It's Tourney Time

Two years ago, I applied as a community college transfer to three different schools. Two of those schools are in the NCAA basketball tournament this year. The one I chose to attend is not. I decided to attend UCLA, the basketball powerhouse with 11 national titles and countless Pac-10 Conference championships. The two schools I declined are slightly less prestigious basketball institutions: UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State. But, unfortunately, it has been that kind of year for the Bruins. Despite UCLA's absence from this year's field, I am still very excited for the NCAA tourney. Since I don't feel like studying for finals, let's take a look at some of my predictions and random thoughts by region, starting in the Midwest:

Midwest Region

Kansas is the team to beat in the Midwest. I know I am really going out on a limb by saying that. But I think their mix of upperclassmen leaders and skilled young players are going to be too much. Cole Aldrich is a beast inside, Sherron Collins is a good senior point guard, Xavier Henry is a spectacular talent and the Morris twins are both big contributors. Needless to say, Kansas will be a tough out. Looking around the rest of the bracket, I only see two other teams who can make it to Indianapolis on April 3rd. Georgetown looked great in the Big East tourney, and if Greg Monroe keeps playing the way he has been they could very well challenge Kansas. The Ohio State University also has a chance to go far, and I believe they have the tournament's best player in Evan "The Villain" Turner. If Turner is scoring 30 and grabbing 10 rebounds a game like he did in the Big 10 Tournament, they could go all the way. But if he doesn't, they are going to need serious contributions from David Lighty, William Buford, Dallas Lauderdale, Jon Diebler and Mark Titus in order to win (Titus' contribution comes from his inspiration, of course). My sleeper team for the Midwest is Georgia Tech. If Derrick Favors plays great (a strong possibilty), I think he can lead them into the Sweet Sixteen while cementing his spot as the Number 3 pick in this April's NBA draft.

West Region

Once again, the top seed is who I see coming out of this region. In this case, I think Syracuse is going to be too much to overcome for the rest of the region (assuming they can get by Vermont of course). Syracuse's length in their 2-3 zone makes scoring on them difficult. The blueprint for beating Syracuse is getting the ball into the middle of the zone and punishing them from there. Georgetown executed this to a tee. Unfortunately, not a lot of teams have 6'11" centers with great passing ability like Greg Monroe. That's why I think Syracuse is going to make the Final Four. A few potential pit-falls for the Orange? I'd say Florida State has a chance because of their size and skill in Solomon Alabi and Chris Singleton. I'd also say Pitt has a decent chance with the way they've come on lately. Kansas State is also dangerous with their good guard play led by Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. My sleeper team for this region is Florida State for the reasons mentioned above.

East Region

The East region is the toughest pick for me. Kentucky has the most talent, but is also the most inexperienced. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe are all freshmen playing huge roles. I also worry about their ability to keep focused on the game and not lose their cool. In spite of that, I still have them going to the Final Four. They just have too much talent on their roster, and Wall's shown the ability to step up in late game situations. West Virginia is another dangerous team. They have a talented roster led by Da'Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones, but they do not shoot the ball very well and that makes them vulnerable in a one-and-done tournament. That leads me to my sleeper team, the Cornell Big Red. Cornell has a roster of upperclassmen and the team can shoot the lights out. In fact, during the regular season they shot at just under a 44% clip from 3-point range. They also have size inside with 7-footer Jeff Foote. I think Cornell can make a mini-run in the tourney.

South Region

The South Region is the weakest in this year's field. Duke is led by their 3 stars: Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith. Villanova is undersized but has a quarter of perimeter players who can knock down the three. I think Villanova will represent the South in the Final Four because they are so explosive and because there isn't a team in their region that can exploit their lack of size. So I have Nova going to their second consecutive Final Four. My sleeper pick for the South: Siena to the Sweet Sixteen. Purdue has struggled since Robbie Hummel tore his knee up and Siena has 3 consecutive years of tourney experience to draw upon. These guys know what to expect and I could see them winning a couple of rounds.

To complete my bracket I have Kansas beating Syracuse in one semifinal game and Kentucky beating Villanova in the other. In the Championship game I have Kansas winning an uptempo thriller over Kentucky, 81-77. I'm sure by the end of the weekend my bracket will be busted. But that's part of the fun of this whole deal. I get to write nearly 1,000 words about my predictions only to see them go up in flames four days later. Have fun and enjoy the tourney regardless. I know I will, because it sure beats studying for finals.