South Region Preview

The first three regions were pretty easy in regards to determining a winner. The South Region? Not so much. Who comes out of this mess with a spot in the Final Four?

First Round Match-ups
[1] Duke vs. [16] Arkansas-Pine Bluff
[8] California vs. [9] Louisville
[5] Texas A&M vs. [12] Utah State
[4] Purdue vs. [13] Siena
[6] Notre Dame vs. [11] Old Dominion
[3] Baylor vs. [14] Sam Houston State
[7] Richmond vs. [10] St. Mary's
[2] Villanova vs. [15] Robert Morris

This region is an absolute mess. Duke earned (I use that term very loosely) a number one seed and has a realistic opportunity to make the Final Four...or lose in the second round. Purdue would be a nice pick, but they've struggled without Robbie Hummel. Baylor's been gaining members for their bandwagon every day, and Villanova made the Final Four, but like Purdue they have struggled lately. Like I said, it's a mess.

Favorite: Villanova

- It's hard enough to pick a favorite for this region. Duke doesn't have a win over a "great" team and the best team they've faced this season beat them by a misleading 12 points (they really got dominated the entire contest). I'll go with the Wildcats as the favorite, just because they always know when to turn it on during the tournament. Scottie Reynolds is one of the best players in the nation and would love nothing more than to bring 'Nova a title in his last campaign. The lack of an inside game could hurt the Wildcats, but it really hasn't before in the post-season.

Best Player: Jon Scheyer, G, Duke

- If Duke wants to make their first Final Four since 2004, they will need the senior point guard to play his best basketball. He's really had a coming out party of sorts, finishing second in the ACC Player of the Year award while averaging 18.6 points per game and five dimes. He's lights out from behind the arc - a lot of their team is, that's what they rely on - and they'll need those long range bombs in order to get past a group of weak teams gunning for them.

Sleeper: Louisville

- The Cardinals are one of the most inconsistent teams in the field. They hold a sweep over Big East champion Syracuse, but they also have losses against Western Carolina and Charlotte. For Louisville to make a serious run in this tournament, they need Edgar Sosa and Samardo Samuels to be at the top of their game. Sosa's been known to turn the ball over a lot, but is usually clutch in late-game situations. Samuels has loads of talent, but doesn't seem to play hard all the time. If these two players are in sync, they should roll over California and give Duke a run for their money.

Cinderella: Siena

- Usually 13 seeds get nervous at the spotlight of the NCAA Tournament...not these guys. The Saints have won two straight first round games - one against Vanderbilt and one against Ohio State - and are looking to take advantage of a depleted Purdue squad. Although they don't hold a huge win this season, they still have the experience from their last two runs to not be fazed against the Boilermakers. They have four players over 13 points per game and their point guard Ronald Moore averages just under eight assists per game. They're very balanced and could make a nice run in their third straight Big Dance appearance.

Upset Alert: Purdue

- I already discussed Siena's shot at upsetting the Boilermakers, but just look at what they've done ever since Hummel went out for the season with a torn ACL. They lost by nine to Michigan State, barely beat Penn State in State College and got blown out in the second round of the Big Ten tournament by Minnesota. They still have the talent to get to at least the Sweet 16, but they're going to need to play a lot better than they are now.

First Round Predictions:
[1] Duke over [16] Arkansas-Pine Bluff
[9] Louisville over [8] California
[5] Texas A&M over [12] Utah State
[13] Siena over [4] Purdue
[11] Old Dominion over [6] Notre Dame
[3] Baylor over [14] Sam Houston State
[10] St. Mary's over [7] Richmond
[2] Villanova over [15] Robert Morris

Second Round Predictions:
[9] Louisville over [1] Duke
[5] Texas A&M over [13] Siena
[3] Baylor over [11] Old Dominion
[2] Villanova over [10] St. Mary's

Sweet 16 Predictions:
[5] Texas A&M over [9] Louisville
[3] Baylor over [2] Villanova

Elite Eight Predictions:
[3] Baylor over [5] Texas A&M

Final Four Predictions:
[1] Kansas over [1] Syracuse
[1] Kentucky over [3] Baylor

National Championship Prediction:
[1] Kansas 77, [1] Kentucky 73