Spring Break
Breaking Down The Bracket
NCAA Basketball
Rajiv Leventhal
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Sports
The time of the year has come when anyone who is anyone fills out an NCAA Tournament bracket with hopes of winning an office pool or two. Well, your help for making selections has arrived. With the tournament starting in just two days, here is a breakdown of every region's winners and possible sleepers (No. 7 seeds or worse that can win at least two games).
East Region - Top-seeded North Carolina will amazingly not have to leave their state until the Final Four in San Antonio. But unfortunately for them, they won't get there. The Tar Heels are lacking in the two most necessary areas for tournament success - defense and heart (Tyler Hansbrough aside). Sure, they'll win a few games - but I wouldn't expect much more than that. As far as the rest of the bracket, watch out for Butler, who is the No. 10 team in the nation, but somehow, a No. 7 seed in the tournament. They have an extremely tough draw, starting with a solid South Alabama team followed by potentially Tennessee and Louisville. However, the Bulldogs are 29-3 and possess a dangerous backcourt that has experience from getting to the Sweet 16 last season. But this region will go to Louisville, who will continue to be a very strong tournament team under Rick Pitino. The Cardinals are a good road team who finally has a healthy club led by David Padgett.
East Winner: Louisville
East Sleeper: Butler
South Region - Memphis is the No.1 seed, but they have an awfully tough road to San Antonio. A potential Sweet 16 game against Pittsburgh could be their downfall - the Panthers are riding the high of a Big East Championship and are clearly a different team with Levance Fields in the lineup. A low seed that I can certainly see making some noise in this region is Kentucky. The 11th-seeded Wildcats finished the season 11-3, and one of those losses came by two points to Tennessee. Kentucky has a favorable draw, with an inconsistent Marquette team in the first round followed by a potential game against an overrated Stanford team. Billy Gillespie's teams are good in the tournament and get better as the season progresses. The best tournament team in this region, though, is second-seeded Texas. The Longhorns have wins over UCLA, Kansas and Tennessee this season, and have great guard play with D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrahms. Rick Barnes is finally showing he can coach and not just recruit after losing Kevin Durant to the NBA last year. Plus, Texas will play in Houston in the regional, so that could be a huge home court advantage.
East Region - Top-seeded North Carolina will amazingly not have to leave their state until the Final Four in San Antonio. But unfortunately for them, they won't get there. The Tar Heels are lacking in the two most necessary areas for tournament success - defense and heart (Tyler Hansbrough aside). Sure, they'll win a few games - but I wouldn't expect much more than that. As far as the rest of the bracket, watch out for Butler, who is the No. 10 team in the nation, but somehow, a No. 7 seed in the tournament. They have an extremely tough draw, starting with a solid South Alabama team followed by potentially Tennessee and Louisville. However, the Bulldogs are 29-3 and possess a dangerous backcourt that has experience from getting to the Sweet 16 last season. But this region will go to Louisville, who will continue to be a very strong tournament team under Rick Pitino. The Cardinals are a good road team who finally has a healthy club led by David Padgett.
East Winner: Louisville
East Sleeper: Butler
South Region - Memphis is the No.1 seed, but they have an awfully tough road to San Antonio. A potential Sweet 16 game against Pittsburgh could be their downfall - the Panthers are riding the high of a Big East Championship and are clearly a different team with Levance Fields in the lineup. A low seed that I can certainly see making some noise in this region is Kentucky. The 11th-seeded Wildcats finished the season 11-3, and one of those losses came by two points to Tennessee. Kentucky has a favorable draw, with an inconsistent Marquette team in the first round followed by a potential game against an overrated Stanford team. Billy Gillespie's teams are good in the tournament and get better as the season progresses. The best tournament team in this region, though, is second-seeded Texas. The Longhorns have wins over UCLA, Kansas and Tennessee this season, and have great guard play with D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrahms. Rick Barnes is finally showing he can coach and not just recruit after losing Kevin Durant to the NBA last year. Plus, Texas will play in Houston in the regional, so that could be a huge home court advantage.
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