Kansas and Syracuse were special teams this year, and they each got rewarded with well deserved #1 seeds in their respective regions.  But there are some obstacles that will force both clubs to turn up their games.

Kansas headlines a region which is absolutely loaded with tough, top flight teams.  Syracuse struggled late in the season, and will have a projected battle on their hands if they plan on reaching Indianapolis.

Let’s take a look at the Midwest and West brackets in more detail:  

Midwest:

First Impressions:  Kansas will undoubtedly have a tough time with its opponent in their Elite Eight matchup (Georgetown, Ohio State among others await on the other side of the region), but they should be untested in the first three rounds.  Their toughest potential foe in those three rounds would be the 4th seeded Terps who simply wouldn’t have enough firepower to hang with the Jayhawks. 

Speaking of Maryland, they will need to be careful in its first round tilt with Houston.  Like Maryland, Houston likes to push the ball, take quick shots, and put defense on the backburner.  If I was Gary Williams, I’d be contemplating how I could get more production and touches for Jordan Williams.  The Terps will need to keep their offense balanced in this game. 

The bottom of the Midwest region has some tough physical teams.  Although, Ohio State rightfully earned the #2 seed here, I like Georgetown.  They are tougher, and as a unit they can overpower the effect of the probable National Player of the Year, Evan Turner.  The bottom half of this region also features what should be a great first-round game…

Big man Derrick Favors arrival on cmapus has paid immediate dividends for Georgia Tech.

Best Potential Opening Round Game:  #7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Georgia Tech- This matchup boasts two beasts: OK State’s James Anderson and GT’s Derrick Favors.  Both are capable of dominating the game, and I think that it’ll be important for one of these guys to step up early in the contest.  The team that gets the more dominating performance from their beast will probably be able to get the win. 

Biggest Wildcard:  #6 Tennessee- The Volunteers are the ultimate wildcard team.  The Vols boast wins over Kansas and Kentucky, but have losses to Georgia and USC.  They have the ability to play with the best and, unfortunately, the worst.  If you pick Tennessee to 2 or more games, realize that they will either make or break you in your pool.

Projected Elite Eight Matchup:  #1 Kansas vs. #3 Georgetown- Kansas is pretty much an unstoppable force in their own region.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, I like the Hoyas’ grittiness to pull out a potential showdown against the Buckeyes.  The matchup of Kansas and Georgetown will be based on tempo.  While Kansas relies on its depth and ability to push the ball incessantly, Georgetown likes to play at a more controlled pace.  Hoyas Chris Wright and Austin Freeman will get out in transition, but they’ll need to make sure that they don’t get baited into an up-and-down game.  Unlike Syracuse, if Kansas gets the lead they won’t take the air out of the ball – they’ll just keep lighting up the scoreboard…and that’ll make it hard for G’Town to come back from any sizable deficit. 

West:

First Impressions:  Although the Kansas Jayhawks were tabbed as the tournament’s overall #1 seed, Syracuse seemed to have a much easier draw.  Assuming the Orangemen are near their best during the tourney, the only team in the West region that would seem capable of taking down the Big East juggernaut would be the Kansas State Wildcats in a possible Elite Eight contest.  

Otherwise, there’s very little to shout about in this region.  No other teams have enough talent to make any big noise – Pittsburgh seems like a weak number three seed to me.  After the top two seeds, there is a dramatic drop-off in talent which leaves several otherwise incapable teams with a chance to make it into the Sweet Sixteen.

UTEP guard Randy Culpepper is ready to do his thing on the national stage.

Best Potential Opening Round Game:  #6 Xavier vs. #11 Minnesota – Forget about the slight gap in seeding and the discrepancy in wins and losses for these teams – this is going to be a knock down, drag-out game.  There’s no doubt that the Golden Gophers have have their share of defeats, but they’ve also knocked down 5 opponents with an RPI in the top 30.  They’re no stranger to tough competition and the Musketeers will have their hands full come Friday.

Cinderella Alert:  #12 UTEP – Now this isn’t your usual “pick-a-12-seed-because-they-upset-a-5-seed-every-year” selection.  UTEP is talented enough to pull off a couple of victories, and end up facing Syracuse in the Sweet Sixteen.  Their inside-out tandem of Derrick Caracter (13.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Randy Culpepper (18.0 ppg) are explosive, and they have three other players that average 10 points a night that balance out their attack.  They are a very opportunistic bunch who play hard each and every possession of each and every game. 

Biggest Wildcard:  #10 Florida – The Gators have five players scoring between 10 and 14 points per game – which means that they can hurt you in a variety of ways.  But even more importantly, they have a lot of size on their roster.  With Vernon Macklin, Chandler Parsons, and Alex Tyus (all three listed at 6’9″) up front, they have the ability to cause some serious mismatches on the floor.  The key to their stability will be the point guard play of freshman Kenny Boynton.  He’ll need to keep the turnovers down and get his teammates involved to give Florida a chance to play more than one tournament game.

Projected Elite Eight Matchup:  #1 Syracuse vs. #2 Kansas State – These two schools shouldn’t have any serious threats getting here, if they play their games and don’t get rattled.  The matchup between these two is very intriguing.  Syracuse is very controlled and efficient.  Kansas State is very sloppy…and good.  Syracuse should be able to capitalize on the Wildcats’ mistakes.  But the Wildcat guards will probably be able to crack that vaunted Orange zone that carried them to defensive success this year.  This is a tough call, but I think K-State will edge the Orange.

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