2011 Madness: Breaking Down The Southwest Region
By Alan Smith
Madness is the one word that comes to me whenever I look at this region. I was on vacation the past few days and had my first look at the brackets yesterday, and the only region that I had trouble with when filling out my bracket was this one. For some strange reason, I changes my results at least 10 times. But, I’ll give you what I believe is the best outcome for this region.
First Four:
USC vs. VCU: I have USC winning in this game. I still think the thought of adding these extra teams to the pool this season is ridiculous.
Second Round:
(1) Kansas vs. (16) Boston University: Kansas wins easily, no doubt.
(8) UNLV vs. (9) Illinois: I have Illinois in this one. Lon Kruger and Bruce Weber are both great coaches who will have their teams well-prepared in this game.
(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Richmond: I think Vanderbilt has too many weapons offensively in this game, and it will pull them through to the next round.
(4) Louisville vs. (13) Morehead St.: A matchup between two Kentucky teams looks to be some great basketball. I want Louisville to lose, and I think the Eagles can give the Cards a run for their money, but ultimately the Cards move on.
(6) Georgetown vs. (11) USC: The Hoyas are a tough team, and I think Austin Freeman is the reason. They should be able to pull away early.
(3) Purdue vs. (14) St. Peter’s: The Boilermakers should not have a problem in this game.
(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Florida St.: This should turn out to be a tough game, but I think the Seminoles will be able to make a run in this tournament with their defense.
(2) Notre Dame vs. (15) Akron: No chance for Akron in this one.
Third Round:
(1) Kansas vs. (9) Illinois: Kansas is deep offensively, and Bill Self is one of the best in-game coaches, and proves it here as he defeats his former team.
(4) Louisville vs. (5) Vanderbilt: Again, another game I’d want the Cards to lose, but they’re not. Louisville has been playing their best basketball as of late, and the Cards will push Vanderbilt to their limit in this one.
(6) Georgetown vs. (3) Purdue: This is one of my upset picks here. I think the Hoyas can play with Purdue and are able to pull off the upset.
(10) Florida St. vs. (2) Notre Dame: Another one of my upset picks. Call me crazy, but I think the Seminoles can upset the Irish by limiting them offensively, forcing tough outside shots, and being able to score some transition points.
Sweet Sixteen:
(1) Kansas vs. (4) Louisville: Easily one of the best games in the tournament. This will be a tough one, but I believe the Jayhawks’ frontcourt and their depth is what pulls them through. They have to be able to create a tough game for Louisville’s backcourt, which will mess up their offensive transition.
(6)Georgetown vs. (10) Florida St.: My two upset picks meet in this game, but the run ends here for FSU. Georgetown will be too much for the Seminoles to handle, and the Hoyas.
Elite Eight:
(1) Kansas vs. (6) Georgetown: Kansas might not have the same look as last season, but they are just as tough. And deep. And talented. And all that put together can only mean one thing.
Final Four Pick:
(1) Kansas: The games in this bracket were tough to pick, but the winner wasn’t tough at all. Hope everyone has fun filling out their brackets and watching the games this weekend, I know I will!
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