An amazingly balanced, talent-stacked Kansas squad, the Big 12 champs, nabbed the number 1 seed in this region, where they get to participate in a glorified scrimmage against the 16 seed, Portland State. Few teams in the nation have the size and depth to handle all the big bodies the Jayhawks throw at their opponents. They have 4 or 5 guys 6 foot 8 and taller who get solid minutes; they are lead by athletic finisher Darrell Arthur and big, strong banger Darnell Jackson, perhaps the most improved player in the nation. Sasha Kaun also plays a huge part in KU's success; the 7-footer plays a key role finshing off plays down low when other guys get pressured while also cleaning up the glass and anchoring the defense. The star of the team is Brandon Rush, a smooth and versatile scorer who has a pretty touch from deep. Guards Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, and Sherron Collins are all talented scorers, tenacious defenders, and capable ball-handlers who are versatile enough to play the point. Robinson is the best ball handler and a great defender, Collins is strong, athletic, and tenacious in attacking the basket, while Chalmers is the best three-point shooter. Probably the deepest and most overall talented team in the nation, but I still don't trust Bill Self to get this team to the Final Four. He has had great KU teams before but they have been unable to get over the hump, and even though this may be the best one yet, I still have to see Self get these talented teams into the Final 4 before I give them much credit. UNLV takes on Kent State in an 8-9 battle of mid-majors. Kent State has been one of the best mid-majors all season long, dominating their conference and playing hard against some good teams. UNLV has overacheived in a competitive Mountain West, and they have a great coach in Lon Kruger, but I think Kent State has more talent and I like their full body of work a little better than UNLV's, so I like the Golden Flashes. The red-hot Clemson Tigers take on Villanova in the 5-12, a team that was one of the last squads named to be in the tourney. Clemson is very fast paced and athletic; they play with great energy, attack the basket, and can beat anybody when they shoot well from the outside. Their inconsistent free throw shooting is often the catalyst for their victories, and they shot them so well in the ACC tournament that they got to the final. If they can carry the momentum from that experience into the tournament they will be hard to beat. 'Nova is another fast paced, inconsistent squad that relies on guard play...they don't have much of an inside presence, but neither does Clemson. Scottie Reynolds is one of the best scoring guards around and can really take over a game. Both of these teams play similar styles, but Clemson is on a role right now and I don't see them losing. Vanderbilt takes on an upset-minded Siena squad. Vandy is one of the most balanced and potentially dangerous teams around; they have a deadly senior perimeter scorer in Shan Foster, who is scary good from deep, and a big, fundamentally sound post player in AJ Ogilvy. They are too experienced and solid in all categories to lose to a Siena team that has plenty of three shooters and will need them to be hitting to stand a chance. I got Vandy big. USC versus Kansas State is perhaps the most hyped 1st round matchup of them all, pitting super-frosh OJ Mayo and Micheal Beasley in a battle of future NBA talent. Mayo may not have had the all-world 1st season everyone expected, but he still had an amazing year and was one of the most exciting perimeter scorers in the country, showing a quick 1st step and deadly shooting range. He improved as the year wore on and he became smarter with his shot selection, and I believe he has a better team around him than Beasley; a good point guard in DJ Hackett and an athletic, skilled post scorer in Taj Gibson. They are very athletic overall and came out of the stacked Pac-10 with a good record, so I'm picking them to beat a K-State team that did have a good year, but they have not played well down the stretch and I don't think they have enough around the incredible Beasley to win. Beasley plays lazy at times, but he has all of the skills you would want in a basketball player; size, speed, handle, shot extending beyond three point range, etc. He really is a near-perfect combination of talents. Bill Walker is also a tenacious athlete and strong rebounder, but outside of those two, who do they have?? USC is the better team here. Underrated Big Ten champ Wisconsin takes on Cal-State Fullerton, a team that might make this game closer than most people will think. Wisconsin is far from flashy and they rarely score loads of points, but they have tons of experience and more size than anybody but Kansas. Micheal Flowers is the glue guy; a great defender and athlete who seems to make all the big plays. Joe Krabbenhoft is a great blue-collar hustler who can score in a variety of ways, Trevon Hughes provides a big scoring spark and is dangerous from downtown, and Jason Bohannon provides a very pure three pointer from the bench. And that's not even their big guys. Brian Butch has finally lived up to some of his hype, playing tough inside all year and showing an improved touch from outside along with some leadership, while Greg Stiemsma is a large hunk of man and defensive anchor and Marcus Landry another talented glue-guy and dirty work player inside. The Badgers don't have a whole lot of athletcism though, and if a team is scoring a lot of points Wisky is gonna have a tough time outscoring them. They play smart, tough, and they stress defense, all testaments to their coach, Bo Ryan, and while they might get a test from the athletic, high-scoring CS-Fullerton squad, they will put them away and win solidly, mark my words. Gonzaga is not the mid-major king they used to be, while Davidson is lead by the amazingly sugar-sweet stroke of Stephen Curry, one of the most skilled and fun to watch offensive players in the country. His stroke will carry Davidson to a minor upset over an average Zags squad that relies too heavily on the scoring of Jeremy Pargo. And finally, the size and athleticism of Georgetown will take care of UMBC, an upstart team full of local Baltimore talent, as they have no one to stop Roy Hibbert and guards like Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp can shoot the three as well.

Kansas will overwhelm Kent State in the 2nd round; I think Kent will put up a vailant effort, but the crazy amount of depth, size, and pressure that KU will throw at them will just expose Kent State as undermanned, and if Kansas can force a lot of turnovers and get KSU flustered early, than this one won't even be close. Clemson's inconsistent shooting from outside and from the free throw line will come back and bite them against Vanderbilt, a team with the talent and balance to be a sleeper pick. Shan Foster will be hot from downtown and AJ Ogilvy is an inside presence that Clemson won't be able to contend with. I think a more athletic, high scoring USC team will upset Wisconsin in the 2nd round. I worry about the size the Badgers will throw at them, and they are so experienced with a proven coach that they don't seem likely to be upset, but I just like USC's energy and potential to break out and play incredible, while Wisky doesn't have anyone who can guard OJ Mayo, who just might go off. Wisconsin's inside guys are going to have to dominate here, and I don't know if they can keep up the athleticism of the Trojans. And finally, a more experienced, deeper, and bigger Georgetown team will overcome another hot shooting performance form Curry and pull away for an easy win over Davidson. Hibbert will have a great game once again, and the Hoyas will get a large portion of inside buckets and offensive rebounds. I just don't see how the matchups will work here, unless Davidson is on a George Mason-style mission I think the Hoyas got this one. Kansas is simply too good in all areas to lose to a streaky Vandy squad that can be great when they are hitting on all cylinders but extremly average when they don't shoot well. The never-ending depth of KU, the defense, and the size will overwhelm Vandy like they have overwhelmed opponents all year long. USC will finally run into a brick wall with the Hoyas, who will slow the tempo down, play great defense, and run roughshod over the soft USC big men for a close, low scoring victory. I also have Georgetown over Kansas to get to the Final Four. Like I said before, I still don't trust Bill Self and his choke job history to get to the Final 4, even though I believe KU has the most talent of anybody in the country. G-town is one of the few squads around with the size to match up with Kansas, and the Jayhawks won't score as many transition points or force as many turnovers with the poised Hoyas guards and the grinding pace they play at. The Hoyas just play a style that Kansas doesn't matchup well with, and with Kansas's recent cursed history I'm willing to bet somebody goes cold and brings the Jayhawks painfully down once again.