#1 North Carolina (28-6) vs. #16 Eastern Kentucky (21-11)
This is another potential major blowout in the first round. North Carolina, although a pretty young team, has been dominant against top 25 teams this year going 7-0 against quality opponents. They have however lost to some lower level teams. North Carolina is led by Tyler Hansbrough who sports a nice face mask now and Brandon Wright, a talented freshman. Now that the tournament is here, it's go time for the Tarheels. North Carolina won the ACC tournament and are ready to roll. Eastern Kentucky however is a very cautious team that shoots high-percentage and plenty from beyond the arc. They are going to need to hit everything to keep pace with the Tarheels. That is highly doubtful. NC should run away with this one easily.
# 8 Marquette (24-9) vs. Michigan State (22-11)
This could turn into one of the best games of the tournament. Michigan State is a bit of a surprise this year considering the talent they lost from last year. Drew Neitzel for the Spartans has been very impressive. This game will definitely be won by the team whose guards play better because the big men in this contest are not going to get it done likely. The Golden Eagles have a trio of guards in James, MacNeil, and Matthews and if they get going Marquette should win this game and advance. Michigan State has also struggled against quality teams going 2-4 against ranked opponents.
#5 USC (23-11) vs. #12 Arkansas (21-13)
This is an interesting slot because both teams in my opinion have their strengths and weaknesses that the other doesn't. This teams again are closer in quality than the seeding indicates. USC is a very talented offensive team and have come a long way in the second half defensively but they are small physically and don't match up well with bigger teams. This could pose a problem for them. They are also coming off a significant thumping at the hands of Oregon in the PAC-10 final. Nick Young who has been averaging over 17 pts a game needs to play big in this one. Arkansas lost in the SEC final to defending national champs Florida but they have shown that they can play with some of the top teams in the nation with wins over Bama and Vandy earlier in the year. In order for the Razorbacks to be successful, they are going to need all of their starters to play well and contribute offensively. I'm giving the edge to USC in this one but I think it may be their only win this year.
#4 Texas (24-9) vs. #13 New Mexico St. (25-8)
If you haven't heard of Kevin Durant....watch this game. The guy is a freshman and is pretty phenomenal. They also have a rookie point guard in D.J. Augustin. They make a formidable duo but they are young. However, I also remember two guys by the name of Anthony and MacNamara a couple of years ago...they happened to win a national title. Although Texas will not be winning the national title this year, they should easily get by the Aggies in the first round despite the Aggies 25-8 record. Both teams were below .500 against ranked teams this year but Texas will win this one. Reggie Theus's New Mexico State team should be proud of their season as they exceeded expectations but this is the end of the road for them.
#6 Vanderbilt (20-11) vs #11 George Washington (23-8)
I saw a couple of Vanderbilt games this year and was pleasantly surprised how composed they all seemed to be on the floor. They do need to shoot well from the outside if they are to make any kind of run in the tournament. they have two players averaging more than 15 points a game in Derrick Byars and Shan Foster. Vandy also went 6-2 against ranked opponents this year including a win over Florida. The only losses to ranked teams were to Florida earlier in the year and to an impressive Georgetown team at the beginning of the season. George Washington has overachieved this year and most people know it. They lost a handful of key players from last years team and were not really tested against quality opponents this year. I see Vandy taking this one by double digits.
#3 Washington State (25-7) vs. #14 Oral Roberts (23-10)
I'm really uncomfortable in this match up because I've not seen either team play and from what I've read about each, it's really a toss up for me. Many people are even predicting that this could be a major upset in the making. Oral Roberts won the regular season and conference tournament in the Mid-Continent Conference but that doesn't necessarily translate to a NCAA contender at all. ORU however did beat Kansas early in the year in their only game against a ranked opponent. They need to be able to hold the other team defensively because if they get into a shootout..they will likely lose. The problem is that Washington State is not all that impressive offensively so it creates a really interesting match up. I'm going to give the edge to Washington State simply based on the seeding but I'm really only 55%-45% on this one. :(
#7 Boston College (20-11) vs. #10 Texas Tech (21-12)
I'm calling for an upset here. Texas Tech has what it takes to remove the Eagles in the first round. BC played well and overcame a lot of doubts in finishing third in the ACC this year but they were only 2-5 against ranked opponents. They are not the team that people were semi-afraid of a year or two ago. Texas Tech does not play with fear and they play in a motion offense which could cause some issues for BC. I think Jarius Jackson for the Raiders will have a great game and give Bobby Knight another victory in NCAA tournaments. Both teams had some pretty unimpressive performances this year but also played some pretty amazing basketball at times. I just have a hunch that the Raiders are going to pull it off here.
#2 Georgetown (26-6) vs. #15 Belmont (23-9)
I think this may be a closer game score-wise than people believe but Georgetown will still move on easily. I don't think that they will really be tested much in this game but I also don't think the score will be run up either. Belmont is a low seed out of the Atlantic Sun Conference and usually these low seeds from small conferences have small teams but they actually have a couple of 6 ft 10 centres. The only problem is that they'll be facing a 7 foot 2 Roy Hibbert on the Hoyas side. The Hoyas are good defensively and have quality players at every spot. Belmont needs to have a fantastic game from everyone if they are to challenge Georgetown at all. I have a feeling that the Hoyas are poised for a great run in this tournament.
I've noticed that this site has been getting a little more traffic in the last day or so. Feel free to leave comments if you'd like about any of the matchups. It would be interesting to hear what others are thinking about some of these matchups.
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