I’m glad I finally get to participate in one of these, but I was definitely cheated by the Selection Committee — aka Edward Lewis. His reasoning behind giving me this region was with little explanation, “Lastly, Beau you get the East bracket because its the last one left.” Come on now E. Lew, you could have done better than that. But at least I get to be a part of the Big Dance unlike St. Mary’s. BOOM ROASTED!
EARLY UPSET
There has been a lot of talk about the No. 8-No. 9 matchup between George Mason University and Villanova. The Wildcats started the season off with the kind of success worthy of a two or three seed, but a late season slump ruined their chances. Villanova has lost five straight and seven of its last nine contests, resulting in its current No. 9 seed. The Patriots, on the other hand, were on a 16-game winning streak before losing to VCU in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. With this in mind and even though an eight seed beating a nine seed isn’t technically an upset, look for George Mason to continue its recent success and pull off the win against the Wildcats.
BRACKET BUSTER
There isn’t any specific team I feel comfortable with here, but I’ll go with Xavier as my bracket buster. The Musketeers may have dropped a 68-67 decision to unranked Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, but they had won nine of their last 10 prior contests. Xavier’s first test will be against Marquette and the game should come down to the wire. Next would be a contest against Syracuse that I could see the Musketeers getting a huge upset of the No. 3 seed. The Orange just haven’t been the same team in the second half of the season and if junior guard Tu Holloway averages his usual 20.2 points per game and everything falls into place, Xavier can pull it off.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Ohio State’s Diebler has found tremendous success from behind the arc as of late. The senior guard was absolutely unstoppable on March 1 against Penn State, connecting on 10 of his 12 shots from 3-point land. And in his last five games, he’s made 24-of-38 to help open things up inside for freshman forward Jared Sullinger. Look for both Diebler and Sullinger to be key contributors for the Buckeyes in their quest for the national championship.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
If all goes to plan, Ohio State and Kentucky could be facing each other for a trip to the Elite Eight. The key matchup here will likely be between Sullinger and senior forward Josh Harrellson. At the beginning of the season, the Wildcats looked to be a force with freshman forward Enes Kanter. But a few months ago, the NCAA ruled Kanter ineligible after it was found he received more than $33,000 in benefits while playing for the Turkish club team Fenerbahce. So it remains to be seen if Kanter’s replacement Harrellson can contain Sullinger if the two teams face off.
