WEST REGIONAL
THURSDAY: (at Portland) No. 4 Louisville over No. 13 Davidson; No. 12 Long Beach State over No. 5 New Mexico; (at Louisville) No. 3 Marquette over No. 14 *Iona (projected First Four winner); No. 6 Murray State over No. 11 Colorado State.
FRIDAY: (at Columbus) No. 1 Michigan State over No. 16 Long Island; No. 9 Saint Louis over No. 8 Memphis; (at Omaha) No. 10 Virginia over No. 7 Florida; No. 2 Missouri over No. 15 Norfolk State.
ROUND OF 32: Louisville over Long Beach State; Marquette over Murray State; Michigan State over Saint Louis; Virginia over Missouri.
SEMIFINALS (at Phoenix March 22&24): Michigan State over Louisville; Marquette over Virginia.
NEW ORLEANS-BOUND: Michigan State
WHY? If not quite the definitive favorite I see Kentucky being in the South, the Spartans are clearly the squad with the most “Final Four ingredients” among this batch of clubs, having shared the regular-season title and bagged the tourney title in the best (Big 10) conference in the country this season. Tom Izzo’s teams are traditionally mentally and physically tough as they come and this one fits into that category snugly. And, of course, the Spartans also have the region’s best player – Draymond Green.
UPSET SPECIAL (by seed): Long Beach State over New Mexico (caveat: assuming Larry Anderson – sidelined in the BWC tournament with a strained right MCL – is relatively healthy and effective).
DON’T MISS THIS ONE: Saint Louis vs. Memphis. Leading their respective teams are future Hall of Fame inductee Rick Majerus (64 as of Feb. 17) and rising star in the profession Josh Pastner (35 on next Sept. 27).
THE FIVE-BEST PLAYERS: (not necessarily best NBA prospects) Green; Isaiah Canaan (Murray State); Jae Crowder (Marquette); Marcus Denmon (Missouri); Mike Scott (Virginia).
Leave a Reply