Minneapolis Region Predictions
Regional predictions: Atlanta | Oakland | Washington, D.C. | Minneapolis | Final Four/Championship
FIRST ROUND
1. Villanova over 16. Monmouth
A freebie to give Allan Ray's eye another couple of days to heal. Monmouth's big John Bunch might not last a minute playing at 'Nova's pace.
8. Arizona over 9. Wisconsin
A compelling matchup, perhaps, if it were being played in any of the past four or five seasons. As it is, a Hassan Adams-Alando Tucker duel will be worth watching.
5. Nevada over 12. Montana
Nevada's Nick Fazekas is the nation's most unappreciated big man. He has played against only two currently ranked teams – Kansas and UCLA – but averaged 29.5 points per game against them.
4. Boston College over 13. Pacific
BC better be able to win this one on fumes. The Eagles will be making the 2,000-mile trip to Salt Lake City just four days after battling Duke for the ACC title.
11. UW-Milwaukee over 6. Oklahoma
The Panthers, who got a taste of the NCAA's Sweet 16, can take a Sooner team coming off a Big 12 tourney loss to Nebraska and a 24-point whupping from Texas.
3. Florida over 14. South Alabama
Still the boss: After Billy Donovan's boys beat former six-year-assistant John Pelphrey's club, maybe Donovan can get Pelphrey to run the Gators' bedcheck again, too.
7. Georgetown over 10. Northern Iowa
What happens when the tournament's most deliberate teams meet? Purists will want to tune in. Thrill-seekers might take a pass.
2. Ohio State over 15. Davidson
Davidson's great equalizer? The three-pointer. (They make 9.1 per game, better than all but two tournament teams.) Ah, but the Buckeyes average 8.6 three-pointers and have the Big Ten's best big man (Terence Dials).
SECOND ROUND
1. Villanova over 8. Arizona
Take the Wildcats from Philadelphia's Main Line. They look a lot like how the guard-driven Wildcats of Tucson (now run by Philadelphian Mustafa Shakur) used to appear.
4. Boston College over 5. Nevada
Fazekas is great, but BC has two like him in Craig Smith and Jared Dudley.
3. Florida over 11. UW-Milwaukee
The Panthers run and press and do the same things that the Gators do. Florida just does them better and gets past the NCAA's second round for the first time since reaching the 2000 Final Four.
2. Ohio State over 7. Georgetown
The road ends for the Hoyas, who are fortunate to meet another staggering team in the first round.
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
1. Villanova over 4. Boston College
Get out all the old scouting reports. They split games when both called the Big East their home last season, but this isn't the same 'Nova.
3. Florida over 2. Ohio State
Unencumbered by that second-round monkey, the talented, sophomore-led Gators give the nation of taste of what might be to come for the next two years. Don't laugh. This isn't a group with one foot in the NBA.
REGIONAL FINALS
1. Villanova over 3. Florida
Villanova meets the sort of tall team that is supposed to be its tournament undoing, though the Gators aren't exactly a post-up group, either. They like to press and run, too; 'Nova just does it better.
John Akers, the editor of Basketball Times, predicted the Minneapolis region exclusively for Yahoo! Sports.
