We are now only a couple of days away from the Madness. I heard on the radio on some miscellaneous talk show that a study was done on the estimated cost of lost time, wages on betting, and whatever else as a result of the NCAA tournament. They estimated the figure at $1.7 billion. At first, I thought "No way!!", but then again I don't know of any other tournament structure that can sweep the nation and beyond like this one. I've already filled out 3 brackets so far in various friendly pools with friends and I imagine I'll hop in on a couple more in the next day or so.
Ready for the next region of breakdowns? Here comes my brief synopsis of the matchups in the Midwest Region...
#1 Kansas (31-3) vs. #16 Portland State (23-9)Kansas arrives as the #1 seed in the Midwest and for good reason sporting an impressive 31-3 season thus far with a national rankings of #4 by the AP and #5 in the coach's poll. They ran through the Big 12 tournament finishing with a very demonstrative win over highly ranked Texas 84-74. Led by guards Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, Kansas started the season 20-0 and even though they didn't play many games against ranked teams...their competition was very solid all year long.
The Portland State Vikings arrive in the tourney out of the weak Big Sky Conference where they were regular season and tournament champions. Given the calibre of play, they were only able to garner a 16 seed which is a really tough draw for them pitting them against a #1 seed. They didn't have any significant wins and lost to UCLA and Washington State in their only games against ranked teams. Jeremiah Dominguez is a nice little guard for them and can be a thorn in the Jayhawk side if he's on. I don't however see this being a close game by the 10 minute mark of the first half. Kansas steadily runs away with this one from start to finish 83-55.
#8 UNLV (26-7) vs. #9 Kent State (28-6)This is another really close pairing and many people are highlighting this matchup as a potential minor upset favoring the Golden Flashes of Kent St. I don't know if I can hop on that wagon but I'm running alongside it for the moment and I may hop on. UNLV lost a huge chunk of their team from last year's squad and surprised many by finishing 2nd in the regular season standings in the Mountain West Conference behind BYU but then went through the MWC tournament winning the final against BYU in convincing fashion 76-61. Wink Adams has been playing phenomenal basketball well above expectations but the Runnin Rebels haven't played many really tough teams except Louisville whom they lost to 68-48 back in November.
Kent State won the regular season MAC title and the tournament rolling Akron in the final 74-55. They did lose to UNC and Xavier in their marquee games but that isn't a surprise. Four starters for the Golden Flashes average double figures in points so they don't have just one guy that needs to be shut down. I imagine this will be a pretty tight game down the stretch with plenty of high energy and emotion throughout. What the heck...Kent State pulls it off 69-64.
#5 Clemson (24-9) vs. #12 Villanova (20-12)I have to say I'm already biased in this one. I want Villanova to lose this one, they are responsible for my Orangemen not in the tournament....wait...rewind...Syracuse is solely responsible for their own demise. Nevertheless I am anti-Nova this year now. Villanova comes in after finishing the Big East in 8th place!! Their win against Syracuse in the Big East quarters put them on the better side of the bubble teams. This team has ability to pull off upsets and they have beaten Connecticut and Pitt during the regular season. They are led by Scottie Reynolds who loves to drive and get to the line.
The Clemson Tigers have got to be feeling good about themselves right now. Sure they lost to UNC in the ACC final but they were with them to the end. This is after they surprised Duke in the semis and demolished Boston College by 34 points in the quarters. The versatile K.C. Rivers will lead them into the tournament here and to a victory in the first round. I predict a high scoring affair with the Tigers winning 92-81.
#4 Vanderbilt (26-7) vs. #13 Siena (22-10)I am so tempted to put Siena through on a major upset here but I just don't know they can pull it off. I do think they'll be able to run with the Commodores but down the stretch may prove to be just too much for the Saints. Siena makes it into the tournament after demolishing Rider (reg season champs) 74-53 in the MAAC final. Edwin Ubiles leads the Saints with 17.3 ppg but my problem with the Saints is that they are hot and cold. They did beat Stanford in an impressive early season win but were seriously humbled by Memphis 102-58 on January 3rd...that stings!! Siena will have to be hot all game long and hope Vandy is real cold.
Vanderbilt is also a hot and cold team...hotsy at home...notsy on the road. They've played in the tough SEC conference and although they lost to Tennessee by 20 in January...they beat the Vols a little over a month later to exact some revenge. Shan Foster (SEC MVP)and freshman center A.J. Ogilvy (17.0 ppg and 6.8 reb) will be the keys to Vandy success and the team will only go as far as they take them. I do think Vanderbilt gets this one 78-66.
#6 USC (21-11) vs. #11 Kansas State (20-11)This is touted as likely the best opening round game in the Midwest Region. It will feature a boatload of young talent full of energy and excitement. The only reason people talk about Kansas State is because of Michael Beasley who is averaging 26.5ppg and 12.5rpg which rank him third in the nation in scoring and tops in boards. He is almost certainly NBA bound as a lottery pick but I'm sure he'll want to prove himself..uhh..I mean his team in the tournament. The problem I have with the Wildcats are their losses to George Mason, Notre Dame, Xavier, Kansas, and Texas. They did pull off one victory against Kansas however..very impressive. I just think they're too young and too reliant on one guy and I think USC will have the answer for that...although they'll really have to work for it.
USC finished 4th in the formidable PAC-10 conference before fallin to UCLA 57-54...that's a good result in itself. The Trojans are now healthy after having numerous injury woes but they still are not a really deep team...maybe that won't matter now that it's tourney time anyway. O.J. Mayo will try to counteract the Beasley factor and with a healthy supporting cast around him, he won't have to go over the top to make things happen. The key is going to be defense and USC coach Tim Floyd is notorious now for throwing unorthodox and strangely-timed defensive sets to frustrate opponents. You will see some of this I'm sure. USC has a number of losses against ranked teams but did take Memphis to OT and also pulled off wins against UCLA and Stanford during the season. I'm going with USC in this one 81-76 in a really exciting game.
#3 Wisconsin (29-4) vs. #14 Cal State-Fullerton (24-8)CSF had a strong season in Big West which has seen Pacific University into the tournament the past couple of years I believe. They tied with two other for the regular season title and defeated unexpected finalists UC Irvine to win the Big West tournament. With no major wins to their credit, they earn a #14 seed. They've won 10 of their last 11 but are nothing special as far as I can tell...haven't seen them play though either.
Wisconsin on the other hand is a scary team defensively and they manage the clock so well usually. After being embarrassed by Duke in November and losing to Marquette shortly after, the Badgers beat Texas, Indiana twice, and Michigan State twice. They did however lose to Purdue twice as well...but that also shows that their four losses have come to ranked teams. I don't see this being a major challenge for them and I imagine the CSF Titans will have to work for every basket. Wisconsin lacks star power but are well-rounded and will dominate defensively...they're all big inside....not monster big...but all big enough to be annoying around the hoop. Wisconsin wins a boring game 62-43.
#7 Gonzaga (25-7) vs. #10 Davidson (26-6)This is an excellent spot for an upset and I'm going for it. I think Davidson is the better team in this one despite the seeding. Davidson went 20-0 in conference play in the Southern Conference which granted is not all that strong but undefeated is nice. They lost to Duke and to UCLA during the regular season but weren't blown out by any stretch of the imagination. They are led by Stephen Curry who's been knocking down 25 a game and also shoots close to 45% from 3-point land. Yeah..he's pretty good. P.S...3 pointers are in the genes I think. Guess who his papa is? Think Hornets.
Gonzaga...Gonzaga...everyone loved them years ago as a Cinderella...then they weren't a Cinderella..they were just a pretty good team. Now I just don't really care. They won the WCC regular season title and lost in the tournament final to San Diego. I think Saint Mary's is the better team out of the WCC actually. I find Gonzaga uninspiring and I don't know many people that really think they'll do much this year. Based on the lack of hype for the Zags and my interest in seeing Davidson take it to them...I'm going with Davidson on this one 80-73.
#2 Georgetown (27-5) vs. #15 UMBC (24-8)UMBC is who? Where are they from? Oh...I guess they are Univerity of Maryland-Baltimore County from the America East conference. They have never been in the NCAA tournament before. They are the UMBC Retrievers and I have a feeling they'll be pretty solid and retrieving the ball as it drops through their own net. UMBC is remarkably better this year than last apparently...since their 24 wins this year is better than their past two seasons combined.
Georgetown won the Big East regular season title but their past few games have been very shaky. They don't have a "go-to guy" but they are pretty solid all around and Roy Hibbert is a scary presence inside. Defensively, I see Georgetown holding UMBC to under 60..if not under 50. Georgetown will win this one easily probably by about 20 or so....let's go with the Hoyas 73-52.
What do you think? Comments..questions..rebuttals? All are welcome!! :)
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