Sweet 16: East Region Preview

Not a lot of surprises in the East Region, other than how easily UNC manhandled their opponents. Tennessee was brought to the brink by both American and Drake, but in the end all 4 top seeds have advanced to the Regional semi-finals.

#1 North Carolina v. #4 Washington State

As mentioned, the Tarheels just ran over their first 2 opponents, averaging 110 points and winning by an average of 40 points. While a Washington State upset may not be very likely, look for the Cougars to put up a much better fight than anyone UNC has faced yet. The Cougars pride themselves on the defensive end and they will have their hands full with Tyler Hansbrough and crew.
Washington State does bring in an experienced team as they start 3 seniors and 2 juniors.They have only given up a total of 81 points in their first two Tourney games and held a dangerous Notre Dame offense to only 41 points. This game is going to be close, but in the end North Carolina's athleticism will be able to outmatch the tough defense brought by Washington State. Just don't expect UNC to score over 90 points in this win.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 82, Washington State 74



#2 Tennessee v. #3 Louisville

This may be the most anticipated matchup of the Sweet 16. Louisville has been a streaking team ever since they returned David Padgett and Edgar Sosa from injury. Tennessee, on the other hand, is an explosive team that has seemed to be misfiring so far in the NCAAs. They were taken to the wire against both Drake and American while Louisville cruised over Boise State and Oklahoma.
Tennessee likes to run and gun on offense while setting up a suffocating defensive press. However, Louisville has solid guard play in Andre McGee and Jerry Smith. The Vols will need for Chris Lofton to be on from down town while Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism will have to keep the Cardinal's David Padgett and Earl Clark off the boards.
Both teams run out very athletic teams and both are lead by flashy, flamboyant coaches in Rick Patino and Bruce Pearl. I trust Rick Patino more than I do Pearl, and Louisville has been on the rise while Tennessee as not put together a great game in the Tourney. In the end Padgett, will be pivotal in the middle and Louisville will be able to keep the Volunteer 3-point shooters down just enough to pull out the win.

PREDICTION: Lousiville 88, Tennessee 84

Sweet 16: West Region Preview

This years West Region has been filled with upsets and almost upsets. The highest seed no longer alive is #2 Duke. The Blue Devils survived a one point win over 15 seed Belmont only to lose to West Virginia in the 2nd round. Even top seed UCLA had to stop (or foul) a driving Donald Sloan in the last seconds to move on to the round of 16. But Western Kentucky and San Diego pulled off the biggest upsets of the bracket as the 12 & 13 seed both advanced to face each other in the 2nd round. In a bracket full of upsets, UCLA could get down to the Final Four without facing any higher than a #7 seed. That must be nice.

#1 UCLA v. #12 Western Kentucky

While this may not be as big a marquee matchup as if UCLA were facing UCONN, but Western Kentucky certainly comes into this matchup having already provided some huge drama in their first round game against the Drake Bulldogs. Ty Rogers hit a 30 foot jumper as the clock expired to lift the Hilltoppers to a 1 point win over the higher seeded Bulldogs.
UCLA comes in with an obvious talent advantage, but W. Kentucky's Courtney Lee is a bonafide NBA draft pick and Tyrone Brazelton dropped 33 points against Drake. This guard combo might give UCLA some troubles on the perimeter. But in this game, UCLA's superior talent is going to win out in the end. Even though A&M brought them down to the wire, the Bruin's defense was still present as they held the Aggies to 49 points. UCLA has big time scorers in Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook. With UCLA's strong defense it just doesn't seem as if the Hilltoppers are going to be able to score enough points to beat the Bruins. Add the fact that the game is being played to a "home" crowd in Phoenix, AZ and you have all the makings of a UCLA trip to the Elite 8.

Predicition: UCLA 78, Western Kentucky 68



#3 Xavier v. #7 West Virginia

The West Virginia Mountaineers were able to beat a Duke team that had little perimeter defense and struggled to shoot the ball from the outside. Quite honestly, most would not even call that win much of an upset, as many thought Duke came into the Tourney with a lot of weaknesses. Xavier on the other hand was able to hold of strong pushes by both Georgia and Purdue to advance to face the Mountaineers.
Xavier is a pretty balanced team as they get great perimeter play from Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and C.J. Anderson. Josh Duncan and Derrick Brown provide a strong inside presence. But the Musketeers make their living on the defensive end as they are one of the strongest and most athletic teams on the defensive end. They are led by Burrell who is one of the best all around defenders in the nation. They are going to need all of their defensive efforts as Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff are big time scorers for the Mountaineers. Alexander has come out of almost no where this year to become a top scoring threat in the nation. But since Bob Huggins has taken over, there has been more focus on the defensive end to complement West Virginia's potent offensive threats. Look for Xavier to be just a little too athletic on the perimeter and too strong on the defensive end for West Virginia to handle. This will be a close game, but in the end the Musketeers will make the plays to get them into the Elite 8.

Predicition: Xavier 82, West Virginia 74