Sweet 16 Picks

Another year, another bracket completely destroyed. Kansas, the team that I said was head and shoulders above everyone else in the tournament, is out. Not that I mind; it was worth getting my bracket busted to see Northern Iowa pull off the upset.

It was a great opening weekend all around for the tournament, starting with the Robert Morris vs Villanova game (handed to Villanova by the refs, so glad they lost to St. Mary's), and ending with a Purdue/Texas A&M overtime game. Great games, great upsets, all that was missing was a good Gus Johnson game, but hopefully we'll get one in the Sweet 16.

Sweet 16 Picks

Midwest Region:

9 Northern Iowa vs 5 Michigan State
Everyone's new favorite team, Northern Iowa, will try to continue their Cinderella run against Michigan State without the Spartans' best player, Kalin Lucas. Even though they pulled off the win against Maryland, MSU did not look good after Lucas went down. Many people are already handing Northern Iowa the win with Lucas out, but I wouldn't count out Michigan State, who always plays better in the tournament. I think this will be a very close, low scoring game, and Cinderella survives another round.
Northern Iowa 61 Michigan State 56

6 Tennessee vs 2 Ohio State
These are two very similar teams and should make for an entertaining game. Both are athletic and like to speed up the game on offense. The difference will be Ohio State's Evan Turner, who should be named the Player of the Year. He'll be the main factor in a high scoring game.
Ohio State 82 Tennessee 74

West Region:

5 Butler vs 1 Syracuse
Syracuse looked great in their dismantling of Gonzaga in the second round. Gonzaga played poorly, but I think Syracuse would have beaten just about anyone with their performance. Wesley Johnson is an outstanding player, perhaps the second best player in the tourney behind Turner. Butler has talent with Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack, and Matt Howard, but Syracuse is simply a better team.
Syracuse 79 Butler 65

6 Xavier vs 2 Kansas State
I may have underestimated Kansas State a bit, who has looked great so far. Jacob Pullen might be the most underrated player in the country. They could definitely be a threat to Syracuse in this region. Xavier always seems to make a run to the Sweet 16 every couple of years, but never really becomes a factor in the end. K State should have no problem.
Kansas State 81 Xavier 67

East Region:

12 Cornell vs 1 Kentucky
Everyone thought ESPN analyst Jay Bilas was crazy when he picked Cornell to make the Elite 8 at the beginning of the tournament. Well the Big Red are a win away from doing just that. Cornell has looked great so far, easily taking care of Temple and Wisconsin, two top 25 teams. Kentucky has also looked great, and they are probably the odds on favorite to win now that Kansas is out. I would love to pick Cornell here, and I think they'll keep it close, but Kentucky's athleticism will win out in the end.
Kentucky 74 Cornell 67

11 Washington vs 2 West Virginia
Yawn. I don't think anyone really cares about this game. West Virginia will win easily.
West Virginia 76 Washington 60

South Region:

4 Purdue vs 1 Duke
I, like many people, thought Purdue has no chance in the tourney without their best player, Robbie Hummel. However, they've managed to make it to the Sweet 16. Duke looked pretty good in their win over Cal, especially with the unexpected production from Brian Zoubek. However, Jon Scheyer will have to shoot better than 1-11 if Duke wants to make the Final Four. I don't think they should have too much trouble with this Purdue team.
Duke 72 Purdue 60

10 St. Mary's vs 3 Baylor
Omar Samhan of St. Mary's might be the most unlikely looking dominating player in college basketball since Larry Bird. That being said, he has been tremendous so far in the tourney, along with the rest of the Gaels team. They'll go up against Baylor, a very athletic team who despite being a 3 seed, has kind of come out of nowhere. They have a ton of talent but are relatively inexperienced. This is a toss up for me, so I'll pick the team I'll be rooting for.
St. Mary's 65 Baylor 63