Midwest First Round Bracket Breakdown

This is a breakdown of the first round of the NCAA brackets. We start today with the Midwest bracket.

We will not cry anymore over the exclusion of St. Mary's in the NCAA tournament. They didn't beat Gonzaga for the WCC championship, so it's time to move on.

The Midwest bracket could be the toughest bracket in the tournament. Louisville is the number one overall team in the tournament. Kansas is the defending champion. You can never turn your back on Tom Izzo and Michigan St. If Wake Forest can stay consistent, then they are dangerous. USC has gotten hot at the right time. So who is coming out of the first round of the Midwest bracket? Let's break it down.

1St Round

1) Louisville vs. Alabama St./Morehead St.- This game is a joke. Louisville should have no problem with either team.

8) Ohio St. vs. 9) Siena- I like Siena to win this game. Guard Kenny Hasbrouck is a great leader and Ryan Rossiter averages 7 rebounds a game. Ohio St. made an inspired run to the Big Ten championship game, but they are too inconsistent. They will need a big game from William Buford to win.

5)Utah vs 12) Arizona- I like Utah in this game. Arizona struggles on the road, and they have to travel to Miami for this game. Utah is also a real gritty team. They won a lot of close games. Luke Nevill is a stud for Utah, but they will need more production from their other key players. But that should be a fun match up between Nevill and Arizona's Jordan Hill.

4) Wake Forest vs. 13) Cleveland St.- Cleveland St. made an inspired run to beat Butler and win the Horizon league. But I still like Wake Forest in this game. If they can play consistent and find a way to keep Jeff Teague open they won't have a problem with Cleveland St.

6)West Virginia vs. 11)Dayton- You should never like a team that relies to much on three-point shooting. When West Virginia is hitting three's, then they are tough to beat, but if they are not hitting them then they are in trouble. I do like West Virginia in this game because Dayton has been hit by the injury bug.

3) Kansas vs. 14) North Dakota St.- This game can be dangerous for Kansas. They have lost before in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament. If Sherron Collins lets the his offensive game come to him, then they will be hard to beat. If Collins gets out of control, then they could get upset.

7)Boston College vs. 10)USC- USC is red hot coming into the tournament. They made a great run to the Pac-10 championship and are red hot right now. If Tyrese Rice struggles for BC then you have to go with USC. I like USC because they play great defense and they can dominate on the boards.

2)Michigan St. vs. 15) Robert Morris- Kalin Lucas should have a big game against the upstart Robert Morris team.

This should be an interesting first round. There could a lot of upsets in this region.

Tomorrow, the West first round bracket breakdown.