WEST REGION

Xavier should be nervous.

No team from a power conference has ever been seeded as low as Georgia is at No.14. The Musketeers are a 3-seed, but must play the Bulldogs. UGA didn’t deserve a higher seed, but considering that the Bulldogs might be the hottest team in the country (they won four games in four days), Xavier deserved some easier competition.

Duke is going to have a tough second round game.

Assuming the Blue Devils beat Belmont, they’ll face either Arizona or West Virginia. The Wildcats played one of the most difficult schedules in the country and can hang with anyone. Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers are a nightmare to play against, as UConn can attest to. Joe Alexander is one of the country’s most underrated stars.

Purdue and Baylor couldn’t be more opposite.

The Boilermakers are a young, inspired team that has grown throughout the course of the season. Baylor is an experienced team that has suffered through tragedy and managed to overcome it. The best story of the first round might be the team that wins this game.

It will be good to see Drake or Western Kentucky in the second round.

Drake has been one of the elite mid-majors in all of college basketball and WKU star Courtney Lee is a potential NBA first round pick. It’ll be great to see one of them advance. Then again, they’ll probably end up playing UConn, a potential Final Four team.

SOUTH REGION

Memphis is going to face some seriously talented players in the second round.

The Tigers will either face Mississippi State or Oregon, two teams who probably have multiple future NBA players on the roster. Mississippi State is led by the multi-dimensional Jamont Gordon and Oregon has the suddenly strong Malik Hairston.

First round opponents Michigan State and Temple are two of the toughest teams in the nation.

Tom Izzo’s teams are always scrappy and the Owls – under Fran Dunphy – aren’t John Chaney’s team, but they are just as gritty. After these two battle it out in the first round, they’ll probably face a Pittsburgh team that also likes to bruise up their opposition.

The South is loaded with exceptional guards.

Everyone knows about Derrick Rose, of Memphis and D.J. Augustin of Texas, but there are a bunch of other pretty talented perimeter players in the South region. Dionte Christmas (Temple), Levance Fields (Pitt), Ramel Bradley (Kentucky), Patty Mills (Saint Mary’s), Jack McClinton (Miami), Tajuan Porter (Oregon), Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas and Drew Neitzel, A.J. Abrams (Texas), and Marquette’s Dominic James and Jerel McNeal are also pretty special.

There won’t be a game played with smarter players than Stanford versus Cornell.

Academics aside, both of these teams are really good. When Brook Lopez sat out the first semester, everyone forgot about the Cardinal. Now they’re playing well enough to be a Final Four team. Cornell knocked off Ivy League powers Princeton and Penn in dominating fashion. The Big Red didn’t lose a league game all season and Ryan Wittman is sensational.

EAST REGION

Indiana and Arkansas both enter the tournament on a low note.

The Hoosiers have lost three of their last four and the Razorbacks closed out the season with a 5-6 record.

Two tourney darlings could potentially meet in the second round.

Don’t expect both Winthrop and George Mason to advance past the first round, but if they do, obviously one of them would advance to the Sweet Sixteen. A fun scenario considering each team’s past history of tournament success.

The match-up between Blake Griffin and Pat Calathes is going to be a lot of fun.

Griffin, Oklahoma’s star freshman, is a beast, both in the
low post and on the perimeter. His counterpart on St. Joe’s, Calathes, can also rebound and shoot it from deep. Their production is similar, but their games aren’t.

Butler got robbed.

With all the talk of the teams that were snubbed, no one is discussing the teams seeded to low. Butler was ranked 12th in the AP Top 25. There’s no reason they should be a 7-seed. Don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs take the show of disrespect personally and challenge Tennessee in the second round.

MIDWEST

Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo go head-to-head.

The two freshmen played together for Team USA in the Nike Hoops Summit and against each other in the McDonald’s All-American game. Now they’ll do battle in the NCAA Tournament as Kansas State takes on USC. Obviously they won’t be guarding each other, but it should still be fun watching them trade buckets. Plus, it’ll be a nice preview to their future match-ups in the NBA.

Villanova must slow the pace against Clemson.

Clemson gets after it defensively, but struggles in their half-court sets. If Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher can slow the pace down and force the Tigers to play at a deliberate pace, the Wildcats will have a chance to win. The task won’t be easy.

Siena won’t be scared of Vanderbilt.

Siena has beaten Stanford (sans Brook Lopez), played at Memphis and at Syracuse, and hung with St. Joe’s. The Saints also won two of three against a Rider team whose star, Jason Thompson, is a future NBA first round pick. Vandy’s Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy are very gifted, but Siena certainly won’t back down.

Stephen Curry can get some national respect by beating the team that’s constantly looking for it.

Gonzaga has moved beyond the mid-major ranks, but is still searching for respect from the national media members. Curry, who is a worthy All-American candidate, would be on everyone’s radar if he knocks off the Zags.