This is a breakdown of the first round of the NCAA tournament. We conclude our look at the bracket's with a breakdown of the South bracket. To see the other breakdown's click here, here, and here.
The south bracket is the hardest to breakdown for the tournament. There could be several teams from this bracket to make the final four. North Carolina is an obvious favorite. Syracuse made the in superb run in the Big East tournament and at the same time became America's darling of the tournament. Oklahoma was dominate whenever Blake Griffin was healthy. Also is this the year Gonzaga makes it to the final four? But for now we take a look at the first round match ups.
1)North Carolina vs. 16)Radford- The health of Ty Lawson is all the concerns UNC has right now. Without him they will be lucky to get out of the 2Nd round. I think they should rest him for this game and have him ready for their 2Nd round match up.
9)Butler vs. 8)LSU- This two teams had an interesting year. Both teams won the regular season conference championships. But failed to win their conference tournament championships. This is also one of the harder games to pick. LSU is loaded with veteran players, while Butler starts three true freshman. I like Butler in this game because they finished their year stronger than LSU. Also they have great guards in Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored. Also they have great big men in Gordan Haywood and Matt Howard. They also have more depth coming off of their bench.
5)Illinois vs. 12)W. Kentucky- This is my 5-12 upset. Western Kentucky beat Louisville earlier in the season. Also they have solid depth in the backcourt and frontcourt. They also have a strong point guard in Orlando Mendez-Valdez. I always say, go with the team with the strong point guard. They will win a game before a strong big man.
4)Gonzaga vs. 13)Akron- Yes the Akron coach was LeBron James' high school coach, but that won't be enough. Gonzaga, after getting blown out by Memphis, is poised to make a final four run this year. Gonzaga is one of the strongest defensive teams in the nation, and they have the capabilities to push the ball upcourt. They flat out blew out teams at the end of the year, and I don't think Akron will be much of an foe.
6)Arizona St. vs. 11)Temple- Arizona St. had a strong year all-around. Also they have one of the best one-two punches in James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. They also have a strong point guard in Derek Glasser. The match up between Harden and Temple's Dionte Christmas should be one the best to watch. I still like ASU in this game. They are too strong all-around for the Temple team.
3)Syracuse vs. 14)Stephen F. Austin- Jim Boeheim is also a Dr. Jackll and Mr. Hyde type of coach in the tournament. There are years when his team will go straight to the final four or loose in the 1st. round like they did a couple of years ago to Vermont. But Johnny Flynn established himself as one of the best point guards in the nation at the Big East tournament. Also Paul Harris can dominate on the boards. They will have to get good shooting nights though from Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf to make a solid run in the tournament. They will though have no problem with Stephen F. Austin.
7)Clemson vs. 10)Michigan- The Wolverines barely snuck into the tournament this year. They had huge early season wins against UCLA and Duke but struggled down the stretch. I like Clemson in this game if they would finally Trevor Booker control the game. This game is a toss up but I have to go with Clemson because they played in a tougher conference.
2)Oklahoma vs. 15)Morgan St.- Todd Bozeman and Morgan St. are like the redeem team. Bozeman was virtually blackballed from college basketball by the NCAA about 15 years ago. Bozeman was paying players which got him fired from his job at Cal. Jason Whitlock doesn't like Oklahoma because of their coach Jeff Capel. But they will be fine against Morgan St. Blake Griffin will go off and Willie Warren will also have a huge night. I like Oklahoma to at least reach the sweet sixteen.
This bracket is wide open. I can see at least 6 teams that have a chance at coming out of this bracket. Don't be surprised if a team that you didn't expect, comes out of this bracket and makes it to the final four.
Announcement: JFein and myself will be live-blogging the entire first weekend of the NCAA tournament on this site. I hope you can make time to join us. The first game tips-off on Thursday at 12p.m eastern 9a.m. western.
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