The West Region is pretty stacked and, therefore, pretty wide open.\u00a0 While they had a terrific season (and have the best tournament coach ever that isn’t named Wooden), it’s hard not to have some doubt in this region’s top seed, Michigan St.\u00a0 Throw in the fact that they could have brutally tough matchups at every turn, and you’ve got yourself a potential sleeper Final Four pick here.<\/p>\n
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t say that I <\/em>was doubting Michigan St.<\/strong>, necessarily.\u00a0 This team did win the regular season and conference tournament of the best conference in America.\u00a0 There is something to be said for that, at least.\u00a0 They did draw – by far – the toughest 16-seed, in Long Island<\/strong>, but it’s still a 16-seed.\u00a0 Just don’t immediately count out the Blackbirds, who have been here before, and played UNC really tough last year, before bowing out in the final minutes (the Blackbirds scored 87 against the Heels as a 16-seed\u00a0last year).<\/p>\n The 8\/9 game in this region might actually be more important for Spartan fans to pay attention to than MSU’s own game.\u00a0 Memphis<\/strong> might be the most underseeded team in the entire field at #8 and is a team that can absolutely go toe-to-toe with MSU in the second round.\u00a0 But, they could just as easily get swept up by a Rick Majerus-coached St. Louis<\/strong> team in this first round.\u00a0 The Bilikens are very deep, very talented, and, obviously, very prepared.<\/p>\n For a #1-seed, this is not even close to a lock.\u00a0 They are lined up with a very underseeded 16-seed and an unbelievably underseeded 8-seed.\u00a0 Not saying that they will lose both, but this isn’t your typical cruise control pod for a #1-seed.\u00a0 The best scenario for them is a St. Louis win over Memphis (certainly possible) because they match up very well against the Bilikens.<\/p>\n I am going to have trouble being objective about this one because of my love for this Long Beach St. team\u00a0and, to a lesser degree, this Davidson team.\u00a0 I also think that Louisville, despite their top-5 ranking in December and Big East tournament championship last week, are not as good as their seed (which is warranted) may indicate.\u00a0 I do really like this New Mexico team, though.\u00a0 This is, BY FAR, the most interesting pod in the entire field.\u00a0 If I could go to one site this weekend, it would absolutely <\/em>be Portland (they also have Indiana-NM State and Wichita-VCU).<\/p>\n Louisville <\/strong>takes on a very, very good Davidson <\/strong>team that beat Kansas in Kansas City this year.\u00a0 Jake Cohen – a forward from Philly – leads a terrific junior class that came in in the wake of the Steph Curry tournament run.\u00a0 I think that there is a really good shot at an upset here.<\/p>\n And, the other game has another good shot at an upset, as Long Beach St.<\/strong>, one of the best low-majors in recent memory, takes on a New Mexico <\/strong>team that would compete in any conference in America.\u00a0 This game is incredibly good, and I think the winner might be the favorite to win this pod.<\/p>\n I have no idea what is going to happen here.\u00a0 I want to give everyone 25%, but that sounds cop-outish.\u00a0 So, I’ll go with this year’s strange basketball obsession, Casper Ware and the 49ers.<\/p>\n If you want a sleeper title contender, look no further than Marquette<\/strong>.\u00a0 The Golden Eagles are experienced, talented, and motivated.\u00a0 While I think this whole “they play really hard” thing is totally overblown (what does Buzz Williams inspire that 50-60 other coaches don’t – I actually think he is a pretty poor game-day coach) they are just very talented.\u00a0 Jae Crowder, while not at all deserving of Big East POY, is a terrific player.\u00a0 Darius Johnson-Odom might even be better.\u00a0 Vander Blue is a super-talented point guard, and this team flat-out guards you.\u00a0 It should be really interesting to see how they do depending on who they get from the play-in game, BYU<\/strong> or Iona<\/strong>, as the teams have vastly different styles.\u00a0 But, either way, I think Marquette should survive…should<\/em> survive.<\/p>\n The Committee did a nice job with Murray St.<\/strong>‘s seeding.\u00a0 The polls have them as a top-10 team, but their conference and schedule and such have them more like a 10-seed.\u00a0 So, they split the difference and gave them a solid #6.\u00a0 And, even more beneficial, they gave them a couple matchups that don’t completely overmatch them in the post.\u00a0 They open with a very good, very underappreciated Colorado St.<\/strong> team that does stuggle away from home.\u00a0 But, anywhere you play UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego St., you’ve gotta be pretty good to pull out W’s – and they’ve got all three of them on their resume.<\/p>\n This pod is pretty wide-open…if Marquette doesn’t win it.<\/p>\n Missouri<\/strong> could have easily been a #1-seed (over UNC).\u00a0 But, at least they were put in the region with the weakest #1, on paper.\u00a0 They weren’t done any favors with the #3 Marquette on their side, but I still don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t, at least, get to the Elite Eight.\u00a0 Also, it looks like the Committee decided to give them a 16-seed disguised as a 15-seed, in Norfolk St.\u00a0 <\/strong>It was a great season for Norfolk, but, short of some crazy foul trouble or an injury, they really have no shot here, as they didn’t even win the regular season title in the lowly MEAC.<\/p>\n Missouri won’t be given a break in the second round at all, though, as Florida<\/strong>, a top-15 team all year, is the 7-seed, and Virginia<\/strong>, a top-4 ACC team, is the 10-seed.\u00a0 This UF-UVa game is one of the best of the entire first round.\u00a0 It should be fascinating to see just how many terrible shots that Boynton and Walker chuck up because of the frustration caused by the slow, slower, sloooooooooower pace of UVa.<\/p>\n And, then the winner of that game, will present Missouri with much different challenges, depending on who it is.\u00a0 Florida can run and gun with anyone, and UVa can frustrate the hell out of anyone.\u00a0 Mizzou is not going to have an easy time in Round 2.<\/p>\n The West Region is pretty stacked and, therefore, pretty wide open.\u00a0 While they had a terrific season (and have the best tournament coach ever that isn’t named Wooden), it’s hard not to have some doubt in this region’s top seed, … Continue reading \n
\u00a0Louisville’s Pod<\/span><\/strong> – Thu\/Sat in Portland, OR<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Marquette’s Pod<\/span><\/strong> – Thu\/Sat in Louisville, KY<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Missouri’s Pod<\/span><\/strong> – Fri\/Sun in Omaha, NE<\/em><\/h3>\n
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