The best sports weekend of the year–hands down–begins in earnest in less than 48 hours.\u00a0 Yes, I am like little-kid-on-Christmas excited.\u00a0 No, I’m not embarrassed by it.\u00a0 Looking over the\u00a0 brackets, there are a bunch of first-round matchups and potential second-round matchups that I am looking forward the most, so I figure this is a good topic for Tuesday’s Top Twelve.<\/p>\n
#12).\u00a0 3-Kansas vs. 14-North Dakota State (first round on Friday at 12:30 in Minneapolis)<\/strong>.\u00a0 In sort of\u00a0a scan\u00a0for “potential madness,” this one hit me right away.\u00a0 I think the Jayhawks are vulnerable, and the Bison of North Dakota St. might be the perfect team to pull off\u00a0the big upset of KU (ironically, Kansas was a 3-seed in 2005 and lost to a 14-seed nicknamed the Bison–Bucknell).\u00a0 I contemplated putting Mississippi St vs. Washington here because I like that upset also, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun\/MAD as North Dakota St., in their first year of D-1 eligibility, taking out the defending champs.<\/p>\n #11). 4-Xavier vs. 5-Florida State (potentially second-round on Sunday in Boise)<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is just a potential game because they both have to get through their first-round opponents (which I think they both will), but if it happens, it should be very, very good.\u00a0 I love the contrasting styles that this game presents.\u00a0 The athletic, defense-oriented, extremely balanced-scoring\u00a0Musketeers against the HUGE and athletic Seminoles who rely on one guy for a large portion of their offense.<\/p>\n #10). 1-North Carolina vs. 8-LSU or 9-Butler (potentially second-round on Sunday in Greensboro)<\/strong>.\u00a0 This might have been even more interesting had it been anywhere but in the state of North Carolina.\u00a0 Then again, it would have been rather uninteresting if Ty Lawson were 100%.\u00a0 UNC could probably beat Radford without any starters.\u00a0 And, even if it’s close, there are so many things that go into a 1-16 game to glean anything about the top-seed.\u00a0 So, Sunday’s game (against either LSU or Butler, because they’re both pretty tough as a 8\/9) will be the real test to see if UNC is healthy and running on all cylinders.<\/p>\n #9). 6-West Virginia vs. 11-Dayton (first round on Friday at 3:00 in Minneapolis)<\/strong>.\u00a0 I think that this West Virginia team could really do some damage in this tournament.\u00a0 But, then again, they might not make it out of the first round.\u00a0 That is what makes this tournament so fascinating.\u00a0 Dayton, who can be either overrated or underrated, depending on who you talk to, is indisputably a solid test for the Mountaineers.\u00a0 Plus, if you buy into my belief that Kansas is vulnerable (either in the first round or beyond), there is a good chance that we will see the winner of this game playing next week in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n #8). 7-Boston College vs. 10-USC (first round on Friday at 7:20 in Minneapolis)<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is a fantastic first-round game between two relatively under-the-radar teams this year.\u00a0 BC made some noise in the ACC, but was never really talked about nationally.\u00a0 USC’s lack of national presence was warranted because they flat-out played poorly for much of the season and were not going to be included until they won the Pac 10 tournament.\u00a0 There is also a lot of star power in this game with Tyrese Rice, Daniel Hackett, and Taj Gibson are all still in school (even though I seem to remember them all playing in the 90s).\u00a0 Also, DeMar DeRozan is a flat-out stud freshman for the Trojans.<\/p>\n #7). 1-Michigan State vs. 7-Boston College or 10-USC (potentially second-round on Sunday in Minneapolis)<\/strong>.\u00a0 The winner of #8 (no matter who it is) will set up an even better matchup on Sunday against 2-seed Michigan St.\u00a0 Either opponent for the Spartans presents a true test for a team that could only surprise me if they lost in the first round.\u00a0 Anything else, from a bad second-round exit to a national championship is in the cards this year for this talented, but inconsistent team with a phenomenal coach.<\/p>\n #6). 3-Syracuse vs. 6-Arizona State or 11-Temple (potentially second-round on Sunday in Miami)<\/strong>.\u00a0 The winner of the first-round game between ASU and Temple will get to play in a very interesting game against Syracuse.\u00a0 So much has been made of all the minutes that The Orange logged in their captivating trip to the Big East finals, but does it really matter?\u00a0 Can top-flight athletes really be “tired” from anything (other than a marathon)\u00a0that they did a week ago?\u00a0 We will see because if Syracuse beats Stephen F. Austin, they are in for a battle, regardless of which team they are playing.<\/p>\n #5). 8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-Tennessee (first round on Friday in Dayton)<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is a big-time first round matchup.\u00a0 These two teams should probably be playing in at least the second round, if not later.\u00a0 But, they both struggled more than expected, then turned their seasons around and now find themselves across the battle lines from each other in a brutal first-round matchup.\u00a0 It will be interesting on both ends, as a\u00a0solid OSU defense tries to stop an awesome\u00a0Tennessee offense, while a painfully awful Tennessee defense tries to stop a frustratingly inconsistent OSU offense.<\/p>\n #4). 1-Pittsburgh vs. 8-Oklahoma State or 9-Tennessee<\/strong>.\u00a0 Whoever comes out of the great matchup listed at #5 will have another fantastic, must-see game against top-seeded Pitt.\u00a0 The only real question mark surrounding the Panthers is will DeJuan Blair get into foul trouble or not.\u00a0 And, it really all depends on how tight the officiating is because he is certainly not <\/em>going to change his game.\u00a0 Either way, this second-round matchup has the feel of a Sweet 16 or later game, especially if it’s immensely talented Tennessee.<\/p>\n #3). 2-Oklahoma vs. 7-Clemson (potentially second round on Saturday in Kansas City)<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you had told me a month ago that OU would play Clemson in the tournament, I would have said that it must have been at least a Sweet 16 game, if not an Elite 8 game.\u00a0 But, OU slipped out of #1 position, and Clemson slipped all the way to #7 (personally, I think this is a pretty low seed for the Tigers, who have been\u00a0in the top 15-20 all year long).\u00a0 But, this game (which might not even happen, as Michigan has a real shot in the first round against Clemson) is going to be fantastic!\u00a0 The up-and-down, pressing style of Clemson against The Griffins and a host of underrated perimeter players (led by the super frosh, Willie Warren).\u00a0 I hope it happens.<\/p>\n #2). 6-UCLA vs. 11-VCU (first-round on Thursday at 9:50 in Philadelphia)<\/strong>.\u00a0 Just a fantastic first-round clash between two very good teams who I probably would have picked to beat almost anyone else, had they not wound up playing each other.\u00a0 An experienced, defense-oriented UCLA team that has been to three straight Final Fours against a guy named Eric Maynor and the VCU Rams.\u00a0 Anyone remember Maynor?\u00a0 Yes, he was that freshman\u00a0who single-handedly beat Duke in the tournament three years ago.\u00a0 Now, he’s a senior, and even though he hasn’t been in the forefront of college hoops lately (because VCU hasn’t made the tournament since), he has gotten a lot better.\u00a0 He is, in my opinion, the third best point guard in the country, behind Fields and Lawson, and will probably make a better pro than either of them.\u00a0 The Rams also have a guy named Larry Sanders who has a 91-inch wingspan to complement his incredible athleticism.\u00a0 As soon as this matchup came out, I got excited about it.\u00a0 I don’t want to wait until Thursday night for it–can’t this be the play-in game tonight?<\/p>\n #1). 6-Arizona State vs. 11-Temple (first-round on Friday at 2:55 in Miami)<\/strong>.\u00a0 Bias?!?<\/em>\u00a0 What does bias <\/em>mean?\u00a0 No, I’m not biased–this is a great game!\u00a0 Okay, maybe I’m a little biased, but even thinking objectively (which I probably cannot do), this would have made the Top 12 list.\u00a0 I love James Harden and have been saying for weeks now that ASU is my sleeper pick for the Final Four.\u00a0 I even gave a professional presentation last week on March Madness and picked ASU to accompany UNC, Louisville, and Michigan State to the promised land.\u00a0 But, now they get to face my beloved Owls in the first round.\u00a0 Ugh!\u00a0 I spent the whole selection show chanting “Give me Illinois,” thinking that Illinois would be a 5 and Temple a 12.\u00a0 Then, when we got to the last bracket and Illinois came up on the 5-line, I went nuts, thinking Temple would be 12.\u00a0 But, alas, they rewarded us with an 11-seed and a dreadful matchup with the Sun Devils.\u00a0 Well, at least it gave me justification to put the Temple game in a Top 12 list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The best sports weekend of the year–hands down–begins in earnest in less than 48 hours.\u00a0 Yes, I am like little-kid-on-Christmas excited.\u00a0 No, I’m not embarrassed by it.\u00a0 Looking over the\u00a0 brackets, there are a bunch of first-round matchups and potential … Continue reading