MIDWEST REGIONAL
THURSDAY: (at Greensboro) No. 1 North Carolina over No. 16 *Lamar (projected first-round winner); No. 8 Creighton over No. 9 Alabama; (at Nashville) No. 12 *Cal (projected first-round winner) over No. 5 Temple; No. 4 Michigan over No. 13 Ohio; (at Columbus) No. 11 North Carolina State over No. 6 San Diego State; No. 3 Georgetown over No. 14 Belmont; (at Omaha) No. 10 Purdue over No. 7 Saint Mary’s; No. 2 Kansas over No. 15 Detroit
ROUND OF 32: North Carolina over Creighton; Michigan over Cal; North Carolina State over Georgetown; Kansas over Purdue
SEMIFINALS (at St. Louis March 23&25): North Carolina over Michigan; Kansas over North Carolina State
NEW ORLEANS-BOUND: Kansas
WHY? Roy Williams’ UNC Tar Heels are the deepest and most gifted team in this bracket – if they’re healthy. But they’re not. Dexter Strickland was lost at mid season with a knee injury and future lottery pick forward John Henson missed most of the ACC tourney with a sore wrist. If he’s not a big factor throughout, the Tar Heels might fall before they get a possible showdown with Williams’ former program in the regional final. And I’m still not convinced that the Tar Heels’ defense is stout enough to beat a team such as the Jayhawks in the final. Kansas, by the way, has far and away the best player in the bracket – Thomas Robinson.
UPSET SPECIAL (by seed): North Carolina State over Georgetown
DON’T MISS THIS ONE: The Tar Heels vs. the Jayhawks – enough said.
THE FIVE-BEST PLAYERS: (not necessarily best NBA prospects) Robinson (Kansas); Tyler Zeller (UNC); Doug McDermott (Creighton); Jorge Gutierrez (Cal); Jamaal Franklin (SDSU).
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