South Region Predictions
Regional predictions: Midwest | West | East | South | Final Four/Championship
FIRST ROUND
1. Ohio State over 16. Central Connecticut State
If Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook still get freshman jitters, they'll get them out with a game against those other Blue Devils.
9. Xavier over 8. BYU
They're two of the hotter teams in the tournament, though few are hotter than the Musketeers. Before a loss in the Atlantic 10 conference semifinals, they won nine games in a row by an average of 20 points.
5. Tennessee over 12. Long Beach State
Two of the nation's highest-scoring teams are likely to produce one of the highest-scoring games of the tournament. Chris Lofton, the nation's best three-point shooter, could strike for 40.
4. Virginia over 13. Albany
The Great Danes flirted with history as a No. 16 seed last season, nearly knocking off Connecticut. There should be no surprises this season when Virginia's Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds take on Albany star Jamar Wilson.
6. Louisville over 11. Stanford
While Louisville's Cardinals – the bird – finished strong, Stanford's Cardinal – the color – won only four of its last 10. And Rick Pitino-coached teams seldom underachieve in the tournament.
3. Texas A&M over 14. Penn
The Aggies shouldn't need any last-four minute heroics by All-American guard Acie Law IV in this one.
10. Creighton over 7. Nevada
This could be the end of the road for All-American forward Nick Fazekas and teammate Marcellus Kemp, who outscored Fazekas in each of the past four games.
2. Memphis over 15. North Texas
John Calipari kept the program righted despite the loss of stars Rodney Carney, Darius Washington Jr. and Shawne Williams. They might be even better behind Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey.
SECOND ROUND
1. Ohio State over 9. Xavier
An all-Ohio championship will play out just across the state border, in Lexington. The Buckeyes get the edge, of course, but if a No. 1 seed goes down in the second round, bet on it being at the hands of the Musketeers.
5. Tennessee over 4. Virginia
There will be no better battle of guards than when the Vols' Lofton and Ramar Smith meet the Cavaliers' Singletary and Reynolds.
3. Texas A&M over 6. Louisville
Typically, a Pitino squad gets a win or two more than its seed suggests it should. Not this time, not against Law and a team as tough defensively as Billy Gillispie's Aggies.
2. Memphis over 10. Creighton
It isn't quite a BracketBuster second-round game, but it's guaranteed that a non-BCS team is coming out of this pod. Going unchallenged through Conference USA might not be such an issue for the Tigers.
REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
1. Ohio State over 5. Tennessee
When they met before, in mid-January, Oden had one of his best games of the season. If he can get 24 and 15 again on 9-for-13 shooting, the Vols will have no chance.
3. Texas A&M over 2. Memphis
By now, the nation will know Law. And they will be coming closer to being on a first-name basis with Joseph Jones, Antanas Kavailauskas and Josh Carter.
REGIONAL FINAL
3. Texas A&M over 1. Ohio State
The young Buckeyes are really, really talented, but the Aggies are talented and experienced. While the nation watches Oden's last college game, experience triumphs.
