Tuesday marked the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 College Basketball Championship, better known as March Madness. Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat Winthrop, earning a spot in the 64-team bracket and a first-round matchup against the Duke Blue Devils—yikes.
For all of you who scrambling to fill in your brackets this morning, you’re probably wondering if you’re looking at the right bracket. Where is North Carolina? Arizona? Connecticut? Indiana? UCLA? And who the heck are Lehigh, Wofford, and Sam Houston? Filling out your bracket becomes harder without these perennial powerhouses playing and now you actually have to know something about college basketball. Have no fear, bracket-busters. Here’s a breakdown of tournament favourites, dark horses, and players to watch for.
Favourites
Midwest: Kansas received the number-one seed in America and was rewarded with the toughest of the brackets. Though they have an easy opening round opponent in Lehigh, their only two losses this year came against Tennessee and Oklahoma State, and guess what? Both of these teams are in the Midwest, along with third-ranked Georgetown.
West: Syracuse got the number-one seed in the region in a controversial manner. Centre Arinze Onuaku was expected to be ready to play after suffering an injury that was listed as a strained hamstring, but as soon as the Orangemen were given the top spot, Coach Jim Boeheim announced that Onuaku would not be able to play in the first round. Smart play by Boeheim, since knowledge of the true condition of the injury would have cost them the first-overall seed and probably would have seen it handed to West Virginia. Instead, Syracuse gets to face No. 16 Vermont, an easy task for them even without Onuaku, and a relatively easy road until the regional semi-finals, where they could face second seed Kansas State or third seed Pittsburgh.
East: The Kentucky Wildcats are the top-ranked team in this region and should be, but West Virginia firmly believes they were robbed of a top seed by Syracuse. Look for them to show those bracketologists they were wrong, as they won eight of their last nine games coming into the tournament.
South: Duke has arguably the easiest path to the Elite Eight, but that’s where the free ride ends. They’ll finally run into some real competition in one of Villanova, Baylor, or Notre Dame. The easy three games to start the tourney may prove crucial for Duke, as they are the most beatable of the number-one seeds.
Cinderellas
Midwest: Out of all the first-round matchups, the most likely upset will come at the hands of Georgia Tech. Projected top-five NBA pick Derrick Favors is likely to dominate Oklahoma State’s paint, along with fellow big man Gani Lawal. Despite OSU having James Anderson, Big 12 player of the year, G-Tech should pull off the upset if they can keep him from hitting his threes. In the second round, look for guard Scottie Hopson to lead sixth-ranked Tennessee over number-three Georgetown. The Volunteers beat both Kansas and Kentucky this season, and the Hoyas are going to be a mere stepping stone for Tennessee to get their chance to play them again and try to prove that they deserved better than a sixth seed.
West: Where do I begin? After Minnesota’s convincing win over Purdue in the Big Ten semi-final, it’s hard not to take them at the 11th seed to upset number-six Xavier. Also, look for UTEP to oust Butler in the first round and No. 13 Murray State to frustrate a weak number four in Vanderbilt. The second round is likely to have the highest seeds advancing, but if I had to pick one, I would pick seventh-ranked BYU to bounce number-two Kansas State.
East: With exceptions to Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Mexico, there are no sure-fire bets in any of the other matchups. No. 12 Cornell is most likely to pull off an early upset and will send number-five Temple home early. Also, don’t sleep on No. 10 Missouri, as Clemson may quickly get frustrated with the Tigers’ full-court press for a full 40 minutes. Fourth-ranked Wisconsin is the least athletic out of any fourth seed and could run into some trouble with the physical play against No. 13 Wofford. Even number-six Marquette could be sent packing, as Washington, with the 11th seed, has superstars Quincy Pondexter up front and Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt, combining for 36.9 points per game.
South: Don’t bet against Purdue, at least not in the first round. True, they got absolutely annihilated by Minnesota in the Big Ten playoffs, but this was a team destined for a second seed before Robbie Hummel tore his ACL. They won more games than they lost without him, and E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Jackson have been great in his absence, combining for 31.8 points per game. I could see No. 12 Utah State kicking number five Texas A&M out of the tourney and then upsetting Purdue in the second round. Don’t be surprised if you see Notre Dame making some noise, as Luke Harangody’s return to the lineup has been impactful off of the bench, knocking out Baylor in the second round, and then Scottie Reynolds and his Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen.
Players to watch
John Wall, Kentucky: One of the Wildcats’ premier freshmen, Wall is projected to be a top-two pick (if not first overall) in this year’s NBA draft. A finalist for the NCAA Player of the Year, he has led Kentucky to a number-two national ranking with 16.9 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia: One of the top scorers in Mountaineers history, Butler is looking to ride the hot streak his team is on, winning eight of their last nine games and winning the Big East Championship.
Evan Turner, Ohio State: In December, Turner fractured bones in his back after falling flat on his back on a missed dunk. He missed eight weeks, but seemed to have never missed a step as he is still a projected top-two pick in this year’s NBA draft, averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game, and winning this year’s NCAA Player of the Year award and the Big Ten Championship.
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky: Projected to be a top-five NBA draft pick this year, Cousins is Kentucky’s other freshman, though he doesn’t play like one. Dominating the paint on both ends of the floor, look for him to add to his 18 double-doubles, fifth in the nation.
Aubrey Coleman, Houston: After serving a suspension last year for stomping on the face of Arizona’s Chase Budinger, Coleman has come back with a vengeance. The nation’s leading scorer at 25.6 points per game is going to keep doing just that to help his Cougars try to outlast Maryland in the first round.
Canadian Content
Andy Rautins of Syracuse, though born in the U.S., plays for Team Canada, so he qualifies as a Canadian. The GTA’s Devoe Joseph is playing for Minnesota, Andre Wilkins is suiting up for Cornell and Junior Cadougan is on Marquette’s roster. Gonzaga has four Canadians on their roster, Rob Sacre (BC), Bol Kong (BC), Mangisto Arop (AL), and Kelly Olynyk (BC), who is the son of former U of T basketball coach Ken Olynyk. Montreal boasts four players in the tournament: Kris Joseph at Syracuse, Francis-Cedric Martel at Richmond, Maurice Joseph at Vermont, and Hernst LaRoche at New Mexico State. Also at New Mexico State is Hamilton’s Tyron Watson.
So how do I predict to the NCAA Championship to pan out? Ohio State will come out of the Midwest with a victory over Kansas, Syracuse over Pittsburgh in the West, Kentucky over West Virginia in the East, and in the South, Baylor will send Duke packing (okay, I MAY be a little biased on this one). In the end, my Wildcats will trounce Syracuse and be the team to cut down the mesh.
