More
Contact
Submit
Premium
I was listening to the selection show on Sunday in my car (because bloggers are rich, and I have XM Radio. Bitches) and my initial reaction to Ohio State being the No. 1 overall seed was, "Yeah, of course." My initial reaction to the teams in its region was, "Holy shit, what?"
I've heard people say that the West is the toughest region, and I could listen to that argument, but I feel like, top to bottom, the East is the most difficult region in the tournament.
Now let's derelictably break this mofo down:
The Top Dog: Ohio State is justifiably the No. 1 seed in this region and in the entire tournament. The Buckeyes have two losses on the season, and those came to teams seeded 3 and 4 in the tournament, and both on the road in conference. The Buckeyes have a tremendous blend of young talent (Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft) and experience (Jon Diebler, David Lighty), which is always a real nice formula for winning it all.
Top Contender: Syracuse is a team that started out strong this season, and finished strong, as well. The Orange are going to give North Carolina fits in the Sweet 16 if that game happens (which I expect it to) with their 2-3 zone, as North Carolina will be forced to rely on the shooting of Harrison Barnes. The 'Cuse is the real deal, folks.
Top first-round game: 4. Kentucky vs. 13. Princeton. Talk about a contrast in styles. On one side, you have the young gun Wildcats from Kentucky, who are led by John Calipari, king of the one-and-done superstar. On the other side you have an Ivy League team that has one of the most painfully simple, yet effective offenses in history named after it. I would imagine Kentucky's talent overcomes Princeton here, but it will be a fun matchup nonetheless.
Cinderella: Washington features one of the more dynamic players in this bracket with Isaiah Thomas, and just won the Pac-10 tournament title. The tough part for Washington is that it has to get past Georgia and North Carolina in Charlotte to really be considered a Cinderella. Then it would have to beat Syracuse in Newark. This is not a good draw for the Huskies geographically, but they're capable of pulling off an upset or two.
Who wins?: Ohio State and Kansas are 1a and 1b when it comes to the top teams in the country. The Buckeyes are incredibly complete with their mix of good guard play, good post play and experience. As tough as this bracket is, I don't think any of these teams will knock off the Buckeyes.