EAST REGION
1 North Carolina vs 3 Louisville
Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte NC, Saturday, 9:05 pm ET
This is without a doubt the most interesting matchup as many feel these are the two best teams left in the Tournament. Nothing but blowouts paved the way for these two teams but now it figures that both will face an equal opponent.
North Carolina has the homecourt advantage on it's side and enter the game with tremendous confidence. They will look to push the ball especially off turnovers to avoid Louisville's vaunted full court press. In the halfcourt Roy Williams' team will heavily rely on point guard Ty Lawson to keep the tempo high and create off the bounce.
Louisville is an even bigger team than UNC and has just as deep a bench if not even deeper. Their greatest asset is their rugged and aggressive defense, both full court and halfcourt. Despite playing a zone, they are really tough on three point shooters. Rick Pitino will have a few tricks in his bag and in David Padgett and Terrance Williams he's got two outstanding leaders on the court, too.
PICK: Louisville. Do you remember Clemson? Right, the team that took North Carolina to the wire in all of their three matchups this year. They just like Louisville play a full court press (even though U of L runs a zone press) and took UNC out of their comfort zone. Lawson is healthier now but North Carolina will struggle in the full court. Tyler Hansbrough will have his hands full with the athletic and strong Cardinals' big men. The one thing that is worrying about Louisville is ball security. They can't allow Carolina to run off their turnovers.
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WEST REGION
1 UCLA vs 3 Xavier
US Airways Center, Phoenix AZ, Saturday, 6:40 pm ET
The West bracket is highly regarded as the easiest in the Tournament. Well, I don't know if these two teams care, but easy or not, they are now looking to make it out of this bracket in what should be a low scoring game.
The Bruins still haven't proven they can score on a consistent basis or that they are able to shoot it well every night. Nonetheless, they feature one of the best defenses in the entire tournament and also match up fairly well with a rugged and physically tough Xavier squad. Darren Collison has to control the game for the Bruins or they will struggle.
The Musketeers go as far as Drew Lavender goes. The small point guard is their leader and their floor general. His teammates follow him. Now Lavender tends to go through ups and downs and will face a tough opponent in UCLA's pesky defensive backcourt. But if Lavender can get his teammates the ball in good positions and control the tempo, then Xavier has a good chance of winning this game. The Musketeers top scorer Josh Duncan has to stay out of foul trouble as he is clearly their best offensive player inside.
PICK: UCLA. I'm really not sure about this matchup as both teams are hard to figure out and very inconsistent. Xavier has shown last year that they feed off the role of the underdog and can elevate their game in such a situation. Yet Kevin Love I think will be too much inside for the Musketeers to handle. Man, I really like Xavier too though and I will just pick the Bruins because they are advancing in my bracket. So much for good analysis!
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MIDWEST REGION
1 Kansas Jayhawks vs 10 Davidson Wilcats
Ford Field, Detroit MI, Sunday, 5:05 pm ET
I guess we have found this year's cinderella story and the star of this year's Tourney: Davidson and their sophomore guard Stephen Curry. But in Kansas they will face a team that is on a mission and looks like they won't be denied.
Bill Self still has the reputation of being a choker but now his team is back in a spot where they can finally make it to the Final Four. The Jayhawks are a much deeper team, got great players at almost every position and they can run and gun with anybody. Yet they won't have any problems with a tough physical contest either. Especially their guards around Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson will go after Curry on both ends of the floor.
Davidson has come a long way now and the nation is standing behind them. Stephen Curry has shown unbelievable shooting and scoring ability in the Tourney so far and they will need that once again from him to have a chance. His supporting cast is also doing a great job defending, doing the dirty work and operating as a team on both ends of the court. They have to make this an emotional game and feed off the crowd to have a chance.
PICK: Kansas. Sorry folks but I think the cinderella story has reached it's last chapter. The Jawhawks are a much better scoring team than either Georgetown or Wisconsin and they will unleash a relentless attack on Davidson's undersized defense. Kansas also has the perfect players to defend the quick Wildcats and Stephen Curry. He might even have 6-6 Brandon Rush against him from time to time. Kansas is too strong, too talented and as I said earlier, they are on a mission.
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SOUTH REGION
1 Memphis vs 2 Texas
Reliant Arena, Houston TX, Sunday, 2:20 pm ET
The South is the only region where both top seeded teams made it to the final game and it will be a highly intense battle under the hot red sun of Texas. It will be a great scene for two great college basketball teams.
Memphis silenced their critics by dominating Michigan State 92-74 in the Sweet Sixteen. They have tremendous speed, size and defensive awareness. Plus they are playing a chip on their shoulder. Yet this chip can quickly turn the other way and the team gets too confident. John Calipari is a great coach though and he should have an eye on that. Derrick Rose looks to be playing on another planet in the moment.
Texas in front of a raucous crowd will once again come out firing. All of their players can hit the three ball and with their big men stepping out, they present an enormous task for opposing defenses. Their backcourt is very small which could be a problem against the tall guards of Memphis. D.J. Augustin though is the smartest player on the court and if he can take over offensively and with his decision making, watch out.
PICK: Texas. Memphis looking outstanding against the Spartans last night yet this is another game. I hear everyone already talking about how the Tigers have proved anyone wrong and this and that plus I saw Joey Dorsey and company jawing and showboating out there. This is a different game and Texas has the homecourt advantage and they got the much smarter team. While I like Calipari as a coach over Barnes, this game will be decided mentally. I just feel somehow that Memphis even though they are the much more talented team, will struggle and maybe get overconfident.
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