Talking West Bracket
Of all the 1-seeds in the tournament, the experts seem to be the most down on UConn. The Huskies lost shooting guard Jerome Dyson, but start a pair of capable seniors in A.J. Price and Craig Austrie, not to mention a frontcourt of Adrien and Thabeet. UConn doesn’t seem to have a lot to worry about in the first couple of rounds anyway. Playing the Thursday/Saturday slate, the Huskies are looking at either BYU or Texas A&M in the second round. UConn is much too good for these teams and the experience in the starting lineup (3 Sr., 2Jr.) won’t let the dream die that soon.
While I think the 4 and 5-seeds in the Midwest could be in trouble, the West is just about the opposite. Sure, if you’re Washington you can be mad that you have to play a team from a major conference, but is the SEC really even in that category this year? Purdue picked a great time to play some of its best basketball this year and should beat Northern Iowa playing at that level. That would be a great second round game between Washington and Purdue, and I’d give the advantage to Purdue if the game weren’t in Portland, but the advantage there for the Huskies should make it a fun one.
In the set at Boise, Marquette will play one of the first games on Saturday, taking on Utah State. Marquette has lost five of six and you have to feel for them and their injured star Dominic James, a four-year starter out with a foot injury. Before he went down they were a good pick for the Elite Eight or even Final Four, now they are going to struggle to make it past Utah State who will try to slow the game down and let their great guards win it for them, while Marquette loves to get out and run. I don’t know what all the love is for Missouri, but they got a great draw here as I’m not sure they’d have a shot at the Sweet 16 in any other region.
Cal, Maryland, Cal State Northridge, and Memphis round out the region. Maryland has played well down the stretch, winning their way into the tournament from the bubble, and with some of the teams they beat in the ACC this year, there is reason to think they could give Memphis all it could handle if they get past California. Memphis gets CSN, who might be better than half the conference Memphis plays in.
Predictions sure to ruin your bracket:
Sweet 16 lock: UConn
Upset Pick: Utah State over Marquette
Bold Call: Utah State wins two games.
Best Games: Thursday- Cal vs. Maryland, 2:55 et.
Friday- Utah State vs. Marquette, 12:30 et.
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