'The Heights' Predicts March Madness

Midwest Region

In arguably the toughest region of the Midwest, the top five seeds (in order) of Kansas, Ohio State, Georgetown, Maryland, and Michigan State should all have no trouble moving past their respective first-round opponents. The Mountain West tournament champion, San Diego State, led by rugged rebounder Kawhi Leonard, should give Tennessee a great run and ultimately move on. In the second round, the top three seeds should get to the Sweet 16, but fourth-seeded Maryland, despite being led by ACC player of the year Greivis Vasquez, will see its tournament end early at the hands of 2009 national runner-up Michigan State. The Sweet 16 will feature two of the best games of the entire tournament. Look for the experience and depth of the Jayhawks to top Michigan State, who knocked them out last year, and for the play-making ability of Georgetown's Greg Monroe to dominate the undersized Buckeyes and the dynamic Evan Turner and move the Hoyas into the Elite Eight. Ultimately, the Midwest will prove to be the Jayhawks' region to lose, as the duo of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich give the Jayhawks and inside-outside tandem the Hoyas cannot match.

West Region

The much weaker West region will see all top eight seeds, except Vanderbilt, advance to the second round. The fourth-seeded Commodores were lucky to receive such a high seed for an average season, but were "rewarded" with an incredibly balanced Murray State team that finished 30-4, with five players scoring in double figures for the season. Take Murray State. The Sweet 16 match-ups should see the Big East solidify its case for being the best conference in college basketball as the top-seeded Orange will move past Butler, and a well-coached Pittsburgh team will utilize its guard duo of Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker to neutralize to the threat of the second-seeded Kansas State's top perimeter talents, Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. The answer to the question of who moves on to the Final Four may rest on the shoulders, or the right quad, of ailing 'Cuse center, Arinze Onuaku. Onuaku, already slated to miss the opener against Vermont, will be key to Syracuse's title hopes, and if he's 100 percent, the Orange, also led by Big East player of the year Wes Johnson, will take the West over rival Pittsburgh.  

East Region

With the left side of the bracket relying on Murray State and a few subtle five-over-four wins to hide the fact it's as chalky as the blacktop at your elementary school, the East doesn't do much to differ. Cornell manages to edge past Temple, mostly because we decided they were virtually the same team, and when that happens, you don't bet against the senior who can drain from deep. Cornell has one of the best in Ryan Wittman. The Big Red can thank Travis Diener for that logic.

Speaking of Diener, his alma mater Marquette provides what may be the only other notable run, knocking off third-seeded New Mexico, because other than head coach Steve Alford, nobody could say much about the Lobos to defend them (not to mention to Jesuit love helping the Golden Eagles). Still, the results came out pretty chalky. Wisconsin was considered for the Final Four as they look to be the team with the best shot of knocking off Kentucky, but some vocal support for Wofford in the first round – don't sleep on the Terriers – had bets being hedged and Kentucky held serve against West Virginia to get to Indianapolis.