March Madness Predictions....Sleepers....Who's overrated?

2010 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket - Sleepers??

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Sleeper Picks: Oklahoma State(7) beat Kansas earlier this year

Northern Iowa(9) was nationally ranked nearly all of this year and could pose problems for Kansas in the 2nd round.

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WEST REGIONAL

Sleeper Picks:  Murray State(13) is 30-4 on the year and has the size and athleticism to create serious match up problems for Vanderbilt(4)

Xavier(6) should be a formidable opponent in the 2nd round for Pittsburgh and has played very well over the last month in the A-10

Gonzaga(8) has been ranked in the top 25 for most of the year and has the size down low to get offensive rebounds against Syracuse without Center Arinze Onuaku.

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EAST REGIONAL

Sleeper Picks: Missouri(10) is 22-10 on the year and was 10-6 in conference play in the very tough Big 12

Texas(8) should be a very interesting matchup in the 2nd round against a young Kentucky squad that will be evenly matched in athleticism by the Longhorns.

Marquette(6) has played the best of the best in the Big East tough all year and will need the leadership of Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler to make a run towards a Sweet 16 matchup against conference rival West Virginia

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SOUTH REGIONAL

Sleeper Picks: Siena(13) should pose serious problems for a depleted Purdue team that is lost with Robbie Hummel

Louisville(9) with two huge wins over Syracuse this year could disrupt and pressure the Blue Devils in the second round, as Rick Pitino will have his boys ready for a big upset.

Old Dominion(11) won the CAA Conference Championship and has held opponents to an average of 57 points per game this year.  This should be a close game between ODU and Notre Dame and could come down to the last shot.

What are your thoughts?  What other sleepers do you see out there?

Uconn Shocks Texas and West Virginia Ousts Ohio State

 

Today was a huge day for the Big East, as No.21 Uconn shocked the now sliding No.1 Texas Longhorns 88 to 74 at home in Connecticut, even though the Longhorns led by 10 in the second half.  This Texas squad had an incredibly tough week, as they lost two very tough road games to the likes of Kansas State and Uconn.  The only remaining undefeated team in Men's Division I college Basketball is now the Calipari led Kentucky Wildcats, as they will undoubtedly move to Number 1 in the country.  Uconn guard and team leader Jerome Dyson put up a career high 32 points and had this to say after the game Saturday, as the Huskies once again played without their head coach and Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. 

“We’ve got to play for him,” said Dyson, who said Calhoun was proud and excited on the phone after the game. “We know these wins will help him get better, because it will take some of the stress off him having to worry about us, and he can focus on getting himself better.” 

     No.12 West Virginia also added to the hype surrounding the Big East today, as the West Virginia Mountaineers battled back in the second the half to outlast the No.25 Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65.  The Buckeyes led 40 to 28 at the half, but didn't have the same effort in the second half, as Bobby Huggins flipped out on the Mountain men at halftime and they responded after the break to blow out the Buckeyes 43 to 25 in the second half.  Just as was the case for the West Virginia - Syracuse game from earlier this month, the Mountaineers proved they're never out of a game, as three point shooting and a strong defense has proven to be noteworthy throughout the year.  I don't think there's any doubt that at this point in the season the Big East has put up BIG results against the other top conferences.  The Big 12 has received a lot of respect so far this year, with the likes of Kansas and Texas, however, both teams have certainly proven to be beatable, as conference play has shown each team to be far from perfect.  Strong showing for the Big East today, let's hope it's noticed by the selection committee come March.

NCAA Mens Basketball Rankings as of Monday 12/28/2009

      For those Big East fans out there, you have to be pumped to see 4 Big East teams in the top 10 of the Associated Press rankings, and 5 Big East teams in the Top 13.  However, the concerning factor being that no other Big East teams are ranked at this time.  Earlier in the season, there were 8 Big East teams ranked in the Top 25.  We'll see how these numbers change as conference play gets under way, however, with the strength and talent across the board in the Big East, it's clear that a .500 or better record in conference play will mean that team is battle tested.  Syracuse University(12-0) opens up their Big East season against Seton Hall University(9-2) tomorrow at 9pm.  The Hall just came off a very tough fought overtime loss to now 6th ranked West Virginia.  SU vs. Seton Hall should be a battle...can't wait.



Associated Press Top 25


1 Kansas
2 Texas
3 Kentucky
4 Purdue
5 Syracuse
6 West Virginia
7 Duke
8 Villanova
9 North Carolina
10 Connecticut
11 Michigan State
12 Kansas State
13 Georgetown
14 Tennessee
15 Ohio State
16 Mississippi
17 Washington
18 Temple
19 New Mexico
20 Texas Tech
21 Clemson
22 Florida State
23 Wisconsin
24 UAB
25 Northwestern