2011 NCAA Tournament: Breaking down the East Regional
By Paul Jordan
For the second straight season, the NCAA Selection Committee did not favors for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. Besides getting a lower than expected, four seed, Kentucky was placed in the ultra-competitive East Bracket, home of the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes and college basketball’s top player, Jared Sullinger. Enough bellyaching about the seed, let’s look at the breakdown.
FRI -CLEVELAND, OH
1. OHIO STATE (32-2)
16. TEXAS SA (19-13)/ALABAMA ST (17-17)
8. GEORGE MASON (26-6)
9. VILLANOVA (21-11)
THURS -TAMPA, FL
5. W. VIRGINIA (20-11)
12. UAB (22-8)/CLEMSON (21-11)
4. KENTUCKY (25-8)
13. PRINCETON (25-6)
FRI – CLEVELAND, OH
6. XAVIER (24-7)
11. MARQUETTE (20-14)
3. SYRACUSE
14. INDIANA STATE (20-13)
FRI -CHARLOTTE, NC
7. WASHINGTON (23-10)
10. GEORGIA (21-11)
2. NORTH CAROLINA (26-7)
15. LIU (25-5)
WHO ARE THESE EXTRA GUYS?
At first glance, we see that this bracket actually has 18 teams in it and the East is home to two play in games. One is the traditional playin game for the 16 seed and the other is a new wrinkle in the tournament, a play in game for lower seeds. Texas San Antonio will face off against Alabama State (did every team in Alabama besides the Tide make this tournament?) in a game Tuesday night. The winner will move on to be crushed by Ohio State. The other playin game is a lot more interesting. UAB from CUSA will face Clemson of the ACC for the right to play #12 West Virginia. I actually like this aspect of making two lower seeds fight for entry into the tournament, … it gives the tournament in effect six ultra competitive 8 vs 9 style tossups, but I think it is a tad bit unfair for West Virginia. Bob Huggins and crew won’t know who to really prepare for until late Tuesday night.
KENTUCKY’s PATH
It will be a difficult path, don’t get me wrong. Kentucky has a virtual recreation of last years third and fourth round. We face yet another Ivy League opponent in Princeton, who is a pretty scrappy bunch. The Tigers can shoot (46.5%) but Kentucky has the eight best FG defense at 39.2%. And with this matchup, we just have to look at the talent levels. As smart and as much heart as the Tiger will have, they can not match up against the talent of Kentucky and the Wildcat’s Brandon Knight is a pretty smart fella too. After Princeton, it looks like Kentucky may face the tracksuit, Bob Huggins, and his West Virgina Mountaineers. We all know that Huggins is 8-1 versus John Calipari and if both teams win opening round, this is all we will hear.
West Virgina is the 22nd ranked team and split their games versus Louisville and beat Notre Dame by 14, so they can be very dangerous. The Mountaineers are not as good of a shooting team as Kentucky, although they can get hot from the outside. F Kevin Jones is a good player inside, but I would have to say that Terrence will win the battle of the Jones at the forward position. Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins remember last years game and hopefully the will see that Joe Mazzullo pulls no heroics. I see a big backcourt advantage for UK and a small frontcourt advantage. I think Kentucky should make it out of opening weekend fairly easily.
Ohio State and Jared Sullinger would likely stand next in line. While OSU is good, they are beatable and I prefer Kentucky’s backcourt over Ohio State’s. They pressure will be on Josh Harrellson to limit Jared Sullinger and keep him close to his averages. If Kentucky can do that, they have a good shot at the upset. Syracuse and North Carolina would probably be Kentucky’s opponent in the Elite Eight. I think North Carolina is the best team in this bracket right now, and they would be difficult to stop if they matchup again.
OTHER NOTABLES IN THE BRACKET
Georgia and Washington are also in this bracket. Kentucky beat Washington earlier and split with the Bulldogs. This 7-10 between the two will be the best first round matchup of the bracket and the winner has a decent shot against North Carolina. Some people have picked Washington to upset the Tarheels but I am not going that far. Two lower tier Big East teams, Marquette and Villanova reside here as well. Villanova got a nine seed after being ranked as high as #7 early in the season. Also don’t dismiss Syracuse’s chances at making a run. Boeheim seems to be either a boom or a bust tourney coach, but they have the talent to win a few games as well.
STAR POWER IN THE EAST
There is tons of star power in this bracket. You have Sullinger and Jon Diebler for Ohio State, as well as Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones for Kentucky. North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and Washington’s Isiah Thomas are playing very well right now. Georgia brings Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins to the table. Even Xavier brings the underrated pair of Jimmy Holloway and Tu Holloway to this region. There are plenty more names, and it’s apparent the East is not only the toughest region, but it has the most star power.
POSSIBLE UPSETS
Georgia over Washington
Marquette over Xavier
and don’t laugh … but North Carolina could have their hands full with Long Island. Long Island is fourth in the nation in scoring and third in rebounding. If North Carolina starts slow, this could be one of the scores raising eyebrows at halftime and into the second half. North Carolina should win of course, but they did not get any favors with this matchup.
WHO WILL WIN?
All four top seeds can take this bracket. Keep in mind these games are not played on paper and they have to be played, which is why I give Kentucky a good chance to knock of Ohio State. I just like the “eye of the Tiger” that Kentucky showed in the tournament and think this team will embrace the bad seed and keep playing the “us against the world” role they have had since the NCAA denied Enes Kanter. I pick Kentucky to face North Carolina in the regional Finals and screw it, I’m a homer. Kentucky will win. If not Kentucky, my pick would be North Carolina.
That’s what I think anyway. Here now, is another preview of the bracket from the good folks at ESPN. Also, please take the time to join the WBN Tournament Challenge and make your picks by going here.
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