The brackets are out! The brackets are out! This past Sunday, the committee responsible for setting up the NCAA men's basketball tournament picked the 65 teams they felt were most deserving of having a shot to win the national championship. Let's break down the four regions and see what could happen in this year's tourney.
Austin, Texas: This region is considered to be one of the weaker ones. Duke picked up a No. 1 seed, Kentucky is second, Oklahoma is third, and Syracuse is fourth. Two potential first-round upsets could be No. 11 UTEP over No. 6 Utah and No. 10 Iowa over No.7 Cincinnati. But if Utah does advance, look for the Utes to scare Oklahoma in the second round.
Albuquerque, New Mexico: The biggest surprise in the seedings is that Washington came out of nowhere to earn the top seed over Wake Forest. As such, this region is considered weak. With Gonzaga seeded third, and Louisville fourth, it doesn't seem likely that Wake will have a difficult time getting far into the tournament. Two potential upsets in the second round could be No. 9 Pittsburgh over Washington (if the Panthers are on top of their game), and No. 6 Texas Tech over Gonzaga.
Chicago, Illinois: As expected, Illinois picked up the top seed here, with Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Boston College filling in the second, third and fourth seeds, respectively. With such a depth of talent, this region is considered the second toughest. Look for No. 12 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee to give fifth-seeded Alabama a scare in the first round and watch for No. 10 seed Saint Mary's to take seventh-seeded Southern Illinois to the cleaners.
Syracuse, New York: This is the most difficult region by far. With North Carolina as the top seed, UConn seeded second, Kansas third and Florida and Villanova filling in the fourth and fifth seeds, the eventual winner of this region will have a tough time making it to St. Louis for the Final Four. Watch out for North Carolina State. The Wolfpack ended their season strong and picked up a No. 10 seed. Don't be surprised if they advance into next weekend's games.
Surprise, surprise: The games haven't even begun yet, but there has already been a boatload of surprises prior to the tournament. Most notably, Washington snagged the top seed away from Kentucky and Wake Forest. How did they do it? With Wake's loss in the first round of the ACC tournament (playing without All-American Chris Paul), and with Kentucky being manhandled in the SEC finals by Florida, the committee looked favorably upon Washington's PAC-10 tournament championship over Arizona, despite the PAC-10 being the weakest of the major conferences.
The other big surprise was that the Maryland Terrapins were shut out of the tournament. Despite their 7-9 ACC record and their loss in the first round of the ACC tourney, the Terps still had a record of 16-12 that included some impressive wins. The Terps beat Duke twice and Georgia Tech once. However, these accomplishments were overshadowed by a four-game losing streak to end their season.
Player to watch: The player to keep a close eye on during the tournament is Rashad McCants of North Carolina. Dick Vitale's proclaimed "best offensive player in the country" has been through a lot lately. His mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and he is just getting over an intestinal disorder that caused him to lose 10 pounds and miss the final four games of the season. McCants' recovery and his mental state down the stretch could make or break the Tar Heels' chances of winning the national title.
Inside the College Basketball's Final Four: Oklahoma State: With the experienced Final Four team back from a year ago, look for the Cowboys to make a serious run at the title this year. They may have to go through Illinois to make it to St. Louis, but remember that the Illini have not really been put to the test in the Big Ten conference.
Georgia Tech: Even though the Yellow Jackets were unranked going into the ACC tourney, they showed everyone that the Final Four team from a year ago is back. Tech defeated UNC in the ACC semis and played mediocre basketball in a nail-biting, five-point loss to Duke in the ACC finals. The Jackets are peaking at the right time.
Syracuse: No one has been able to stop Hakim Warrick as of late. The Orangemen blew through the Big East tournament, obliterating every team in their path, thanks to the Big East player of the year. The team that won the National Championship two years ago is back and ready to claw its way to Saint Louis, even if it requires going through Duke.
North Carolina: Hands down, the most talented team in the country. They also are very deep, with three or four guys that can come off the bench and give coach Roy Williams some quality minutes. But the big questions are: will the Heels gel, and how well will Rashad McCants play? If the answers to those questions are 'Yes' and 'Very well,' look for UNC to knock off Oklahoma State in the finals.
