Tournament time is finally here which means there is Christmas/Easter/Birthday combined excitement for the Sports on the Reg squad. Being a self-proclaimed "bracketologist," I want to take some time to break down some key matchups in each region. I can't reveal too much because I'll be taking a lot of ya'lls money in bracket pools, but I can share some of my opinions.
Midwest Region
This might be the most poorly constructed region in the last decade. How on Earth did the tournament committee put Kansas, Michigan State, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Georgetown, and Ohio State in the same fucking region? It's like they thought "Oh let's put the most dangerous championship contenders in the same region so they have a better chance of playing each other. That'll get people to watch the early rounds." Great fucking going dudes. Maybe I'm the only one, but I really wanted to see Ohio State play Kansas for the Championship. Also they stacked the bottom half of the region and gave Kansas a fucking cakewalk (whatever that means) to the Elite 8. I'm only looking forward to watching one first round game in this region. Oklahoma State vs Georgia Tech. It'll be a classic finesse (Okst) against power (GT) game. Georgia Tech probably won't get the win, but it'll be close. I'm putting Tennessee on the upset watch in the 6-11 matchup against San Diego State. San Diego State beat UNLV twice this year and have 2 pure shooters in D.J. Gay and Chase Tapley. Tennessee just doesn't put up enough points to win tournament games. I thought their size would help them win, but sdst just happens to start 3 guys who are 6'7" or taller. This might be the only upset in the first round of this region. Northern Iowa 9 will beat UNLV 8, but that's not an upset because I'm pretty sure 9 seeds win the 8-9 matchup more than 8 seeds.
West Region
This might be the weakest region in the bracket. Syracuse and K-State are good but not Kansas Ohio State good. Look for Syracuse to lose to Butler in the Sweet 16. That is if Butler can squeak by UTEP in the first round. The first round matchup with the most upset potential is Murray State 13 vs Vandy 4. I think if K-State can lockdown BYU's shooters in the 2nd round, they will end up beating Butler in the Elite 8 to go to the Final Four.
East Region
This is my favorite region because a Kentucky West Virginia matchup in the Elite 8 is basically a lock. I'm so excited to see two big, athletic, and immature teams get extremely physical. That game will get so chippy that it could come down to who brought their gun to the arena. Everything about this matchup is perfect, but I'm not going to tell you who is going to win it. Everyone is high on Cornell because of their combination of size and shooting, but I think they will lose to Temple in the first round. I think Rick Barnes gets his shit together enough to beat Wake in the first round. Upset watch: Washington over Marquette in the 6-11 matchup.
South Region
The only team in this region that interests me at all is Richmond. I think they got fucked by drawing Saint Mary's in the first round, but they'll still win. I'm praying for a Richmond vs Duke Elite 8 matchup. It's very possible considering the Arachnids, if they get out of the first round, only have to beat Nova and Notre Dame to get there. Duke will casually stroll to the Elite 8 then have a low scoring and liberal battle of the brains with Richmond. Duke will win because of free throw shooting down the stretch. As Slam mentioned, Purdue is on upset watch in their 5-12 matchup with giant killer extraordinaire Siena.
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