowing out early in the NCAAs. Last year they lost in the Round of 64 to Richmond and lost in the same round to Murray State in 2010. Harvard squeaked into the Big Dance for the 1st time since 1946. The Crimson does not do anything spectacular , but they are an intelligent and gritty team. Vandy has the talent to make a Final Four run, but their recent tournament woes scare me. I think this Vandy team has too much talent to lose this early, but expect them to be in a fight.
Prediction - Vanderbilt 62 Harvard 61
South Regional at Louisville
1 Kentucky (-21.5) vs. 16 Western Kentucky
Kentucky has been the best team in the country throughout the entire season. They have yet another loaded group of freshmen that have lead the way. Anthony Davis is possibly the National POY and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has been special as well. Don't forget about Terrance Jones and Doron Lamb who helped lead Kentucky to the Final Four last year. Simply put, Western Kentucky has no chance. The Hilltoppers left their mark on the Tournament though. They came back from down 17 with 5 minutes to go to beat Mississippi Valley State in a First Four matchup. Their reward - a date with Kentucky.
Prediction - Kentucky 84 Western Kentucky 62
South Regional at Portland
5 Wichita St. (-6.5) vs. 12 VCU
Wichita State has had some tournament success in their history. VCU had not, until last year. VCU is coming off of their miraculous run to the Final Four last season and trying to duplicate it again this year. The Shockers stand in their way. Wichita State is considered by many to be the best mid-major team in the country this season. If anyone is going to make a VCU type run into the Final Four, it could be the Shockers. Despite VCU's 28-6 record, many are skeptical that they have success this time around. The Rams got their national recognition in 2011. Wichita State is looking for that same recognition in 2012. They will take one step towards that with a win Thursday night.
Prediction - Wichita St. 69 VCU 53
East Regional at Pittsburgh
7 Gonzaga (-1) vs. 10 West Virginia
The Zags are making their 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. They are still in search of that elusive trip to the Final Four. The road to get there will be tough this year. They drew a rugged West Virginia squad that has one of the best players in the nation in Kevin Jones. Jones and the Mountaineers get to play less than 100 miles from their campus, while Gonzaga travels cross country. That should give WVU somewhat of an advantage. This should be one of the better matchups of the Round of 64. Whoever wins the matchup of Kevin Jones and Elias Harris should get the upper hand. I like Jones.
Prediction - West Virginia 62 Gonzaga 61
South Regional at Albuquerque
3 Baylor (-7.5) vs. 14 South Dakota St.
Baylor has one of the most loaded rosters in the country. At times they have played like it, and at times they have not. Perry Jones III is the most polarizing figure of the Bears. Jones III has the potential to be a Top 5 pick in the NBA Draft, but he disappears at times. If he disappears in this one, South Dakota State is capable of pulling an upset in their 1st NCAA Tournament appearance ever. The Jack Rabbits can put up points, and Baylor has been known to go through defensive lapses. This game will be close throughout, but Baylor has too much talent to allow themselves to lose.
Prediction - Baylor 86 South Dakota St. 83
South Regional at Louisville
8 Iowa St. (+1.5) vs. 9 UConn
UConn is coming off of a National Championship season in 2011. The Huskies will be hard pressed to repeat in 2012. Their best player from last season, Kemba Walker, is now in the NBA. Younger players have had to step it up. They have not always done so. This year's UConn team probably has just as much talent, but they lack experience and leadership. Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Andre Drummond have as much talent as anyone, but they have not produced consistently. Iowa State is a tough matchup for the Huskies. Royce White is a special player, and does a little bit of everything for the Cyclones. I see UConn advancing here, but by the skin of their teeth.
Prediction - UConn 61 Iowa St. 59
South Regional at Portland
4 Indiana (-5.5) vs. 13 New Mexico St.
New Mexico State is a talented basketball team. They come into this game winners of 9 of their last 10. They get the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday night. Indiana is making their 1st tournament appearance since 2008. This is an eternity for the basketball-rich Hoosiers. Their resurgence was lead by one of the top freshmen in the country, Cody Zeller. Zeller has helped make Indiana an outstanding team scoring the basketball as well as rebounding it. Tom Crean knows how to win in March, even if he hasn't done it at Indiana yet. I think the Hoosiers will be all over New Mexico State.
Prediction - Indiana 81 New Mexico St. 58
East Regional at Pittsburgh
2 Ohio St. (-17.5) vs. 15 Loyola (MD)
If you want to look at an under the radar team that is capable of winning a National Championship, look no further than Ohio State. Thad Matta's team went through some rough stretches throughout the season, but they were never ranked lower than #11 at any point in the year. Now all of the sudden nobody is talking about them. The Buckeyes lost some important pieces from last year's team, but they still have 3 key contributors in Jared Sullinger, William Buford, and Aaron Craft. Loyola is making their 2nd appearance in the Big Dance and 1st since 1994. The Greyhounds shouldn't put up too much of a fight. I like OSU big.
Prediction - Ohio St. 75 Loyola (Md) 56
South Regional at Albuquerque
6 UNLV (-5) vs. 11 Colorado
This is one of the more intriguing games of the day. UNLV was on a terror at the beginning of the year. They beat North Carolina and at one point reached the Top 10. It was making folks in Vegas yearn for the days of Larry Johnson. They didn't finish quite as hot, but remained a dangerous team that nobody wants to deal with. Colorado was picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac-12. They meddled in mediocrity though much of the season, but found their groove just in time to make a run through the Pac-12 Tournament. The Buffaloes are playing their best ball of the year and pose a serious threat to the Runnin' Rebels. I don;t quite see them getting it done though.
Prediction - UNLV 67 Colorado 61
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