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South Regional Breakdown

Most intriguing match-up
#6 Louisville vs. #11 Stanford

Upset watch
#12 Long Beach State over #5 Tennessee

Favorites
The top-seeded Buckeyes have had the talent to be the best team in the nation all season, but only of late have they really begun to play as a cohesive unit. The more time Greg Oden gets to heal his hand, the more dangerous they become. The questions remain as to whether their slower style of play will be able to keep faster teams like Memphis and Virginia at bay.

The #2-seed Memphis Tigers are a bit of an unknown in this year’s tournament, having played in a considerably weakened Conference USA. Calipari will make sure his team knows people doubt their resolve, so expect the Tigers to come out hungry to prove themselves – something not usually the case with a #2 seed.

The #3-seed Aggies of Texas A&M may be the best team in the country that nobody has heard about. Acie Law IV outscored opposing teams in the final four minutes of games this season, and when he gets his motor running, he is difficult to stop. Not a particularly deep team, the Aggies will need Law to be at his best to advance, but even when he’s been off, the Aggies never get blown out, having lost only one game this season by more than three points.

They say good guard play wins titles. If that is indeed the case, the #4-seed Virginia Cavaliers should be in good shape with the guard tandem of R.J. Reynolds and Sean Singletary. While the tandem can put up points in bunches, if they are missing their shots, Virginia has problems, as they are not an especially strong or good rebounding team.

Prediction
Behind the sensational Acie Law IV, the Texas A&M Aggies will shock the nation by making it to the Final Four with a win over Greg Oden and Ohio State.

West Regional Breakdown

Most intriguing match-up
#8 Kentucky vs. #9 Villanova

Upset watch
#11 Virginia Commonwealth over #6 Duke

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The top-seeded Jayhawks have been crushing opponents of late, with the exception of the Texas Longhorns. Kansas got down early to Texas in both games they played against the Horns in the final week of the season, but came back to dominate in the second half. They will not be able to get behind like that against a good team in the tournament, because momentum can mean everything in March. Probably the most talented team in the nation, along with UNC and Florida, Kansas has yet to discover who their go-to guy is at the end of games. Everyone picks up the load when needed, but in the tournament, it’s good to know who you want taking the final shot.

Ben Howland’s #2-seed UCAL Bruins resemble his previous teams in that they hustle and play tremendous defense. The Bruins often win in spite of their offense and most of the players on the team have last year’s Final Four experience on which to rely. A backcourt of Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo have the defensive wherewithal and ball handling skills to keep the Bruins offense on track, despite its shooting woes. Howland’s teams play with a discipline and tenacity that ranks as one of the most impressive in the nation. Look for an exciting Sweet 16 match-up between the Bruins and Howland’s former team Pitt.

Howland’s former team the #3-seed Pitt Panthers have retained the same work ethic and bruising nature the UCAL coach instilled while coaching the Panthers deep into the tournament. They resemble hard-nosed east coast basketball at its best and would surely bruise Duke, Gonzaga, Indiana or any other pretender that gets in their way. Beyond bruising play and strong work ethic, however, the Panthers have a rather lethargic offense and lack a superstar who can take over games. This makes them very vulnerable in later rounds, where tenacity alone will not get the job done.

The #4-seeded Salukis are finally getting some serious love from the NCAA. But will the high seeding be a kiss of death? Although they lost the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Southern Illinois’ impressive resume helped them into the big dance, after finishing the winter on fire. The Salukis continue a tradition of solid defensive play, only giving up more than 70 points once all season, and they won that game. Jamaal Tatum and Randal Falker set the aggressive tone for Southern Illinois, and this team, despite its lack of size, does not back down from anybody. They may no longer be called Cinderella, but their resilient play good make them the belle of the ball.

Prediction
In a battle of storied programs, the deeper and more talented Kansas Jayhawks take down the UCLA Bruins to advance to the Final Four, and eventually a national championship.

Midwest Regional Breakdown

Most intriguing match-up
#7 UNLV vs. #10 Georgia Tech

Upset watch
#12 Old Dominion over #5 Butler

Favorites
The #1 seed, and defending national champion, Florida seems to be peaking at the right time. Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey and Joakim Noah are just a fraction of the talent possessed by the Gators. With stunningly fast offensive play and tenacious work on the boards, the Gators are finding their form, making some wonder if the kids from Gainesville have been playing possum all winter.

With the injury to Brian Butch, the weight seems to all rest on the shoulders of national player of the year candidate Alando Tucker. The #2-seed Badgers, as with the rest of the Big Ten play a slow tempo brand of basketball that, while not allowing many points, does not get them many points either. Tucker will have to be stellar for the Badgers to advance.

Quack alert! The Pac 10 is much maligned, except by the tournament committee, which gave Washington State a higher seed than Texas, but the #3-seed Oregon Ducks are for real. Their lights-out three point shooting will determine their fate.

Although they stumbled in the ACC tournament, the #4-seed Terrapins of Maryland have the size, athleticism and experience to advance to the Final Four if Gary Williams can get his team to gell.

Prediction
The Gators will outrun and outboard the Ducks to make a return visit to the Final Four.

For NCAA game predictions and picks visit the national sports monitor.
 
East Regional Breakdown

Most intriguing match-up
#8 Marquette vs. #9 Michigan St.

Upset watch
#14 Oral Roberts over #3 Washington St.

Favorites
The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels have all the talent needed to win a national championship, along with a pedigreed coach, despite a somewhat spotty tournament record.  If the Tar Heels can play with composure and limit their turnovers, they could very well end up playing Roy Williams’ for team in the championship game. If Texas, or ant other team can keep the game close and fight for boards, Carolina may be packing their bags earlier than expected.

Scoring machine Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert are the centerpieces of John Thompson, III’s dominant frontcourt. When Hibbert gets room to maneuver inside he is almost unstoppable. With a rather easy draw, the Hoyas should make it to the Elite 8, where they could give North Carolina or Texas terrible fits inside. The best thing for opposing teams to do may be to take it directly at Hibbert in the early going and hope to get the big man in foul trouble and off the floor.

Possibly the most over-seed team in the tournament, the #3-seed Washington State will have to prove the committee right early on. The Cougars had a good run during Pac 10 play, but nobody is quite sure if that means anything at this point, considering the overall weakness of the conference. Even UCLA coach Ben Howland publicly admitted a few weeks ago that he would be shocked if someone told him that WSU would make the Final Four. Teams that have this big a chip on their shoulder can often be dangerous come tournament time. The Cougars like a slow-tempo game and their size creates serious match-up headaches for opponents. It will be interesting to see how far their disrespected seniors can take them.

The #4 seed Texas Longhorns are one of the most dangerous #4 seeds in recent memory, all thanks to one of the most versatile and gifted athletes to ever play college basketball. Kevin Duran can take people of the dribble, score with his back to the basket, rebound, see the court like a guard and run the court. And even though he has his doubters on defense, he was All-Big 12 in his freshman season. Unfortunately for Texas fans, their coach, Rick Barnes, does not seem to know how to best utilize this freakish athlete. Fellow freshman D.J. Augustin is starting to figure it out, using his blazing speed to penetrate and create scoring opportunities for his teammates, like A.J. Abrams, an assassin from beyond the arc .The Horns are very green, but they have shocked most of the country with their ability to make the Big 12 finals with a host of 18 year-olds. This may be the most curious team in the field; they could win it all or lose in the first week.

Prediction
As talented and deep as any team in the country, the Tar Heels return to the Final Four after taking care of John Thompson, III and the Hoyas.