TEAM TO BEAT: North Carolina. The Tar Heels one goal has been to win this tournament. That was evident during the season when they seemed to sleepwalk in January. It was evident over the weekend when they came out flat (and without Ty Lawson) in the ACC Tournament. For all the talk of "bigger things", it is time to act.
TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: North Carolina. I still believe that UNC is the best team in the nation when they decide to be. There are some huge landmines potentially out there, but I see them getting to Detroit.
TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN No. 3 SEED): Gonzaga. Gonzaga is nearly as talented as anyone else in the country. They have a few NBA hopefuls on the roster and are actually playing their best basketball right now. They could give UNC fits in the Sweet 16 and have the ability to get to the Final Four.
YOUR CINDERELLA: Temple. I really like Western Kentucky in their game with Illinois, but I don't think they can do in the Zags. Dionte Christmas could be the next Stephen Curry in the fact that he could carry his team to several upsets. Temple has the ability to upset Arizona State and Syracuse and could cause problems for Oklahoma/Clemson/Michigan.
WORST SEEDING ERROR: Butler. Really, there isn't much to gripe about in the seeding of the South Region. You can argue that Butler deserved to get a seed better than a No. 9. This was a team that spent most of the season in the Top 20 of the rankings. At least give them the seeding advantage over LSU!
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: North Carolina. Gonzaga gets to play in Portland and Oklahoma moves up to play in Kansas City. But that doesn't beat North Carolina in Greensboro. The Coliseum will be swarming with Carolina blue (and Duke blue, since they play in the other bracket there) and no other team visiting, save Radford, is anywhere near there. From there, the Heels would go to Memphis. Not a big advantage except that it is near where Tyler Hansbrough grew up.
MUST WATCH GAME: Clemson vs Michigan. If there was one game in the South to watch, this would be it. Neither team is title-worthy but both are capable of making a run. I love watching Clemson play with its pressing defense, tough frontcourt and free-wheeling shooters.
TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: North Carolina. I still believe that UNC is the best team in the nation when they decide to be. There are some huge landmines potentially out there, but I see them getting to Detroit.
TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN No. 3 SEED): Gonzaga. Gonzaga is nearly as talented as anyone else in the country. They have a few NBA hopefuls on the roster and are actually playing their best basketball right now. They could give UNC fits in the Sweet 16 and have the ability to get to the Final Four.
YOUR CINDERELLA: Temple. I really like Western Kentucky in their game with Illinois, but I don't think they can do in the Zags. Dionte Christmas could be the next Stephen Curry in the fact that he could carry his team to several upsets. Temple has the ability to upset Arizona State and Syracuse and could cause problems for Oklahoma/Clemson/Michigan.
WORST SEEDING ERROR: Butler. Really, there isn't much to gripe about in the seeding of the South Region. You can argue that Butler deserved to get a seed better than a No. 9. This was a team that spent most of the season in the Top 20 of the rankings. At least give them the seeding advantage over LSU!
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: North Carolina. Gonzaga gets to play in Portland and Oklahoma moves up to play in Kansas City. But that doesn't beat North Carolina in Greensboro. The Coliseum will be swarming with Carolina blue (and Duke blue, since they play in the other bracket there) and no other team visiting, save Radford, is anywhere near there. From there, the Heels would go to Memphis. Not a big advantage except that it is near where Tyler Hansbrough grew up.
MUST WATCH GAME: Clemson vs Michigan. If there was one game in the South to watch, this would be it. Neither team is title-worthy but both are capable of making a run. I love watching Clemson play with its pressing defense, tough frontcourt and free-wheeling shooters.
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