Hey y'all. So right now we are 3/4 of the way done with the first round. We have seen some last second finishes (NC St. vs Cal) but still no major upsets. Tommorow (after the Illinois game of course) I am off to South Padre Island for spring break (24 hours of straight driving). Even I am not a big enough loser to update the site while on spring break. I'll be back on Sunday night with a recap of the first four rounds and preview of the final four. Peace I'm out of here.  ¶ 5:55 PM

  West Region:
Last (and certainly not least) we come to the West Region. As we all know this region is loaded. Reaction about my Midwest region report ranged from shock to outrage so I can understand if you don’t put to much credence in my picks for this region. They are a little bit more normal though (with one notable exception). I’m gonna short change this region cause I want to go out drinking pretty soon.

My final four pick: Arizona
Sleeper: Memphis
Most likely first round upset: Central Michigan over Creighton
5 players to watch: Jason Gardner, Arizona
Brian Cook, Illinois
Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
Kirk Heinrick, Kansas
Nick Collison, Kansas

1st round:
Arizona vs. Vermont
Due to the fact that Arizona is a bigger state than Vermont, I will take Arizona.

Cincinnati vs. Gonzaga
Ah the 8-9 game. The toughest to predict. I actually don’t see this one being all that close though. I like Gonzaga’s inside force to get past the Bearcats. There big white guy was hurt for the finals of the WCC tournament (which was also at San Diego), otherwise they would have won that game.

Notre Dame vs. UW-Milwaukee
A lot of people like the upset here, and with good reason. Notre Dame has been playing some crappy ball of late; while UWM has put together a nice winning streak. I think Notre Dame is a little too talented for UWN, they have seniors, and the game is in Indianapolis, so I am sticking with the Irish.

Illinois vs. Western Kentucky
Haven’t heard of 7-1 Chris Marcus? Well you won’t hear of him after watching this game. Marcus only played in 4 games this year for WKU before he succumbed to injuries. This leaves no one with any capability to stop Brian Cook. Illinois wins easily.

Creighton vs. Central Michigan?
Haven’t heard of 7-0 Chris Kaman? Well you will hear of him after this weekend. He is a future NBA lottery pick, who has his team playing some great ball. The MAC is the best midmajor conference in America. In this rare meeting of two midmajor powers Central Michigan gets the nod.

Duke vs. Colorado St.
Colorado St. somehow won their conference tourney. They do have two great seniors (whose names escape me now and I am too lazy to look them up), so they could pull a surprise on the young Blue Devils. Daniel Ewing has been a baller of late though, and I think he will be the difference for Duke in the first round.

Memphis vs. Arizona St.
Memphis is one great 7 seed. Arizona St. is a one man show (even if that man is Ike Diagu). Memphis wins.

Kansas vs. Utah St.
It was Saturday night. I had gotten home from the United Center after watching 6 basketball games in 2 days. So why was I watching Utah St. play Cal Poly at midnight in the finals of the Big West tournament on ESPN 2? No really, I’m asking you, I have no idea? Anyways, they didn’t impress me all that much, although their coach is really dorky looking. Kansas wins.

2nd round:
Arizona vs. Gonzaga
Arizona is a lot more talented.

Notre Dame vs. Illinois
I’ll give the nod to Illinois based on the fact that Brian Cook is on a mission.

C. Michigan vs. Duke
All right I really want to start drinking now so I’m gonna make the rest of these short. Except of course for this one… because it takes a lot of explaining on my part. I like the Central Michigan Chippawas (picked to finish 6 out of 7 teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division at the start of the year) to defeat the storied Duke Blue Devils. Central Michigan plays 4 guards with their NBA ready center Chris Kaman. All 4 of these guards can shoot the 3 pointer a key ingredient for any upset. The Dukies are young and have been overrated all year. Sheldon Williams cannot hang with Kaman. CMU advances (besides who wants to root for Duke anyway).

Memphis vs. Kansas
Memphis could win this game but the senior leadership of Collison and Heinrick will prevent that.

Regional:
Arizona over Illinois
Salim Stoudomaire will score 30 points and Arizona will win.

C. Michigan vs. Kansas
Collison is the first big man that Kaman has seen who can hang with him. Kansas wins ending CMU’s Cinderella hopes.

Regional Final:
Arizona is too deep. The injury to Wayne Simian really hurts Kansas and so they cannot afford any foul trouble if they hope to win this (or any other) game. I like Arizona to advance to New Orleans.
  ¶ 9:24 PM

  Midwest Regional:
Okay so far my pick haven’t been too outrageous. That is all about to change. This is the bracket that will leave me in last place.

My final four pick: Wisconsin
Sleeper: Indiana
Most likely first round upset: Tulsa over Dayton
5 players to watch: Keith Bogens, Kentucky
Luke Ridenour, Oregon
Kirk Penney, Wisconsin
Dwayne Wade, Marquette
Tom Coverdale, Indiana

Kentucky vs. Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
I like Kentucky. Now if they were playing Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne instead of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis it might be a different story. But I look for Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis to make a quick exit and head back home to Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Oregon vs. Utah
Britton Johnson is out for Utah. Luke Ridenour is a future NBA star. Last I checked Utah is getting 4. I would run to Vegas and put 5 g’s on Oregon.

Wisconsin vs. Weber St.
There is a far amount of talk about Weber St. beating Wisconsin. Well since I do have Wisconsin in my final four I can’t have them losing in the first round can I?

Dayton vs. Tulsa
How did Dayton get a 4 seed? Tulsa has no star on it’s roster but is an overall better team then Dayton, despite the seed differential. Tulsa has been to the Big Dance before, Dayton will be content with the great season that they’ve already had. Tulsa pulls the (minor) upset.

Missouri vs. Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois will not win this game! They are not as talented as last year (where they will be helped by playing in Chicago, a favorable location). Quin Snider is proving to be a very good tournament coach. Missouri is too talented and well coached and will win this game easily. However, I will still send a shout out to Jermaine Dearman (aka Ludacris) holla!

Marquette vs. Holy Cross
This is a tough first round game for Marquette. Holy Cross has NCAA experience (pushing 1 seed Kansas last year as a 16 seed). There is no one on Holy Cross (or America) that can stop Dwayne Wade though, and so Marquette will advance.

Indiana vs. Alabama
Yes Alabama is extremely talented. However, I think that Indiana is playing better, and has more tournament experience. Alabama’s season has fallen apart, and although some teams have turned around disappointing seasons in the tournament in the past (Missouri last year), the ship has sunk for the Crimson Tide.

Pitt vs. Wagner
Pitt.

2nd round:
Kentucky vs. Oregon
Anything can happen in the NCAA tournament. A team that is on a 15 game winning and is the number one team in the country can get bounced just as quickly as every other team. Oregon just won the Pac 10 tournament, Luke Ridnour is the best player in this region (with apologies to Dwayne Wade), and they went to the elite eight a year ago. The question mark on Oregon are whether they can get the inside presense to hang with Kentucky. Oregon has played terrible on the road this year and a game in nearby Nashville is almost a home game for Kentucky. So for those reasons I am going to cop out and take the Wildcats. Don’t worry though, I don’t have them going much farther.

Wisconsin vs. Tulsa
Kirk Penney and company are on a mission to show that their Big 10 regular season crown was no fluke. Wisconsin will advance to the sweet sixteen.

Missouri vs. Marquette
Both of these teams are very talented. Both can get hot at times. Missouri is more experienced and has the more proven tournament coach so I give them the nod.

Indiana vs. Pitt
Pitt is the most overrated team in America. Brandon Knight hasn’t been fully healthy for two years. The Big East is soft compared to the Big 10. Indiana has senior leadership behind Newton and Coverdale, two guys who have gotten as close to a tournament title as you can get. Indiana will get by Pitt and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Regional:
Wisconsin vs. Kentucky
There comes a point in everyone’s brackets where they should pick a game just on hunch alone. I am picking Wisconsin for the following reasons… 1. I put money on them in Vegas at the start of the year to win the National Championship 2. they have a senior leader 3. the favorite never wins 4. the game is in Minneapolis, a Big 10 stronghold and a short drive from the cheese state. Yes, Jules Camara will be unstoppable in this game, but assuming Penney delivers and X factors such as Alando Tucker (of SICA West fame) and Mike Wilkenson contribute I think Wisconsin has a chance to pull the upset. You know by the Sweet Sixteen there is gonna be at least one shocker, and this one is mine.

Missouri vs. Indiana
Missouri was very impressive in a run to the Big 12 championship title game last weekend. This game could go either way (or a third way if Pitt wins it) but I think the Tigers will make a second straight elite eight apperance.

Regional final:
Wisconsin vs. Missouri
I am a subscriber to the theory that it is good to lose early in your conference championship game. Wisconsin players thought they were the shit after their win at home against Illinois, but then came back down to earth after their loss to Ohio St. in the tourney. They will return refocused. I’m going with Wisconsin to make it to New Orleans. Why not? They made the final four a couple years ago with a team that was much worse than this one. Anything can happen in college basketball today. But for the sake of me winning money don’t tell that to Weber St.
  ¶ 12:32 PM

  If the NCAA tournament gets postponed because of the war than men like George Bush have already won.

East region:
In my opinion Oklahoma is the best team in the NCAA. But as we’ve often seen before the best team does not always win the tournament. This region is overall pretty weak (anything is compared to the west region I guess).

My final four pick: Syracuse
Sleeper: Mississippi St.
Most likely first round upset: Penn over Oklahoma St.
5 players to watch: Hollis Price, Oklahoma
Mario Austin, Mississippi St.
Ugonna Onyekwe, Penn
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
Josh Howard, Wake Forest

First round:
Oklahoma vs. South Carolina St.
Oklahoma by 739

Cal vs. NC State
This is the most evenly matched first round game. This game comes down to a coin flip as far as I’m concerned… and I will go with NC State

Mississippi St. vs. Butler
Some will tell you that Butler is gonna pull off the upset here. Don’t listen to them. Mississippi St. is way to big and talented for Butler, and they have been playing good ball down the stretch. Look for Mississippi St. to advance easily to the second round.

Louisville vs. Austin Peay
The Austin Peay crowd will be chanting “let’s go Peay!”. However, they won’t have much to cheer about as Louisville will advance.

OK State vs. Penn
Those of you that read the Sierackattack Power Index (defunct due to laziness) might remember that at the start of the season I had Penn in my Top 25. They got off to a slow nonconference start, but have since won 15 straight games. They also have some of the best names in the college game today, Ugonna Onykewe, Koko Archibong, and Andy Toole. OK State has not really played poorly down the stretch, only going 3 and 7 in their last 10. But hold on before you pencil Pennsylvania into the second round. Penn plays in the very weak Ivy League, how have they fared against tournament competition? The answer is not well. They lost at Colorado by over 20 points and at home to St. Joe’s by 18. They do have some quality wins over Villanova and Temple. So after having said all that, and presented arguments both for and against the upset, I will go with Penn to win the game.

Syracuse vs. Manhattan
Warning: This might be the stupidest thing I’ve said yet. I like Syracuse to get to the final four, but I think they’re game against Manhatten will be the most difficult challenge in getting to New Orleans. The Jaspers are a talented team, led by potential NBA player Luis Flores. Even though Carmelo Anthony and Jerry McNammera have never been in the tournament before, they are too talented to let Cuse slip. Syracuse gets by in a game closer than expected.

St. Joe’s vs. Auburn
I don’t even think Auburn should be in the tournament. Based on that alone I am going with St. Joe’s and their talented senior point guard Jameer Nelson.

Wake Forest vs. East Tennessee St.
I think ETU has the best chance of any 15 seed to beat a 2. I don’t think they will do it though.

2nd Round:
Oklahoma vs. NC State
Hollis Price is on a mission. He could be this year’s Juan Dixon. Oklahomos advance.

Mississippi St. vs. Louisville
Mario Austin will not be stoppable and the Bulldogs will go to the sweet sixteen.

Penn vs. Syracuse
Penn actually has some talented athletes. But none of them are as talented as Carmelo Anthony. Penn could spring an upset if they play a ball control game. If the game is up and down then Syracuse will romp. I’m going with the Orangemen.

St. Joe’s vs. Wake Forest:
This game is a matchup of outstanding seniors: Josh Howard of Wake Forest and Jameer Nelson of St. Joe’s. One of their college careers will come to a close on Saturday and I predict that Wake Forest will prove to be too strong for St. Joe’s.

Regional:
Oklahoma vs. Mississippi St.
Oklahoma has the big guys to hang with Mario Austin. They can throw a multitude of bodies at him, without fear of foul trouble. Based on this I like Oklahoma to advance.

Syracuse vs. Wake Forest
This game is in Albany, 10 minutes from Syracuse. Perhaps I am putting to much emphasis on home court advantage, but for that reason alone I like the Orangemen.

Regional final:
Oklahoma vs. Syracuse
See Syracuse vs. Wake Forest. I like Cuse because of the location of the game. Having said that I think that Oklahoma is the best team in the tournament, and will win the national championship if they get past this game. However, I am putting a lot of stock in the location of the game and for that reason I like Carmelo Anthony and company to go to New Orleans.
  ¶ 2:09 PM

  This is the update that my legions of fans have been begging for. Let's start with a quick recap of the Conference Tournaments. Who won? who lost? who cares? These tournaments don't really have any baring on the NCAA seeding process, as evidenced by Illinois being placed in the West. Well I'm gonna get right to the NCAA preview cause that is what you all want to see.

South bracket:
I will start with this bracket cause it is the weakest one I have seen in many years. 1 seed Texas lost in their first game of the Big 12 tournament, 2 seed Florida has lost 3 in a row, 3 seed Xavier is from a crappy conference, and 4 seed Stanford just plain sucks. Having said all that I really don't see many upsets in this region.

My final four pick: Texas
Sleeper: LSU
Most likely first round upset: UNC-Wilmington over Maryland
5 players to watch: T.J. Ford, Texas
Emeka Okofor, UConn
Brett Blizard, UNC-Wilmington
David West, Xavier
Romain Sato, Xavier

Round 1:
Texas vs. Play in game winner (Texas Southern)
I think Texas Southern is the better team but they will be too exhausted from their opening round game vs. UNC-Ashville, so I will have to say Texas by 30.

LSU vs. Purdue
LSU had won 7 in a row in the SEC before falling to a very talented Mississippi St. club in the SEC semifinals. Meanwhile Purdue has struggled down the stretch, losing six of their last nine. In the Big 10 tournament against Michigan St. they looked absolutly terrible. Gene Keady is gonna have to do a great coaching job to get his team ready for this game, but I just don't see Purdue being able to pull out a victory.

UConn vs. BYU
UConn is a difficult team to figure out. If they show up then they can play with anyone in the country. If they don't come to play then they are capable of losing badly (at home to Providence, at Virginia Tech). BYU was one of the last teams in the tournament after losing to Colorado St. in the semis of their conference tournament. BYU really could win this game, however I don't think that they have anyone that can stay with Okofor and so UConn will prevail.

Stanford vs. San Diego
Stanford is not good. The only reason San Diego is in the tournament is because their conference tournament was on their home court. Therefore, Stanford (who if you recall I said was not good) will still win this game.

Maryland vs. UNC-Willmington
This will be one of the closest games of the first round. UNC-Wilmington has the best player on the floor in Brett Blizzard. He led his squad to an upset over 4 seed USC last year. I think UNC-Wilmington would beat any other 6 seed in the tournament, however in the end I think that Maryland is too experienced and well coached to take them lightly. Both of these teams are tournament tested. I like Maryland to sqeeze by, but if UNC-Wilmington won it would not be that big of a shocker.

Xavier vs. Troy St.
Those of you who have been loyally reading my site (for all week and a half of it's existence) might recall me writing about Troy St. There conference tournament was so early that they will have been off for 2 weeks before they take the floor against Xavier. That is a lot of practice time. However, no amount of practice can prepare them for David West and Romain Sato and Xavier will win this one.

Michigan St. vs. Colorado
This is a tough one. Michigan St. lacks a point guard to run the show but has played well down the stretch (at least until that Ohio St. game) and Colorado has some great individual talent in Morandais and David Harrison. I think these teams are pretty evenly matched, neither of them can win on the road, and so this game is gonna come down to intangibles. Tom Izzo is the best coach in the nation so assuming Anoganye, Paul Davis and company can stop Harrison down low I look for Michigan St. to pull this one out.

Florida vs. Sam Houston St.
I like Florida.

2nd round:
Texas vs. LSU
I believe that LSU has the best chance of anyone in this bracket to upset Texas. They have a great player in Ronald Dupree and have been playing well. However, I think Texas is just too deep and talented for them. Texas advances.

UConn vs. Stanford
Neither of these two teams deserves to be in the sweet sixteen. However, UConn is far less crappier than Stanford and so I will go with them.

Maryland vs. Xavier
Here's where all the pro-Maryland people see an upset. I don't see it happening. True Maryland has seniors who have been through this before, but they just don't have the individual talent to stay with Romain Sato and David West. Steve Blake is a good college point guard, but Sato will light him up and Xavier will advance.

Michigan St. vs. Florida
Did I mention that this game will be taking place in Tampa, Florida. That fact (combined with the fact that they are better than Michigan St.) will propel Florida to the sweet sixteen.

Regional semifinal:
Texas vs. UConn
UConn is not deep or talented enough to hang with Texas on a neutal floor. Well this floor isn't even neutral, the game will be played in San Antonio. Texas wins easily.

Xavier vs. Florida
Florida has some of the best individual talent in the college ranks. Matt Walsh, David Lee, Anthony Roberson, Christian Drejer Justin Hamilton and even Matt Bonner are all ballers. However there recent losing streak exposed their one weakness. They have no one to defend the inside game. I can't see anyone on this team being able to stop David West. This game really is a toss up but I'll go ahead and say that no one will stop West and Xavier will edge Florida.

Regional Final:
Texas vs. Xavier
Game is in San Antonio. T.J. Ford stops Romain Sato. Texas wins.
  ¶ 10:46 PM