2010 NCAA Championship: West Region

2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament

The NCAA Tournament is just around the corner, the field is full, some teams have been ignored and some slippery teams got in. Here’s a little preview of the West Bracket.

WEST (Salt Lake City)

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 16 Vermont
No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Florida State
No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 UTEP
No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Murray State
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Minnesota
No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 14 Oakland
No. 7 BYU vs. No. 10 Florida
No. 2 Kansas State vs. No. 15 North Texas

Syracuse got robbed. Obviously their first match-up should be a cake-walk, but a very tough 8 seed in Gonzaga awaits them, and Florida State, if they upset the Zags, is a very athletic team. Gonzaga would be the tougher match-up for Syracuse, in my opinion, because they move the ball so well and have a handful of good zone shooters. Syracuse was one of the best teams in the Nation all year long, they lose one game to Georgetown in their tournament and they suddenly get the worst 1 seed and the toughest round of 32 game among all #1 seeds.

Butler and UTEP going at it is another tough deal, as both teams had great seasons, and underrated as smaller basketball schools, and have to play each other in the 1st round. One good surprise Sweet 16 team will be eliminated right off the bat. Vanderbilt should advance fairly smoothly. Murray State has Dance experience, but Vandy should have the talent to scoot by. I think whoever wins the Butler/UTEP game gets my pick to upset Vandy, though. There it is.

Oakland shouldn’t have a chance against Pitt. The Panthers have lost some head scratchers this year, but only in the Big East, and lets face it, bad teams in the Big East are solid teams in almost any other conference. I think Minnesota is playing well enough to really give Xavier a run for their money and pull the 11 over 6 upset, but either way I see Pitt taking the cake as they are the toughest team of these four.

Kansas State will have to deal with a very tough, tournament strong BYU team. The Cougars should get by the Gators, who I flat out don’t think should be here, and could sneak up on K-State. But I think the Wildcats are one of the best teams in the nation, as their 2-seed insists, and they should get the best of BYU, and I think the gym will be a home court situation for them, in terms of fans.

I think K-State would top Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16, and if Syracuse gets by Gonzaga (and I think it will be close, but they should) they will play the Wildcats in the Elite Eight. That will be a tough one, indeed, but the ‘Cuse play a tournament friendly defense and have special parts to their game that should get them over the top, and eventually take the West Region which they were shipped out to.