March madness 2010 | THE NEWS RECORD | PAGE 7
Regional analysis: Where they stand Midwest Region Hunter tickel the news record
East Region sam elliott the news record
The Midwest region features the overall No. 1 seed in Kansas and a Player of the Year candidate in Ohio State’s Evan Turner. The Jayhawks are two years removed from a national championship and have the experience of guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich. Kansas (32-2) should be weary that Oklahoma State (No. 7) and Tennessee (No. 6), both of which handed Kansas its two losses this season, are in the lower half of the Midwest region. Kansas faces a potential matchup with Michigan State (No. 5), the regular season Big Ten co-champions, in the regional semifinal. Last year, the Spartans knocked off the Jayhawks in the same round. Georgetown (No. 3) is the team most capable of knocking off Kansas and advancing to the Final Four. The Hoyas have posted a 4-1 record since Austin Freeman’s return, including an upset of Syracuse and a run to the Big East title game. The Hoyas could meet Ohio State (No. 2), regular season and postseason Big Ten champions, in the regional semifinal in what would be one of the more intriguing games of the Sweet 16. ACC co-champion Maryland (No. 4) is also a part of the Midwest bracket. Georgia Tech (No. 10), the ACC tournament runner-up, rounds out a deep region full of power conference finalists and champions. As consistent as Kansas has been all season, it would not be a shocker if it does not advance from the Midwest with Ohio State, Georgetown and others looming.
If there’s one region of the 2010 NCAA Tournament where upsets might be rare, it’s the East region. Kentucky (No. 1) secured the tournament’s No. 2 overall seed after winning the SEC tournament in dramatic fashion Sunday, and the Wildcats have an easy road to the region’s final in Syracuse, N.Y. But getting out of New York and to the Final Four in Indianapolis won’t be easy. Bob Huggins and West Virginia (No. 2) are fresh off a Big East tournament championship and were denied a No. 1 seed in the bracket. The Mountaineers have won six-straight games heading into March Madness, and if Da’Sean Butler keeps hitting clutch shots, West Virginia could be playing in Indianapolis. Temple (No. 5) and Cornell (No. 12) should make for the best game of the first round. The league champions from the Atlantic 10 and Ivy League have both played well away from home, and are two of the hottest teams in the tournament. The Big Red have won seven-straight, and the Owls are riding a 10-game winning streak. Marquette (No. 6) could be capable of a run to the Sweet 16, and it might be the lone team in the region capable of preventing a Kentucky and West Virginia regional final. If the Golden Eagles make it to a Sweet 16 matchup with the Mountaineers, it would make for a rematch of December’s thrilling 63-62 WVU win in Morgantown. Unless Marquette or New Mexico (No. 3) can play spoiler, expect to see the East region come down to Kentucky and West Virginia.
West Region
South Region
peter marx the news record
For the second year in a row, a Big East team was selected as a No. 1 seed in the West Region. The University of Connecticut made a run to the final four in 2009, and this year Syracuse University will look to do the same, as it is the favorite to win the west. Syracuse (28-4, 15-3 Big East) lost its final game of the regular season to Louisville and is coming off an opening round loss to Georgetown in the Big East tournament. Starting center Arinze Onuaku sustained a right quadricep injury against the Hoyas Thursday, March 11, but is listed as day-to-day and could return to practice as early as Monday, March 15, according to an Associated Press report. The Orange are one of the most complete teams in the country, and with Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Onuaku leading the way, they are national-title contenders. Also out of the west is: No. 2 Kansas State University, No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 4 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Butler and No. 6 Xavier. The West may not be the toughest region in the tournament, but watch out for Kansas State (26-7, 11-5) and Butler (28-4, 18-0). Butler finished undefeated in the Horizon League and beat Ohio State University and Xavier early in the season. No. 13 Murray State and No. 12 UTEP could also make some noise, as they look to be this year’s Cinderella story.
garrett sabelhaus the news record
Of the four No. 1 seeds, Duke might have the easiest road to the Final Four of them all in the South region of the 2010 NCAA Tournament bracket. A first-round win will leave Duke with a matchup against the winner between California (No.8) and Louisville (No. 9) in Jacksonville, Fla. Villanova is one of three Big East teams in the South region and one of eight in the whole tournament. With the No. 2 seed, Villanova will be pitted against the winner between Atlantic 10 tournament runner up Richmond (No. 7) and Saint Mary’s (No. 10) of the West Coast Conference. Saint Mary’s finished one game behind Gonzaga in the regular season conference standings, but beat the Bulldogs 81-62 for the conference tournament title. Richmond finished behind Temple in the A-10 tournament after knocking off Xavier in overtime in the semifinals. The biggest question mark of the South region is the Purdue Boilermakers with the No. 4 seed. After one win in the Big Ten tournament over Northwestern, Purdue was knocked out the next day by Minnesota. With the loss of one of their top scorers and rebounders in Robbie Hummel, Purdue could see another early exit even if they get by No. 13 Siena. Texas A&M (No. 5) or Utah State (No. 12) will wait for the Boilermakers in the second round. Baylor (No. 3) and Notre Dame (No. 6) round out the top portion of the South region with games against Sam Houston State (No. 14) and Old Dominion (No. 11) respectively.