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email Joe Dwyer |
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THE ROAD TO SAN ANTONIO
March 20, 2008
EAST REGION
 STORYLINES:
Tennessee went from a pretty solid No. 1 seed to a No.
2 in a region with the No. 1 overall seed in the
tournament, North Carolina. The Volunteers have a
possible second round matchup with Butler, which would
be no easy task. A potential UNC-Indiana second round
clash would be one of the better weekend games in the
tournament. Boise State’s Greg Graham was on
the verge of getting run out of town before the season
started. Now he’s in the dance. I do enjoy seeing
athletic directors cowering in the corner.
UPSET ALERT: Don’t see any major surprises in the
first round.
UNDER THE RADAR: Boise State’s Reggie Larry can
play. The 6-foot-6 wing was a first-team All-WAC
selection, but he hasn’t exactly gotten a lot of
national attention. BSU’s sophomore guard Anthony
Thomas is a player with a lot of upside.
Michael Jenkins and Taj McCullough may be
the most productive scorers on the Winthrop roster,
but the key to their success is senior point guard
Chris Gaynor. I still think Washington State’s
Kyle Weaver is one of the most underappreciated
players in America.
WORTH WATCHING: The Butler-South Alabama game is a
mid-major clash. Currently ranked No. 1 the Bulldogs
have spent the last two-plus months ranked among the
top two or three. During that same stretch South
Alabama has been ranked among the top ten.
SLEEPER: Nothing really jumps out here, although I
would like to see the winner of the St.
Joseph’s-Oklahoma game against Louisville (or Boise
State) in the second round.
INTRIGUING: The Boise State-Louisville has a chance to
be highly competitive. Louisville has a chance to go
deep into the tournament, but the Cardinals will get
tested in round one. Boise can really shoot it.
SWEET SIXTEEN: Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame,
Tennessee
FINAL FOUR: North Carolina
MIDWEST REGION
STORYLINES: A lot was made about the fact that Kansas
replaced Tennessee as the final No. 1 seed in the
field. It’s really not that big of a deal, but there
is always an uproar regarding the seeding and who did
and did not make the tournament. Do you think the
selection committee randomly selected Kansas State to
face USC in the opening round? Michael Beasley
vs. O.J. Mayo.
UPSET ALERT: Vanderbilt will have their hands full
with a very good Siena team. This is only a preview of
things to come. Next year’s team should be even
better. The Saints can be explosive. They will try to
make this a track meet.
UNDER THE RADAR: Siena’s Edwin Ubiles is a
future pro. He’s only a sophomore, but he (along with
Rider’s sophomore Ryan Thompson) will be a
Player of the Year candidate in the MAAC next season.
Georgetown’s Jessie Sapp isn’t even averaging
double-figures in points on the season, but he will be
a major factor if the Hoyas are to get back to the
Final Four. The junior guard from the Big Apple is a
terrific player. Davidson’s Jason Richards is
as good a lead guard as you will find in the field and
how scary would Siena be if Kent State’s Al Fisher
were still there? He’s one of the top mid-major
players in America. Wisconsin’s sophomore guard
Trevon Hughes has gone virtually unnoticed
nationally. Love those New York City kids.
WORTH WATCHING: The Kansas-Portland State game may not
be real close, but PSU’s Jeremiah Dominguez is
electric. At 5-foot-6 (that’s a stretch) he will be
over matched by the size of the KU guards, but he will
have more then a few “wow” moments. He’s fun to watch.
The Kansas State-USC game is a must watch.
SLEEPER: Hard to tag a No. 3 seed as a sleeper, but
they continue to get zero respect. The regular season
and postseason tournament champions from the Big Ten
aren’t given much of a chance by most. Bo Ryan
is one of the top ten coaches in all of college
basketball. Yes. Top ten!
INTRIGUING: I would love to watch a USC-Wisconsin
clash in the second round, contrasting style and USC’s
O.J. Mayo being guarded by Michael Flowers. A
possible Davidson-Georgetown meeting would also be
interesting to watch.
SWEET SIXTEEN: Clemson, Georgetown, Kansas, Wisconsin
FINAL FOUR: Wisconsin
SOUTH REGION
STORYLINES: Can a team from a one-bid league make it
to the Final Four. When George Mason made its run they
were one of three from the Colonial. Of course the
reference is to Memphis, which was the lone invite out
of C-USA. Pittsburgh enters the tournament playing
great basketball. Remember this team slipped only
after it lost point guard Levance Fields. The
Brooklyn kid is back and the Panthers are a legit
Final Four contender with him. Another New Yorker.
Kentucky’s participation in the field is pretty
impressive when you consider how their season began
and St. Mary’s was a part of history as the West Coast
Conference got three teams into the tournament for the
first time ever. Head coach Randy Bennett is
big time recruiter and an excellent x-and-o guy. And
for the first time in 20 years, someone other than
Penn or Princeton is representing the Ivy League, the
Cornell Big Red.
UPSET ALERT: Cornell over Stanford. Steve Donahue
has done a really nice job of putting this team
together. Sophomore sensations Louis Dale and
Ryan Wittman are more than just really good
players in the Ivy League. This team can really shoot
the basketball and you can’t put them on the line.
They led the nation is free-throw shooting. They will
certainly have their hands full with Stanford’s
7-footers (Brook and Robin Lopez), but
if the stage isn’t too big (young team) they will have
a chance to spring the upset.
UNDER THE RADAR: St. Mary’s freshman point guard
Patrick Mills had perhaps the worst game of his
young career in the WCC semi-finals (lost to San
Diego), but this kid can play. He will be a pro one
day. Teammate Diamon Simpson is a 6-foot-7 kid
that can guard, score, rebound and whatever else coach
Bennett needs him to do. Cornell’s sophomore tandem
(see above) is pretty special and Pitt’s Levance
Fields (see above) is a key to the Panthers surge. By
now Mississippi State’s Jamont Gordon should be
a known commodity.
WORTH WATCHING: The Michigan State-Temple game should
be an entertaining contest. Temple played its way into
the field and has a matchup nightmare in 6-foot-5
junior Dionte Christmas who can score. At times
this season the Spartans have looked like a team
capable of run to San Antonio. At other times they
have looked worthy of an NIT bid. And Texas guard
D.J. Augustin is the best guard in college
basketball. If North Carolina were not the top-ranked
team in America, Augustin would be your National
Player of the Year. He’s special.
SLEEPER: Marquette will have no easy task with
Kentucky in the first round, but Tom Crean’s
team can defend and they have some offensive
firepower. Dominic James didn’t have a super
season, but he’s an All-American talent. This team
looks like a Sweet 16 team and maybe more.
INTRIGUING: A potential Sweet 16 matchup between
Memphis and Pittsburgh would be a can’t-miss event.
SWEET SIXTEEN: Marquette, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Texas
FINAL FOUR: Texas
WEST REGION
STORYLINES: Is UCLA healthy? In the Pac-10 tournament,
Kevin Love has some back spasm issues and
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute turned an ankle. Ankle
injuries can linger. Dennis Felton went from
being fired to facing Xavier in the first round. If
the Bulldogs had lost to Arkansas (SEC Championship)
they would not have even been NIT eligible. Baylor is
four years removed from almost having the “death
penalty” dropped on the program. Aaron Bruce
was a freshman on a team that was not allowed to play
non-conference games. Now he’s a senior in the NCAA
tournament. That’ s good stuff. And Drake went from
the joke of the Missouri Valley Conference to a
winning season under Dr. Tom Davis last year to
its first NCAA appearance since 1971 this year, with
his son Keno Davis at the helm.
UPSET ALERT: Somewhat like Michigan State, UConn has
looked great at times and average at other times. They
better not be average against San Diego. Brandon
Johnson came up big for the Toreros in the WCC
tournament. He’s got a scorer’s mentality.
UNDER THE RADAR: The entire Drake team is still
virtually unknown. Their best players are former
walk-ons, including MVC Player of the Year Adam
Emmenecker. Drake will face Western Kentucky and
Courtney Lee. He’s one of the top mid-major
players in America. Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells is
one of the better guards you will see in the
tournament. The same is true for Xavier’s Drew
Lavender.
WORTH WATCHING: West Virginia’s Joe Alexander.
Aside from a sub-par effort against Georgetown (Big
East semis), nobody has been able to stop him. At
6-foot-8 he can put it on the floor and he can shoot
it. He looks like a taller Kirk Hinrich
(Chicago Bulls) when he lets it go.
SLEEPER: Hard to imagine you can be a sleeper when you
have already won 28 games, but the shoe fits for
Drake. If they were to get past a good Western
Kentucky team they would face UConn, which has been
inconsistent at times. That’s not a terrible matchup
for the Bulldogs.
INTRIGUING: How about a potential Baylor-Georgia clash
in round two? Both teams have tough opening round
games, but this is one of those deals you would love
to see, as a fan. A meeting in the second round would
guarantee a spot in the Sweet 16 for a one of two
programs that have had to virtually start over, in the
past four years. That would be one of the best stories
of the entire season.
SWEET SIXTEEN: UCLA, Drake, Duke, Xavier
FINAL FOUR: UCLA
SAN ANTONIO
FINAL FOUR: Wisconsin over North Carolina, UCLA over
Texas
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over Wisconsin.
Joe Dwyer is a editor-in-chief writer for collegeinsider.com.
EMAIL JOE |
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