Chicago Regional
Late in the college basketball regular season, if someone told you that the No. 1 seeds would be Illinois, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Boston College, you most likely would not have been too surprised. Yet as the NCAA tournament begins play today, all four teams are in the same Chicago regional
The Illini, the highest No. 1 seed in the tournament, are fresh off a Big Ten regular season and tournament championship. A tough game for junior guard Dee Brown and Illinois could be in the second round, where they would match up against eighth-seeded Texas, and the best freshman in the country in point guard Daniel Gibson, or against ninth-seeded Nevada, and sophomore forward Nick Fazeka's European-style dominance.
The best game of the first round is Arizona versus Utah State. Senior guard Salim Stoudamire, arguably the best shooter in the country, and the free-wheeling Arizona Wildcats take on the controlled tempo game of Stew Morrill's Utah State Aggies.
Speaking of Arizona, a potential battle against LSU in the second round could be in the works for them. If the Tigers' two terrific big men, sophomore forward Brandon Bass and freshman forward Glen \Baby Shaq"" Davis, can successfully stay out of foul trouble, LSU can prove to be a force to reckon with in region.
A potential upset in the Chicago region could come from St. Mary's, which is led by Australian native forward Daniel Kickert. The Gaels could take down the Southern Illinois Salukis who are coming off a loss to Southwest Missouri State.
Another hot upset pick is UW-Milwaukee. Expect the Panthers to give Alabama, and even Boston College in the second round, trouble-that is if BC can get by the dangerous Penn Quakers in its first round match-up.
The most dangerous team in the bracket, though, has to be Oklahoma State. The No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament, Eddie Sutton's Cowboys dominated that bracket, defeating Texas Tech in the championship. Sutton hopes for a return trip to the Final Four, where his team was ousted by Georgia Tech a year ago. Look ahead to a potential great elite eight match-up between them and the Illini in Chicago.
??-Sam Pepper
Albuquerque Regional
Aside from a special three weeks dominated by college basketball, gambling and billions of dollars worth of productivity lost due to college basketball and gambling, Albuquerque, N.M. is 1,000 miles from relevant in every direction. For the next three weeks however, the region formerly known as ""West"" will be as fun to watch as the word Albuquerque is fun to say.
The No. 1 seed is the Washington Huskies, who will likely breeze through the first and second rounds. Eighth-seeded Pittsburgh misses graduated guards Julius Page and Jaron Brown badly-both of whom helped oust Wisconsin last year-and may even have trouble with Pacific, who managed a 26-3 record.
No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 7 West Virginia are contenders for upsets in the second round, having each advanced to their respective conference tournament finals, though WVU will have to go through pre-season No. 1 Wake Forest, who have the second seed in the region and are led by Player of the Year candidate Chris Paul.
The most telegenic game in the foreseeable future in the entire tournament is found in the second round of the Albuquerque region if No. 4 Louisville and No. 5 Georgia Tech meet. The collection of talent on the perimeter between the two teams is staggering. Louisville features shooters Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean and Larry O'Bannon, while Tech counters with Jarrett Jack, B.J. Elder and Will Bynum. As opposed to the other No. 4-vs.-No. 5 match-ups, the winner could conceivably take the region.
No seed higher than No. 5 will make it to St. Louis from this region, so the upper half of the bracket will be the part to keep an eye on. Washington hardly has a tournament reputation as a program, so it is hard to predict how the Huskies will handle being the top dog. Wake Forest's trip to the Elite Eight, however, is predictable. Whoever meets Wake there-whether its Louisville, Georgia Tech or Washington-there is no doubt they will be battle-tested.
-Ben Hubner
Syracuse Regional
The Syracuse regional is top-heavy with last year's champion Connecticut holding the No. 2 seed and North Carolina holding down the top spot. While many fans are hoping to see a potential North Carolina vs. Kansas battle in the Elite Eight, pitting former Tar Heels coach Roy Williams against his previous school, it is unlikely to happen.
Kansas appears to have peaked early and an injury to Keith Langford makes the Jayhawks vulnerable. Expect them to get no farther than the Sweet Sixteen, or to exit as early as their second round contest against No. 6 Wisconsin. If the Badgers can contain Kansas big man Wayne Simien in check, look for the Badgers to have a date with the defending National Champs in the round of 16.
As far as sleepers go, there is no team in the country that wants to play Billy Donovan's No. 4 seed Florida Gators. They ended their season by dismantling Kentucky to win the SEC Tournament, and will cause all sorts of problems in their scheduled showdown with North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen.
When predicting potential upsets in this region, look for No. 12 New Mexico to take out a struggling Villanova team that was bounced early from the Big East Tournament. Also, don't be surprised if sharp-shooting Charlotte pushes UConn to the limit in their second round contest.
For Badger fans, expect their tourney run to fall into the hands of senior forward Mike Wilkinson who has the ability to take his squad deep into the tournament if he can control the post. However, if he performs the way he did in the Big Ten Tournament, don't be surprised if Northern Iowa pulls off a stunner Friday night, and sends UW fans on a long, painful trip back to Madison.
Regional Final Prediction: North Carolina over Charlotte, yes Charlotte.
-Jon McNamara
Austin Regional
Top to bottom, this region is filled with great coaches: Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Calvin Sampson, Tubby Smith and Tom Izzo. So which coach will guide his team to the Final Four?
Top-seed Duke looks like a lock to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, setting up a great match-up with either Syracuse or Michigan State, both of whom play intriguing first-round games. Many ESPN experts have predicted an Old Dominion upset over Michigan State, a sure fire reason to bet on the Spartans to win.
Syracuse, meanwhile, takes on Vermont, led by senior forward Taylor Coppenrath and his 26 points and nine rebounds per game. While neither ODU or Vermont will be a pushover, expect MSU and 'Cuse' to get the job done.
On the bottom half of the bracket, the third-seeded Oklahoma Sooners will probably have to get past Utah big-man Andrew Bogut if they want to make the field of 16. However, do not expect UTEP to lay down against their former WAC foes, the Utes.
In perhaps the best first-round match-up, Cincinnati will take on Iowa. If the Bearcats prevail, watch out for their defense to give Kentucky fits in the second round game. But when it comes to advancing to the Final Four, this region has a few teams capable of being Final Four contenders. Kentucky, Oklahoma and Syracuse have been strong, but Duke has to be the favorite.
If the Blue Devils have anything going for them, it is that they were not favored to start the tournament or expected to be a No. 1 seed to start the season. But they have nabbed a top seed for the seventh time in the last eight NCAA Tournaments. With three Final Fours but no national titles in that stretch, Duke has the best chance to win it all out of the Austin Region.
-Eric Schmoldt
